autoLOTO

Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) procedures are essential for electrical safety, but their complexity can be challenging, even for experienced electricians. Accurately identifying energy sources and isolation points is a crucial step in ensuring a safe work environment. Traditional methods—such as cork boards filled with diagrams, push pins tracking LOTO positions, and cumbersome logbooks—can be difficult to manage and may lead to inefficiencies. By modernizing these processes, organizations have an opportunity to enhance both safety and productivity, reducing the risk of human error and creating a more streamlined, reliable approach to energy isolation.
That’s where autoLOTO comes in. It was founded with a mission to modernize and improve antiquated LOTO processes used in today’s large and dynamic operational environments by improving user accessibility, communication, and instant lifesaving information. From the very beginning, the company’s vision was clear: to eliminate human error in LOTO operations, enhance safety, and save lives. Today, the company’s smart mobile software and powerful digital twin technology prevent electrical incidents and near misses by alerting users to potential mistakes before they take action. In this way, it protects the end user, making them more efficient and accountable.

“Every aspect of autoLOTO—from user-focused design to pricing strategy—has been developed with the goal of making the tool easy to adopt, ensuring widespread use and maximum impact in improving workplace safety,” says Daniel Furbush, president and CEO of autoLOTO.

The Mobile Software That Thinks Ahead

Understanding human behavior is key to preventing human error. autoLOTO’s development team studied human responses at the most fundamental level and adopted the OODA loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act)—a military decision-making framework used in high-stakes scenarios. Building on this insight, autoLOTO’s model requires operators to input their “intent” or “decision” into a mobile application before taking action.

The application then uses a digital twin model of the facility to validate the decision in real time against multiple parameters, such as the operator’s location, equipment, and circuit breaker for the task. If all parameters align and return a binary “yes,” the operator is permitted to proceed. If any parameter returns a “no,” the system immediately issues an urgent warning and provides context on why the requested action is incorrect. All of this computation occurs within milliseconds as the autoLOTO system tracks the operator’s progress in real time, providing a remote backup that represents the combined knowledge of all subject matter experts on-site.

A New Era in LOTO Safety

autoLOTO has not just digitized an outdated process—it has completely reimagined how energy isolation should be managed in today’s fast-paced, high-risk environments. The goal is to protect workers, optimize workflow, and ensure absolute compliance without the burden of excessive paperwork and manual tracking.

At its core, autoLOTO removes unnecessary steps while preserving the integrity of compliance and safety standards. It automates and digitizes all LOTO paperwork, eliminating the need for cumbersome logs and handwritten tags. Real-time remote tracking means that supervisors no longer need to be physically present to monitor progress or intervene. Live oversight tools provide a bird’s-eye view of all LOTO activity, catching mistakes before they become incidents.

“Our isolation code is built on the foundation of NFPA 70E, 70B, the NEC, and IEEE best practice standards. We carefully review these standards each year when they’re updated and incorporate any changes directly into our code,” says Furbush.

This assures that lockout procedures, switching protocols, and live/dead/live status information within the system are always fully compliant with both U.S. law and industry regulations.
The most groundbreaking aspect of autoLOTO is its single-pass/fail phase gate system—a feature that allows its mobile application to instantly validate an operator’s intent before any action is taken. Unlike traditional LOTO systems, which rely on after-the-fact verification, autoLOTO intercepts potential errors before they put workers and equipment at risk. It’s a proactive safety net designed to intervene with life-saving warnings when an operator’s decision could lead to disaster.

What Else Does autoLOTO Bring to the Table?

autoLOTO addresses two key issues with its solutions and resources:

1. Boosting Efficiency – The company’s data shows that LOTO teams, which typically consist of six to ten people, can be reduced to just two. This shift frees up four to eight experienced electricians who are critical to protecting a company’s reputation, as well as that of the general contractor and client. By optimizing their roles, autoLOTO helps close the experience gap and shifts these skilled workers into leadership roles such as foremen, commissioning managers, or quality assurance managers, allowing them to mentor others and pass on their expertise.

2. Crowdsourcing Experience – autoLOTO makes institutional knowledge instantly accessible to anyone with an account. Its digital twin maps power flows on-site and validates all work with the client to ensure data accuracy. Even newcomers with no prior experience in data centers can access decades of expertise at their fingertips, consulting the knowledge of the most experienced professionals directly from their mobile devices.

The Numbers Speak for Themselves

The results of autoLOTO’s implementation have been extraordinary. The system has supported over 45 large-scale data center construction projects and overseen the safe delivery of more than 2.5 gigawatts of power infrastructure—without a single human-error-related LOTO incident. Industry data suggests that projects of this scale should have resulted in at least eight recordable incidents due to human error in LOTO processes. autoLOTO has effectively erased that statistic.

But safety isn’t the only benefit. autoLOTO has also proven to be over 90 percent more efficient than traditional LOTO methods. By streamlining planning, routing, reviewing, and approval processes, the platform saves tens of thousands of resource hours on major capital projects. This efficiency translates to fewer personnel needed for LOTO operations, reducing costs while maintaining the highest levels of safety.

Additionally, autoLOTO delivers unprecedented time savings, slashing LOTO program costs by two-thirds or more— redefining what’s possible in operational efficiency. Beyond this, the company resolves critical communication challenges by providing large teams and multiple contractors with instant and transparent communication. Acting as a centralized safety and coordination hub, autoLOTO bridges the knowledge gap between seasoned professionals and new team members, assuring expertise is shared across the workforce without delays or miscommunication.

A Game-Changer for a Hyperscale Data Center

One of autoLOTO’s clients, a major hyperscale data center operator, faced increased scrutiny due to multiple electrical safety incidents. Hazardous energy mismanagement had become a serious concern, threatening worker safety and project timelines. By adopting autoLOTO, the client completely transformed its LOTO processes. Today, the company is recognized as a model safety partner within its industry, securing additional contracts and increasing operational efficiency. More importantly, they have achieved zero human-error-related LOTO incidents, all while reducing their dedicated LOTO team from a large group to just two or three personnel.

A Vision for the Future

The next major milestone is the release of Generation III technology in April 2025, marking the final phase of autoLOTO’s evolution. While Generation I functioned as a smart checklist system and Generation II introduced digital twin technology with isolation logic, Generation III will enable the creation of procedure libraries that intelligently reference the digital twin. These libraries will store performance checklists and procedures in a global database, accessible to all clients across projects. Real-time feedback will be available for LOTO operations as well as any human performance-based activity, enhancing safety and efficiency across the board.

Following this, autoLOTO is set to launch its mechanical LOTO system, designed to handle non-electrical hazardous energy sources such as gas pressure, liquids, pneumatics, and gravitational energy. This system will integrate seamlessly into the existing autoLOTO platform, allowing companies to manage the complete isolation of systems.

Beyond that, autoLOTO is working on AI-enhanced tools for commissioning, expanding its capabilities into issue management, schedule integrations, commissioning management, and document storage—similar to platforms like CX Alloy and BIM 360.

Passion for safety and efficiency drives autoLOTO forward, ensuring that no worker ever has to suffer due to an outdated or error-prone system. As the industry continues to evolve, one thing is clear—autoLOTO isn’t just improving safety; it’s redefining what’s possible in energy isolation.