TenForce vs Zentri: Control of Work Compared

TenForce vs Zentri comes down to what is recorded while the work happens. TenForce, an established EHSQ suite, brings lockout and permits together in one workflow. Zentri's Lockout Tagout and Permit to Work modules record each lockout and permit live, to your SOP. The supervisor sees everyone is clear before restart, the issuer sees who is on each permit, and audit evidence is complete at close. Zentri is stronger on the live lockout record.

• Choose TenForce if you want lockout, permits, incidents, audits and quality from one proven EHSQ vendor.
• Choose Zentri if you want to see who is under the lock without walking the floor, permits built to your process and digitally linked to the lockout, and evidence ready before anyone asks. Each module is sold on its own or together.

See it with your own procedure: Book your Zentri demo today

Already have a TenForce demo booked? Skip to the six questions to ask TenForce.

TenForce vs Zentri at a glance

What is TenForce?

TenForce is an EHSQ platform (environment, health, safety and quality) from Leuven, Belgium, part of Elisa Industriq in Finland's Elisa group. Its 18 modules run from incident management to environmental reporting, with Lockout/Tagout and Permit to Work among the core modules. Control of work is its strongest ground, recognised by Verdantix in 2023 and 2026 (TenForce), and its permits gained rules that stop conflicting jobs in May 2026.

Where they differ

Who is under the lock

TenForce shows the lockout's status live. Zentri shows who is under it. TenForce lets supervisors track live lockout status across locations, and everyone involved sees it once a lockout starts (TenForce). In Zentri, everyone signs on from their phone, and the register shows who is on, waiting or signed off. The second verifier can't sign until the first has. The supervisor sees who is still on the job without walking the floor.

Tests and shift changes

TenForce catches a lock removed too early. Zentri tracks a planned test step by step. TenForce flags an early removal or a skipped step instantly, and links shift logs to isolations at handover. In Zentri, a test runs as a temporary removal session with a pre-check, only the points it needs, and a post-check. At each shift change, named verifiers re-walk every point. The crew tests without rebuilding the lockout, and the night shift inherits a verified isolation.

Digital permits, linked to the lockout

Both permits are configurable and linked to the lockout. Zentri also tracks the crew live. TenForce's permit types adapt to your hazards and approvals, and a permit is issued once its isolations are in place (TenForce). Zentri's permit carries your own sections, risk assessment, gas test and approvals, and crews sign on and off by phone. It is digitally linked to the lockout, and signing over an isolation that isn't ready is recorded with a reason. The issuer sees who is on the job, and the crew starts when the isolation is confirmed.

Proof at audit time

TenForce logs every lockout step. Zentri also records a signed inspection for each machine. TenForce time-stamps who completed each step and when each lock went on and came off (TenForce). In Zentri, every machine carries its own inspection clock, so none is missed, and the reviewer signs off the machine, date, employees and inspector, the four things OSHA asks for. Lockouts and permits share one full audit trail of every change, never edited or deleted. When the auditor arrives, the evidence is an export.

When TenForce is the better fit

• You want lockout and permits beside shift logs, contractor management and management of change, in one suite.
• You value a responsive vendor team that configures the suite with you, site by site.

When Zentri is the better fit

• You want one comprehensive lockout and permit-to-work solution that actively tracks the work as it happens, from the first sign-on to close-out.
• One valve isolates several machines, and you want it set up once for every lockout plan that needs it.
• You want evidence that holds up on the bad day: an OSHA inspection or an incident investigation.
• You have your own procedures and want the software built to them, customised where your SOP needs it.

Questions to ask TenForce in your demo

1. Can you configure this to our SOP, or do we change our SOP to fit your product?
2. Show a five-person lockout: who is signed on right now, and who verified each point?
3. How do we lift locks for a test without closing the lockout, and where is that recorded?
4. Is a valve that isolates several machines defined once, or in every procedure?
5. What is recorded if a permit is signed over an isolation that isn't in place?
6. Show one machine's last annual inspection and one lockout's audit trail: who did what, when?

Ask us the same six questions: Book your Zentri demo today

Switching from TenForce to Zentri

Your lockout procedures, machines and isolation points come through a guided import workbook, and your TenForce permit types are rebuilt as Zentri templates with your own phases and approvers. We configure both modules to your SOP, integrate the systems you already run, and train your team. A pilot site typically goes live in 4 to 8 weeks.

TenForce alternatives

1. Zentri: records each lockout and permit live, to your SOP.
2. CONFORMiT: an EHS suite built around lockout procedures, with permits.
3. Enablon: Wolters Kluwer's control of work, inside an EHS and ESG platform.
4. Sphera Control of Work: permits and isolations inside a process safety suite.

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Bring one of your TenForce lockout procedures or permits. In your demo we'll build it in Zentri live, to your SOP, so you see what your supervisor, crew and auditor each get. Book your Zentri demo today

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Related reading

• Best lockout tagout software: features to look for before you buy
• How to choose LOTO software: a 2026 buyer's guide
• Hot work and lockout/tagout: how to verify isolation
• Periodic LOTO review: how to prove your procedures still work