Tagout devices removal

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

Is each lockout/tagout device removed by the authorized employee who applied it [29 CFR 1910.147 (e)(2)(ii)]... 

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)]... 

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

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. 

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... 

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 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. 

Before lockout or tagout devices are removed and energy is restored to the machine, equipment, pipelines, or other sources of hazardous energy, procedures are to be followed and actions taken by the authorized employee(s) to ensure the following ... 

Each lockout or tagout device shall be removed from each energy-isolating device by the employee who applied the device. There may be an exception to this rule when the authorized employee, who applied the lockout our... 

When testing or positioning of machines, equipment, or components in situations in which lockout or tagout devices must be temporarily removed from the energy-isolating device and the machine or equipment energized to test or position the machine, equipment, or component thereof, the following sequence of actions shall be followed ... 

Each authorized employee shall affix a personal lockout or tagout device to the group lockout device, group lockbox, or comparable mechanism when the employee begins work and shall remove those devices when he or she stops working on the machine or equipment being serviced or maintained. 

Guards can be removed in order to perform repairs or to lubricate machines. Interlocks on trash compactors and other machines are intended to stop a machine when a guard or door has been opened. Speed governors and back up alarms on lift trucks are provided for the protection of employees and pedestrians. An example that must always be a high priority to prevent is removing a lockout and tagout device from an electrical box or machine, which can result in serious injury or death. 

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