New Grant Targets One of Industry's Most Persistent Fatal Risks

PITTSBURGH, PA – April 15, 2026 – A new strategic partnership is taking aim at one of the most persistent and deadly hazards in the industrial workplace. The McElhattan Foundation has awarded a $200,000 grant to the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) Foundation to reduce the number of serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs) caused by the uncontrolled release of hazardous energy.

The funding is set to accelerate a novel program designed to move companies beyond basic compliance and foster a deeper, more practical culture of safety surrounding a procedure known as lockout/tagout.

The Unseen and Unforgiving Hazard

In manufacturing plants, processing facilities, and worksites across the country, workers who service or maintain machinery face a daily, often invisible threat: the sudden and unexpected startup of equipment. This can involve energy sources that are electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, or thermal. The failure to properly control this energy—a process formally called lockout/tagout (LOTO)—can lead to horrific consequences, including electrocution, crushing, amputations, and death.

Despite decades of regulation, the danger remains acute. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard for “The Control of Hazardous Energy” was the fifth most frequently cited violation in fiscal year 2024, with over 2,600 violations, indicating a widespread gap between rules and reality. OSHA estimates that adherence to its LOTO standard prevents up to 120 fatalities and 60,000 injuries annually, yet catastrophic incidents continue to occur.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) paints a grim picture. In 2023, 48 worker deaths occurred during maintenance, cleaning, or testing of equipment—precisely the moments when machines should have been safely de-energized. These statistics underscore a fundamental challenge in workplace safety: a written procedure is not the same as a protected worker. Many incidents occur not from a lack of rules, but from a failure in their application, whether due to incomplete shutdown, the release of stored energy, or another worker accidentally reactivating a machine.

“The control of hazardous energy remains a leading cause of serious injuries and fatalities in the workplace,” said Linda Tapp, president of ASSP. “The unexpected release of energy from machines, equipment and processes can harm workers, damage property and disrupt business operations.”

A Philanthropic Mission to End Death on the Job

The grant represents a focused effort from two organizations deeply embedded in the mission of workplace safety. The McElhattan Foundation, a private family foundation established in 2017, grew from the legacy of Industrial Scientific Corporation, a company renowned for its life-saving gas-monitoring devices. This background informs the foundation's primary philanthropic goal: “Ending Death on the Job by 2050.”

This mission drives the foundation to invest in innovative approaches that go beyond traditional safety measures. Rather than funding the purchase of standard safety equipment or routine employee training, McElhattan seeks to support systemic changes and new models that can eliminate hazards at their source. This grant is a prime example of their strategy to “double down on what’s working” by partnering with leading organizations to scale effective programs.

“We are thrilled to support ASSP’s lead role in closing the gap between occupational health and safety regulations and real-world industry best practices,” stated Jocelyn Horner Kelly, executive director of the McElhattan Foundation. She applauded the launch of what she called “an innovative new model designed to protect workers’ lives through research, knowledge sharing and collaborative implementation.”

Partnering with the ASSP Foundation leverages the society's century-long expertise. Since 1911, ASSP has been a cornerstone of the occupational safety field, representing over 35,000 professionals and developing key voluntary consensus standards, including the ANSI/ASSP Z244.1 standard, “The Control of Hazardous Energy – Lockout, Tagout and Alternative Methods.”

Beyond the Rulebook: A New Model for Safety

The core of the new initiative is the development of a Standards-Based User Group (SBUG) focused specifically on lockout/tagout. An SBUG is not another manual or checklist; it is a structured peer network of companies and safety leaders committed to a common goal. The model is designed to bridge the often-significant gap between what senior leadership believes is happening and the reality on the shop floor.

This collaborative approach encourages participating organizations to share successes, failures, and practical solutions in a confidential, non-competitive environment. The focus is on translating the dense language of safety standards, like Z244.1, into consistent, repeatable actions for frontline workers.

Instead of simply asking, “Are we compliant?” the SBUG model pushes members to ask, “Are we truly safe, and how can we get better?” It involves shared learning, benchmarking against peers, and vetting best practices that have been proven effective in real-world industrial settings.

This peer-to-peer framework is designed to address the nuanced challenges of hazardous energy control that a one-size-fits-all regulation cannot. It helps organizations tackle complex issues like developing procedures for non-routine tasks, managing group lockouts for large projects, and implementing effective alternative protection methods when a full lockout is not feasible. By fostering a community of practice, the SBUG aims to accelerate the adoption of life-saving techniques far more quickly than a single organization could achieve on its own.

The collaboration between the McElhattan Foundation and ASSP represents a modern approach to an old problem, combining targeted philanthropic investment with deep subject-matter expertise. By empowering professionals to learn from one another, this initiative aims to turn regulatory requirements into a deeply ingrained safety culture, with the ultimate goal of ensuring every worker who services a machine can do so with the confidence that they will return home safely at the end of their shift.