03 Jun. 2021

Lockout Tagout – Ensure Before Start Performing any Maintenance or Servicing Activity:

Lockout/tagout (LOTO) is the procedure necessary to prevent unwanted operation of an equipment (or part of it), preventing the release of hazardous energy during servicing and maintenance activities.

LOTO is an important safety component to your workplace. It is critical to safeguard workers and employees around the machinery and equipment they operate, service and maintain.

Critical Requirements:

• All energy sources are disconnected and LOTO is in place prior to any servicing or maintenance activity.
• Absence of residual energy must be verified before start of work.
• Lockout/Tagout must be implemented before servicing and maintenance is performed on machines and equipment, unless the works undertaken are performed using alternative measures that provide effective protection.
• Each authorized person must be issued with an individual lock with a unique key.

 Key Considerations:

When planning Lockout/Tagout make sure:

• All steps to de-energise and re-energise are defined.
• All isolating devices are identified.
• All Lockout/Tagout equipment is available.
• Persons performing Lockout/Tagout are trained and qualified.
• Persons affected by Lockout/Tagout (e.g. machine drivers) are informed.

When performing works, ensure:

• One Person, One Lock, One Key, is always applied.
• All energies are purged, dissipated or blocked.
• Absence of residual energy is properly checked.
• Lockout/Tagout procedures are followed with proper equipment.

Prior to unlock the equipment:

• Make sure all guards, interlocks and safety devices are in place.
• Inform concerned persons.

Essential Steps to Follow for LOTO Safety:

One of the biggest failures of lockout/tagout procedures is the failure to isolate all energy sources prior to beginning work on a machine. These sources include, but are not limited to:

• Thermal
• Hydraulic
• Chemical
• Electrical
• Pneumatic
• Mechanical
• Force of gravity

Without isolating all potential energy sources, workers can – and often do – experience injuries or death. That’s why following each step of a LOTO program is critical to your success. Let’s look at the individual steps in more detail.

Preparation

Before initiating the procedure, plan it out:

• What needs to happen?
• Who is responsible for each part of the process?
• What are the potential hazards?
• What energy do you need to control in order for LOTO to be effective?

Shut Down

After you have a plan, you’ll need to power down the machines for LOTO to occur. It’s a good idea to let all employees know that LOTO is about to take place, even if they aren’t a direct part of the repair or maintenance. This can help create a heightened level of safety awareness.

Isolation

Once the machine has been powered down, you should isolate the machine’s power source(s). Turning off a power breaker, unplugging it from an outlet, closing a valve – whatever you need to do to ensure no power is running to any part of the machine.

Lockout Tagout

Once the machine is “dead”, you should perform the actual lockout and tagout. This step requires standard devices that show a piece of equipment is disabled and being worked on. Employees will know not to turn power back on to the machine, try to use the machine, or otherwise tamper with the repair or maintenance site.

The lockout/tagout devices are applied to each energy source in a way that they stay in a “safe” mode and cannot be moved to an unsafe mode by anyone other than the person performing the lockout tagout. These devices typically have the name of the person performing the tasks and other information. This is the arguably the most crucial step in LOTO because it prevents tampering from occurring. Even when all prior steps have been completed, accidents can still happen if proper LOTO techniques have not been applied.

Stored Energy Check

Even after stopping the machine’s power, a machine may have stored energy that could be hazardous. Check for residual energy and relieve the machine of it prior to beginning work.

Isolation Verification

Go back and double check all your steps to ensure you’ve completed each one properly. An authorized employee should verify the completion of lockout/tagout and give the green light to begin work.