IMPROVING SAFETY ON OEM MACHINERY

ESC Services, based in Franklin, Wis., will be integrated into Rockwell Automation's Control Products & Solutions segment as part of its customer support and maintenance business unit. Terms were not disclosed. ESC Services is an engineering firm focused on creating graphical lockout-tagout procedures and components. It helps companies achieve a higher level of employee safety while optimising production efficiency and guaranteeing compliance with local regulations. "ESC Services will enable Rockwell Automation customers to increase asset utilisation and strengthen enterprise risk management, while adding safety to our growing portfolio of data-driven, cloud-enabled services," said Matt Fordenwalt, Rockwell Automation consulting business manager. ESC's methodology utilises quick response (QR) codes that can be scanned to obtain asset information and streamline compliance with both external regulations and internal safety policies. "The global use of lockout-tagout is expanding among multi-national corporations, and represents a great growth opportunity," said Kelly Michalscheck, president, ESC Services. "This acquisition enables us to extend ESC Services lockout-tagout procedures and ScanESC solutions to tens of thousands of additional OEM machines, delivering more value and unique offerings to Rockwell Automation's extensive global channels." Lockout-tagout is a safety procedure used to ensure that dangerous machines are properly shut down and not restarted before maintenance and service work is completed. It requires hazardous power sources to be isolated and rendered inoperative before any repair procedure is started. In the US, federal regulations mandate that companies create custom lockout-tagout procedures to protect employees while servicing machines and equipment powered by hazardous energy sources.