Strengthen Hazardous Energy Control Where It Matters Most
Lockout/tagout failures remain one of the most persistent and high-risk challenges in industrial operations. Despite established standards, real-world execution varies widely across equipment types, shifts, and sites.
The Lockout/Tagout (Z244) Standards-Based User Group (SBUG) is a practitioner-led community focused on improving how hazardous energy control is applied in complex, real-world environments.
It operates as a field intelligence network where experienced professionals share implementation realities, identify breakdowns in execution, and examine what actually drives reliable control of hazardous energy. These insights are then used to strengthen standards interpretation, tools and field practices through a structured feedback loop between real-world execution, peer learning and standards development.
The outcome is clearer execution, fewer gaps in control, and more consistent protection for workers performing maintenance and servicing activities.
Focus Areas
- Lockout/tagout execution in complex industrial environments
- Multi-energy source isolation and verification challenges
- Maintenance and servicing safety workflows
- Program consistency across shifts, sites and contractors
- Integration of automation, robotics and connected systems
- Emerging tools for energy isolation and control verification
Why SBUGs Are Different
This is not a compliance discussion forum or policy review group. It is a field-focused working environment built around execution intelligence.
- Grounded in real maintenance and operational conditions, not theoretical application
- Driven by field experience and observed performance outcomes
- Structured to connect frontline realities with standards development feedback
- Focused on improving consistency, reliability and practical usability of energy control programs
How It Works
A Continuous Exchange Between Field Practice and Standards Insight
- Field Experience Shared
Members bring real hazardous energy control challenges from maintenance, operations and servicing activities.
- Structured Peer Review
Facilitated sessions with experienced subject matter experts (SMEs) and cross-industry practitioners to examine approaches and constraints.
- Intelligence Development
Recurring patterns, failure points and effective practices are identified and synthesized into practical insights.
Field and Standards Feedback
Insights are translated into tools, guidance and structured input that supports both members and standards development processes.
Led By a Nationally Recognized Expert
Francis P. Sehn, MS, CSP, ARM is a Principal Consultant at FxS Risk and Safety Consulting, where he specializes in risk reduction and safety management systems that help organizations lower both risk and cost of risk. His work centers on ISO 45001 implementation and advisory services, drawing on decades of experience across insurance loss control, manufacturing safety leadership and high-risk industrial consulting. Francis also serves as an adjunct instructor at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, teaching safety engineering, and is a past recipient of the ASSP Safety Professional of the Year Award.
What You Gain
Participation provides both practical resources and field-informed intelligence that improves execution quality and consistency.
Access & Resources
- Four expert-led virtual sessions per year
- Private peer exchange forum for ongoing discussion
- Practical implementation tools and decision aids
- Standards-to-workflow alignment resources
- Real-world case examples and lessons learned
Operational Benefits
- Stronger, more consistent lockout/tagout performance with reduced variation across sites and teams
- Improved identification of where energy control processes break down and the contributing factors
- Better alignment between standards and real-world application, with direct input into the evolution of implementation guidance and tools
- Benchmarking insights on program structure, compliance and field performance
- Awareness of emerging technologies and their impact on isolation and verification practices
Who Should Join
Designed for professionals responsible for hazardous energy control and maintenance safety, including:
- EHS and safety leaders
- Maintenance and operations managers
- Industrial and manufacturing safety professionals
- Safety engineers and consultants
- Equipment manufacturers and system designers
Join the Lockout/Tagout (Z244) SBUG
Be part of a practitioner-driven group focused on improving how hazardous energy control is executed in real operational environments.
Join as an Individual Practitioner