DESCRIPTION
Following a recent isolation breach resulting in a fatality within CRH Americas, a safety call was held to initiate an isolation amnesty across the business.
As part of this initiative, Tarmac conducted site visits to all London and Southeast RMX locations. During these visits, Tarmac carried out comprehensive reviews of isolation procedures and held face-to-face discussions with the teams. These conversations included full transparency regarding any breaches—regardless of scale—that may be occurring within these operations.
Upon completion of the reviews, Tarmac identified a potential risk at 6 of the 18 sites visited. Specifically, the location of the isolation "try-out" button was found to be separate from the lock-out point. This misalignment posed a risk that the final try-out step might be missed, compromising the effectiveness of the isolation process.
For more information about Tarmac's solution to this issue please view the full article in the ‘Sharing good practice guide 2026’ and watch the video.
BENEFITS
- Significantly reduced the potential for accidental equipment start-up while maintenance or repair work is underway.
- Simple, yet highly effective change to facilitate compliance with ‘TRY OUT’ procedure.
- Safer working conditions.
- Reinforces the importance of completing the full LOTOTO sequence.
- Safety amnesty supported pro-active and open engagement of all involved
- Behaviour and safety culture have improved across the sites.
- Process efficiency has increased, with less time spent walking to distant control rooms.
- Risk of procedural shortcuts has been reduced, thanks to better accessibility.