LOTO Procedures – Roles & Responsibilites

We were recently asked for guidance on assigning roles and responsibilities for a lockout tagout procedure. Without knowing the details of the operations, staff competence, nature of the hazard etc,

Turning penstocks with tractor PTO shafts

Some sluice gates and penstocks on the water and river networks of the UK have been modified to have a tractor-type PTO input drive shaft. These can be troublesome to

How to Lock a Butterfly Valve

When it comes to finding a lockout device for a butterfly valve, there’s plenty of choice. Our Managing Director and Lockout Tagout Expert Tim Hughes has prepared a short but

Helping Utility Companies with their valve operations

Utility supply companies everywhere face the challenge of providing continuous water supply, whether it’s a normal day or in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Companies will do their best

How to lock a large circuit breaker?

For very large MCCB’s, most after-market lockout devices just aren’t big or robust enough. As the breaker grows in size, so does the on/off toggle. If you need to lock

Choose a valve lock that’s fit for purpose

For most of my working life, I’ve been involved in finding ways to lock valves. It’s often left me wondering why valve manufacturers have never applied some basic thought to

How do you lock a rocker switch?

With so many different makes and models of rocker switch in existence, finding the right locking device can be difficult. There’s lots of different after-market models available but they are

Portable Valve Actuator Equipment for the Environment Agency

For a few years now the Environment Agency have been a valued client for Total Lockout by using their portable valve actuators.   The equipment is used for planned valve

491B v 493B Master Lock Breaker Lockout Selection

If you’re unsure which of these circuit breaker lockouts to choose (491B and 493B), this image shows you the maximum size of circuit breaker switch toggle which can be accommodated

Managing torque when using a portable valve actuator

With each new portable valve actuator application we encounter, there’s new challenges to manage torque.   As the portable actuator turns the valve, any tight spots or increase in effort

How to stop fuel spillages entering the watercourse.

Total Lockout have installed a safety interlock system from Alcatraz, designed to ensure valves are operated in the correct sequence during fuel tanker delivery operations. We were on site at

Looking for an alternative 110v Portable Valve Actuator?

As providers of portable valve actuators, each new enquiry we receive is rarely the same. The industry environment, the types of valves and the existing method of operation always conspires