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www.escservices.com
Copyright © 2008 ESC Services, Inc.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Why do I need lockout-tagout procedures?
- OSHA requires that every machine in your building or facility have a lockout-tagout procedure unless it
meets all 8 criteria (click here to learn more about the 8 criteria). If you do not have machine specific lockout-
tagout procedures for every piece of equipment that is on your property, you could face severe penalties
including the following:
- Federal Fines: Anywhere from $1,000 to several million dollars. Fines will vary based on the
situation, but an average fine for knowingly not having lockout-tagout procedures runs between
$50,000 and $100,000. If there is an injury or death associated with lockout-tagout as well as not
having a compliant program, the fines could be 10 times that much. - Imprisonment: OSHA has federal power to issue criminal charges including imprisonment for
employers who knowingly do not comply with the regulations. If for instance, you know that you are not
compliant with lockout-tagout regulation (currently top 4 most cited regulation of all of OSHA's
regulations) and choose to do nothing about it, you could face steep fines and imprisonment.
What does OSHA look for during an audit?
- OSHA will look for your LOTO procedures first. If you don't have machine specific lockout-tagout
procedures, they will know you also couldn't have complied with the required annual training and audits.
That's 3 separate fines, that could cost $100K plus.
Click here to learn more of exactly what OSHA looks for when they show up at your door:
http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=DIRECTIVES&p_id=1792
What do you do (for lockout-tagout procedures)?
- ESC will send engineers to your site, take digital pictures of your equipment, and create customized
graphical lockout-tagout procedures based on the information that is collected. For a week of our time on
site, our engineers will normally need to spend at least 1-2 hours of time from your in-house staff to get
questions answered regarding preferences and specifics with the equipment. We welcome and encourage
additional involvement, however we do not require much assistance due to our experience.
Is there an ROI associated with your procedures?
- Yes, there is an ROI associated with our procedures. The procedures will allow your authorized
employees to more quickly lock the equipment out and restore it to service which will result in more
equipment availability, less time spent by the authorized employee, and also less equipment/process down
time. Depending on how much a production minute and employee hour costs you, you can realize an ROI in
as little as 2-3 months or sooner.
Example: Our procedures have been shown to reduce the time it takes to lock out a machine by 50% on
average. This said, a 1 hour lock out now only takes 30 minutes. For one graphical procedure that might
have cost $200, you just saved 30 minutes of the authorized employee's time at $40/hour. If the lock out
occurs 10 times in a month, you just achieved a 100% ROI in 1 month just by personnel time savings. Now
when you factor in the production minute savings by the 30 minutes per incident, you might achieve an ROI in
a week.
- If you are a high speed manufacturer (food, beverage, product, etc.), you'll almost certainly realize an ROI in
less than a month because of the increase in production. If you are in the power generation or distribution
business, you could justify our turn-key service (procedures, training and annual audits) by the hourly mega-
watt savings from not just personnel time, but by simply restoring your plant to commission sooner.
What is your typical price range for graphical lockout/tagout procedures?
- That all depends on your location, complexity and quantity of equipment. The average procedure price is
can range from $60 to $300.
- For a project in the continental US that has 100 pieces of type 1 equipment (type 1 = equipment with 2-6
energy sources), the price would range between $20-$25K depending on the options selected. Some of the
project options include injection molded procedures and customized energy source ID tags (examples of
customization includes unique tag designs, including the equipment name or ID number on the tag, special
tag material like stainless steel)
How do I send you my equipment list?
- There are 3 ways to send us your equipment list:
- E-mail: You can send us your list in MS Word, Excel, or .pdf (Excel is preferred)
- By Fax: (toll free) 866-848-7840
- Call us with verbal list: (toll free) at 866-773-754 or direct at 262-939-4825
Is there a minimum amount of equipment that I need for you to come in?
- Typically, we service medium to large companies with 50 plus pieces of equipment, however we have
serviced clients with as little as 5 pieces of equipment. The main benefit to having more equipment is that
you pay less per procedure than someone with less equipment.
How can you generate a quote only based on the name of the equipment?
- Our engineers have created over 60,000 procedures since 1999 and draw from that experience to fill in
the blanks. If we run into an issue or have a question about certain aspects of the list we will contact you for
clarification.
Are you insured?
- Yes, ESC Services, Inc. is fully insured with general and professional liability insurance to offer all of our
services direct to our clients. This means that if you are comparing the benefits of ESC verses creating a
graphical program in-house, remember that each procedure we create is insured to be accurate for up to $1
million dollars per procedure.
Is travel fixed or is it billed separately?
- We can bill travel separately, however we've simplified our quoting process to include travel in the per-
procedure rate. This helps predict costs and adjust the scope of the project more easily. For instance if we
start a project with 120 pieces projected to be completed and there only ends up being 100, the travel will be
automatically reduced with the lower quantity because it's built in.
We factor travel expenses based on our previous years travel expenses total divided by the number of
procedures we created. Even if our travel expenses end up being higher for your project, you won't pay more
because they are based on an annual fixed average.
This is the most fair to our clients and helps add predictability to project costs. We've been told by our
clients that they prefer this approach and it makes budgeting additional procedures much easier. If you
would like to see our current price list, please feel free to contact us and we would be happy to send it to you.
When can you start?
- Our typical start time is 4-6 weeks, however we have made exceptions to start within 48 hours if the
situation warrants it. (impending OSHA fines or lockout/tagout related accidents)
What does ESC need to get started?
- We simply need a formal approval through a Purchase Order system. Once we have a PO#, we will
contact you to work out a convenient start time for the project.
What kind of referral fees do you pay if we recommend your service?
- One of the reasons ESC is so successful is the great relationship we have with our distribution network.
Because we can offer our service through other companies, it helps serve their clients better with total
package solutions. If you are interested in becoming a distributer of our services, please e-mail our office at
referral@escservices.com and we would be happy to discuss this further with you.
Do you have more details on your graphical lockout-service and what it is?
- Please visit the graphical lockout tagout procedure creation service page by clicking here. If you would
like to speak with someone today about your lockout-tagout needs, please feel free to call our toll free line
866.773.754 (24-7 automated voicemail system) or e-mail us at info@escservices.com