Choose the correct safety padlock for your lockout tagout application

• Posted on 1 March 2018
• Posted in Lockout-tagout procedure, LOTO, Master Lock, Safety Padlock
• 0

Choose the right type of safety padklock for Lockout-Tagout procedures in order to secure a safe working environment

Due to a large selection of available padlocks, choosing the right type of safety padlock doesn’t always seems to be easy at first sight. Padlocks can be found in all kinds of materials with an infinite amount of options for sizes, colors, brackets, key systems etc. Special safety padlocks have been developed for Lockout-Tagout applications. A proper inventory will help you to make the right choice in terms of material and key options. Lockout-tagout-shop will help you to make that choice, which can prevent you for making the wrong purchase.

Robert van de Ven from Lockout-Tagout-Shop: “We regularly visit large companies and quite often we see that simple brass padlocks with a limited number of key codes and without security options are still used. In some cases it turns out that people have been misinformed, in other cases they have chosen the cheapest option, but this often leads to disappointment afterwards.”
The right choice starts with determining the type of padlock. The most obvious choice for LOTO applications are the special Zenex safety padlocks from Master Lock. These locks are provided with special safety features. Besides that, the Zenex material also offers many advantages compared to, for example, steel or brass padlocks.

The advantages of Zenex material:
- Not conductive
- Light weight
- Sparkles, breakdown protection
- Corrosion resistant
- Temperature range -57 ° C to + 177 ° C
- UV-stable
- Chemically resistant
- Optional laser engraving

The advantages (safety features) of the safety padlock itself are:
- Key registration by end-user
- The key can’t be duplicated, blank keys are not available
- Supplied with 1 key per lock (one employee, one key)
- Key Retaining: The key cannot be removed when the padlock hasp is open.
-Identification: available in various colours
-More than 44.000 key codes available

The Master Lock Zenex safety padlock is available in three types of shackle materials:
Nylon, hard steel and stainless steel. The Nylon version is non-conductive and is recommended for electrical applications such as locking a breaker or safety switch. The hardened steel shackle is the most robust option and is recommended for use under the most severe conditions. The stainless steel bracket is particularly suitable for use in very humid conditions or outdoor use.

All Master Lock safety padlocks are available with various keying options:
-Keyed different (KD)
-Keyed Alike (KA)
-Master Keyed or Grand Master Keyed (MK, GMK)

Selecting a key charting system is crucial and will mainly be determined by a proper inventory. The OSHA regulation, ‘’one person, one key’’ implicates that every employee with a personal padlock may only unlock his own padlock or his own set of keyed alike personal padlocks, These personal locks may never be opened by anyone else.

Robert van de Ven: “We always point out that keyed alike locks should never be divided among different employees in order to prevent employees from opening each other's lock. Unfortunately we did encounter this several times, causing highly dangerous situations. Keyed alike safety padlocks are strictly personal, or used by the supervisor in case of group lockout. When using group lockout correctly, you are able to save on the required amount of in comparison with the use of lockout hasps. Lockout-tagout-shop in cooperation with Master Lock, offers free LifeGuard ™ key registration on all Master Lock safety padlocks. This ensures that all supplied Master Lock padlocks are registered upon delivery. With 96.000 key codes available we are able to guarantee a unique key codes for every ordered padlock. In addition, Master Lock uses cylinders with their own unique keyway for which no blank keys are supplied.

If you have any questions regarding this article or if you need support setting up your LOTO procedure or when purchasing the right material, we will be happy to help you.