In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, Suncor Energy was ranked as the 48th-largest public company in the world. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, their operations include oil sands development, production, and upgrading; offshore oil and gas; petroleum refining in Canada and the US; And a national retail distribution network.

A Quick Primer on LOTO

The “Lockout” system is recognized as the primary method of hazardous energy control. Lockout prevents accidental operation or energization of machines, equipment, or processes in order to protect personnel involved in maintaining or servicing activities. Lockouts establish Hazardous Energy Control methods that ensure regulatory compliance.

Key components of a LOTO system are tags and locks, typically color-coded and/or labeled according to their usage, so that by quickly visually inspecting a lock or tag, a field worker knows why the equipment is locked out and by whom.

LOTO materials – a supply nightmare

In large, fast-moving industrial operations, time is money. And when equipment is unavailable or offline it can cost millions of dollars in downtime. Suncor’s system for ordering locks and tags was an antiquated spreadsheet-driven albatross. Foremen or managers filled in spreadsheets with details for each lock and agent, attempting to follow a complex set of rules documented in the sheet. The result was incorrect orders, labeling mistakes, and errors. When the manufactured components arrived with mistakes, the process had to be started over, leading to wasted time, and cost, not to mention environmental footprint.

• Field workers manually fill out outdated spreadsheets
• Spreadsheets forwarded to the operational office via email
• Often filled with errors and outdated information

OrderLock - an overnight success, just a few months in the making

Working closely with Suncor’s safety team and open technologies, we developed an easy-to-use web-based solution, OrderLock, that instantly solved their supply and ordering issues. A prototype was developed in less than 6 weeks and the complete solution in less than 3 months.

OrderLock is a flexible, online order system that makes it simple for workers in the field to order and manage Lock Out Tag Out (LOTO) materials. OrderLock ensures workers in the field capture the correct information for the correct locks and safety devices, every time, on time. OrderLock is customized to the needs of each team. It enables field workers to use simple visual tools to order locks and other safety components in accordance with their team’s LOTO procedures. This is just one example of a process that was automated by KPDI resulting in:

• 100% reduction in human error.
• Order, review, approval and checkout simple, local, and online
• Automatic inventory and order tracking online
• 24hr turnaround - Dramatic improvement from months to the same day.
• Most importantly - Happy customers