Digital LOTO - Modernising Industrial Safety

Digitise the Lock Out Tag Out (LOTO) process (a critical safety procedure that has remained largely unchanged for nearly 50 years) to improve efficiency, compliance, and user experience while addressing existing pain points.

Schneider Electric

System Designer

Oct '21 - April '23

Problem Statement

Lack of a Standardised Approach

across industries, causing inconsistencies in execution.

Inefficient & Unreliable Workflows

leads to extended downtime and operational delays.

Manual Tracking Errors

Compliance challenges & increased risk of overlooked hazards.

Little to no real-time monitoring

for SCADA operators and other remote stakeholders.

The goal was to digitize LOTO while ensuring a seamless transition for operators, maintenance personnel, and safety managers.

Users

Operators

Operators managing equipment lockouts.

Maintenance Personnel

Personnel handling servicing.

Safety Managers

Responsible for ensuring protocol compliance.

SCADA Operators

Manage & monitor facility in real-time.

Facility Managers

Involved in safety procedures & enforcement.

Process

View Summary

Step 1

LOTO Research & Identifying Industry References

Oct 2021 - Jan 2022

LOTO & Industrial Safety Training

Did the LOTO procedure training (Learn more about LOTO ↗︎). Researched existing IoT-based lock solutions and platforms for viable solutions.

The padlocks & the tags that are attached to the locks & the work permits are all manually filled. The work permit contains critical safety checks & should be referred to while LOTO is performed.

Identifying Industry References

Learning

Concluded that while there were no direct competitors, asset & property security-focused platforms could serve as a design benchmark.

Step 1

LOTO Research & Identifying Industry References

Oct 2021 - Jan 2022

LOTO & Industrial Safety Training

Did the LOTO procedure training (Learn more about LOTO ↗︎). Researched existing IoT-based lock solutions and platforms for viable solutions.

The padlocks & the tags that are attached to the locks & the work permits are all manually filled. The work permit contains critical safety checks & should be referred to while LOTO is performed.

Identifying Industry References

Learning

Concluded that while there were no direct competitors, asset & property security-focused platforms could serve as a design benchmark.

Step 2

Concept Validation & Compliance Check

Jan 2022 - April 2022

The 1st Prototype

We used SE’s apps & devices from the IoT ecosystem to simulate triggers via a reverse-engineered sensor (with the support of engineers from the V&V labs) & mimicked an IoT lock by placing a QR code on a padlock.

Validation from Safety Experts

Demoed the first prototype to industrial safety experts to validate compliance. We highlighted all the critical safety issues in the existing protocols & how our approach would address these issues. We also highlighted that this solution won't require any new training modules & would be fairly simple to adopt for users across the industry.

Conclusion

Green light received from the safety team as the proposed digitised workflow didn’t bypass safety codes.

Step 2

Concept Validation & Compliance Check

Jan 2022 - April 2022

The 1st Prototype

Validation from Safety Experts

Conclusion

Green light received from the safety team as the proposed digitised workflow didn’t bypass safety codes.

Step 3

Exploring Market Potential

April 2022 - July 2022

Demos with C-Suite

Before investing further, we demoed the solution to senior SE executives to gauge its potential value and strategic fit.

Inputs Received

Instead of creating our own padlocks, look for IoT-enabled lock manufacturers willing to grant API access to us.

Instead of creating a standalone app, identify the most suitable SE app to integrate the solution into.

They also helped us narrow down the target customers.

Step 3

Exploring Market Potential

April 2022 - July 2022

Demos with C-Suite

Before investing further, we demoed the solution to senior SE executives to gauge its potential value and strategic fit.

Inputs Received

Instead of creating our own padlocks, look for IoT-enabled lock manufacturers willing to grant API access to us.

Instead of creating a standalone app, identify the most suitable SE app to integrate the solution into.

They also helped us narrow down the target customers.

Step 4

User Research to refine Design Specs

July 2022 - Nov 2022

Spec Prioritisation

Applied the Kano Model to categorise user needs into Must-Have, Performance, and Delight features.

View the complete research process ↗︎

Key Insights

Users preferred circuit-breaker-integrated locks rather than standalone padlocks.

Prioritised features based on user satisfaction impact and alignment with safety protocols.

Step 4

User Research to refine Design Specs

July 2022 - Nov 2022

Spec Prioritisation

Applied the Kano Model to categorise user needs into Must-Have, Performance, and Delight features.

View the complete research process ↗︎

Key Insights

Users preferred circuit-breaker-integrated locks rather than standalone padlocks.

Prioritised features based on user satisfaction impact and alignment with safety protocols.

Step 5

Wireframing & Prototyping

Dec 2022

Wireframing

With the design specs prioritised & a clear backlog for the first version of the Digital LOTO solution ready, I built the wireframes.

Prototyping

With the app to integrate this feature into identified, I designed the UI using SE's Design System (The system is as extensive & well-maintained as IBM's Carbon design system). It was deployed in the Pre-Prod version of the app.

Step 5

Wireframing & Prototyping

Dec 2022

Wireframing

With the design specs prioritised & a clear backlog for the first version of the Digital LOTO solution ready, I built the wireframes.

Prototyping

Step 6

Validation & Certification

Jan 2023 - April 2023

Compliance & Iterative Refinements

Given the critical nature of the feature, it needed to go through multiple certification tests in different countries & needed to be localised.

As per the requirements for the regions identified by the leadership, I worked with the local compliance teams to refine the userflow, wireframes & the prototype to support them with the certification process.

Given the critical nature of the feature, it needed to go through multiple certification tests in different countries & needed to be localised.

Step 6

Validation & Certification

Jan 2023 - April 2023

Compliance & Iterative Refinements

Given the critical nature of the feature, it needed to go through multiple certification tests in different countries & needed to be localised.

Outcomes

Streamlined LOTO Workflow

Reduced process complexity and execution time (by ~35%).

Real-time safety tracking

For SCADA and remote operators, ensuring better coordination.

Compliance tracking

Ensuring regulatory adherence with digital safety checks.

As the project is under NDA, specific details cannot be shared publicly. However, if you'd like to discuss the design process and outcomes, feel free to reach out. I left SE in June 2023 & hence cannot comment on the current status of the project.

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