Why use Safety tags?

• Posted on 3 January 2023
• 0

While working on dangerous machinery and procedures, it is important to ensure everyone's safety. Using a Lockout-Tagout safety tag can go a long way in protecting people as they work within a hazardous area. Safety tags are used as warning signs of temporary hazards. Without a LOTO tag, workers may not be aware of the potential hazards.

You attach a safety tag together with a safety padlock to an isolated and locked power source to warn that work is being carried out. LOTO tags are available in different designs. A safety tag signals that there is a potential for danger and that the machine should not be switched on. A safety tag often contains lines on which information can be written such as, who is carrying out the work and the date. Often the tag has a warning icon with accompanying text, such as "Do not start." "Do not open." "Do not close." "Do not operate." "Do not activate." The warning symbols are ISO standardised and can therefore vary by country and language.

You will find the following information on most safety tags:
- Warning icon in red or black.
- Specific warning text in red or black.
- Name of the employee.
- Date of placement.
- Work to be carried out or work permit number.

By choosing a safety tag with a design that suits your company, you can guarantee that they will be easily recognised. To avoid confusion within the company, it is best to choose one design or design style.

Apart from our standard safety tags, which are available in different languages, it is also possible to design your own tags or add your logo and your desired text to the tags. We offer tags in different materials, from single-use laminated cardboard to tags made of laminated PVC, which can be rewritten. Especially for the food industry, we offer metal-detectable tags. LOTO tags must be manufactured and printed so that exposure to weather conditions and use in wet or humid places will not cause the material to deteriorate or render the text and message on the tag unreadable. The quality of the tags should also not degrade when used in corrosive environments such as areas where acid and alkaline chemicals are processed and stored.

Different types of safety tags
- Single-use tags made of laminated cardboard, for use in dry environments.
- Single-use tags made of polypropylene, for use in dry and humid environments (also outdoors).
- Rewritable and erasable tags made of laminated PVC or special polypropylene, durable solution suitable for almost all conditions.
- Metal-detectable rewritable and erasable tags, durable solution specially developed for the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Safety tags come in handy in circumstances where energy-isolating devices cannot be physically blocked.

View safety tags on the Lockout-Tagout-Shop