Tagout devices

Specific procedural steps for the placement, removal, and transfer of lockout or tagout devices and the responsibility for them and [OSHA Reference, 147(c)(4)(ii)]... 

Specific requirements for testing a machine or equipment to determine and verify the effectiveness of lockout devices, tagout devices, and other energy control measures ... 

Do lockout and tagout devices indicate the identity of the employee applying the devices [OSHA, 147(c)(5)(ii)(D)]... 

Do tagout devices warn against hazardous conditions if the machine or equipment is restarted or energized Do they contain a legend such as Do not start, etc [OSHA Reference, 147(c)(5)(iii)]... 

Are all affected employees given prior notification of the application and removal of lockout and tagout devices [OSHA Reference. 147(c)(9)]... 

Are tagout devices affixed to the energy isolating device or, when this is not possible, as close as safely possible ... 

Following the application of lockout or tagout devices, is all stored or residual energy relieved, disconnected, restrained, or otherwise rendered safe [OSHA Reference. 147(d)(5)]... 

Utilities need to establish programs to teach employees about the dangers of water under pressure and when a tagout device must be used. 

Are lockout/tagout devices easily recognizable and clearly visible ... 

Are lockout/tagout devices standard in either shape, color, or format ... 

Is each lockout/tagout device removed by the authorized employee who applied... 

Institute procedures for the release of lockout/tagout, including machine inspection, notification and safe positioning of employees, and the removal of a lockout/tagout device. 

Require that each lockout/tagout device be removed by the employee who applied the device. 

Are lockout/tagout devices adequate in design and number, readily accessible, and operable ... 

Motion Adjustments of the machinery at Station A and die changes must be made frequently. That is wasteful motion and adds risk. Also, the lockout/tagout device is over 100 feet from the machine. An arrangement of that sort is error-provocative and promotes risk taking. Getting to and from the device wastes time. 

Any prominent warning device, such as tag and a means of attachment, which can be securely fastened to an energy-isolating device in accordance with an established procedure. The tag indicates that the machine or equipment to which it is attached is not to be operated until the tagout device is removed in accordance with the energy control procedure. 

Remove the lockout devices and re-energize the machine or equipment. The employee who applied the device will remove each lockout/tagout device from each energy-isolating device. 

When the authorized employee who applied the lockout or tagout device is not available to remove it, that device may be removed under the direction of the supervisor, provided that specific procedures and training for such removal have been developed, documented, and incorporated into the lockout/tagout program. Specific procedures include the following elements ... 

Making all reasonable efforts to contact the authorized employee to inform him/her that his/her lockout or tagout device has been removed ... 

Verification That Employee Has Been Informed Before Coming Back to Work That His/Her Lockout/Tagout Device Has Been Removed... 

Mitigate Risk Quickly lockout equipment, and electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic and chemical energy with easy to use lockout/tagout devices... 

In very rare cases, a power source cannot be physically locked out. Tagout devices may be used in lieu of lockout devices only if the tagout program provides employee protection equivalent to that provided through a lockout program. 

When What Recordkeeping When What Recordkeeping Machines or eauipment Before lockout or tagout devices are removed and energy is restored. The authorized employee must inspect the work area to ensure that nonessential items have been removed and that machine or equipment components are operationally intact. None required. Employees Before lockout or tagout devices are removed and energy is restored. The authorized employee must check the work area to ensure that all employees have been safely positioned or moved. None required. 

When Before lockout or tagout devices are removed and energy is restored. 

The standard does not require that each authorized employee must be issued a lock. Employers can either issue lockout/tagout devices to each authorized employee, or maintain a supply and assign or distribute them as needed. This does not mean that all the locks can be opened with the same key. The employee who applies a lock must have the assurance that he s the only person who is able to remove it. If an employer implements a system where employees may not always use the same lock, procedures must be in place to control who has the keys to those locks. As a suggestion, a supervisor could keep the keys to shared locks and check-out/check-in the keys when authorized employees use them. 

OSHA says at 1910.147(c)(5)(ii) that lockout devices and tagout devices...shall not be used for other purposes.... ... 

OSHA requires at 1910.147(c)(9) that affected employees are to be notified by the employer (e.g., a supervisor) or authorized employee of the application and removal of lockout/tagout devices. The notifications are to be given before the controls are applied and after they are removed from the machine or equipment. 

Things get more complicated when the off-going employee will leave before workers on the next shift will arrive. In this situation, the procedure could allow for the off-going employee to apply a tagout device when he removes his lock. The tag indicates that the lock was removed, but that the machine is not to be re-energized. The on-coming employee would verify that the system was still de-energized, and would remove the interim tag and apply his lock. This would assure continuous protection from one shift to another. 

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