Lockout/Tagout
Lockout/Tagout
Welcome to another HSI Safety Tip.
According to OSHA, failure to control hazardous energy accounts for nearly 10 percent of serious accidents in many industries.
Hazardous energy comes in various forms, including electricity, gravity, high pressure, steam, and mechanical energy.
To prevent accidents and injury from the release of hazardous energy, workers need to be knowledgeable in lockout/tagout procedures.
Lockout tagout is the process of preventing the flow of any type of hazardous energy into equipment an employee may be working on.
Lockout/tagout procedures are often implemented when a machine needs to be shut down for repairs or cleaning. Lockout is the use of a lock to prevent equipment start-up. Tagout is the placement of a tag along with the lock on an energy source to serve as a warning not to remove the lock. Tagout can also refer to when lockout cannot be used, to serve as a warning not to operate the piece of equipment.
Here is a sequence of lockout/tagout procedures for controlling hazardous energy:
Identify potential hazardous energy sources that need to be isolated through lockout-tagout and notify all affected employees of the lockout. If the equipment is operating, shut it down. Operate the switch, valve, or other energy isolating devices so that the energy source is disconnected or isolated from the equipment. Lockout energy isolating devices with an assigned individual lock and place the OSHA compliant tag, ensuring that it is strong and secure in place.
Make sure locks and tags have the strength and durability to withstand any conditions they may encounter, such as adverse weather. Stored energy, such as that in capacitors, springs, elevated machine members, rotating wheels, hydraulic systems, and air, gas, steam, or water pressure, must be dissipated or restrained by methods such as grounding, repositioning, blocking, or bleeding down. After ensuring that no employees are exposed and as a check on having disconnected the energy sources, operate the push-button or other normal operating controls, to make certain the energy sources are disconnected, and that the equipment will not operate. This is known as "try-out", a third step to ensure the protective system does indeed prevent the flow of energy. Make sure to return the operating controls to the neutral position after the test.
Until next time, remember: Your safety is worth the extra minute.