SAFETY
must hold the switches, valves, etc., in the “safe” or “off ” position. “Most equipment has more than one power source; make sure all of them — including backup systems, are deactivated and secured,” he says.
6) Release stored energy. Any potentially hazardous stored or residual energy from all sources and components must be released, relieved, disconnected or restrained. Review the lockout procedure to verify each energy source has been controlled. Grover states, “This is a critical step because a small amount of residual energy can be extremely harmful.”
The authorized employee
releases stored energy by: • Bleeding off pressure. • Blocking elevated parts in place.
• Draining lines.
• Letting equipment cool. • Discharging capacitors. • Other methods specifi ed in the lockout/tagout procedures.
7) Verifi cation. This last, crucial step ensures that the LOTO procedure has successfully isolated the machine or equipment from its energy sources. (The machine is in a “zero-energy state.”) To do this, the authorized employee may test the operational controls to verify that the equipment has no energy in the system. The verifi cation process could also include testing electrical systems with meters, checking gauges for pressure or temperature, and using test equipment. The employee should then return all controls that were tested to the off position so an unplanned startup does not occur when the energy is restored.
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DOMmagazine.com | aug 2017
Grover explains, “If a mechanic simply locks out a machine and goes to work without testing, he or she may be at risk. You may have locked out the wrong switch or there may have been a failure in some part of the isolation system, and that machine would still be active. But if you try to operate the machinery and see that nothing moves, you are assured that you can safely go to work.”
TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT When it comes to LOTO, Grover states there are some common missteps. The fi rst, and most common, he
says is insuffi cient training. Often employees “don’t realize when they need to lockout. They don’t fully understand how the machinery they work on is to be locked out because they weren’t trained,” he says. The other problem he sees is that
employees do not have what they need to lockout. “While the tools exist in the marketplace, or are already hanging on a lockout board in the maintenance department, they are not by the aircraft, and in the interest of saving time, employees may not go to get them,” he says.
The third problem is
overconfi dence, Grover says. Mechanics take a shortcut one time, and the machinery didn’t start up on them, so they think they can get away without lockout the next time. “Training for LOTO-authorized
workers should refl ect their job responsibilities and be based on the employer’s lockout compliance program (inclusive of OSHA regulations),” says Grover. “It must contain instruction and education on the hazardous energy sources they may be exposed to and the procedures they must
follow to work safely. There is an expectation that training involves both a classroom component and a hands-on portion to verify the understanding of the personnel being trained.” Finally, it’s not enough to only train authorized LOTO personnel. Supervisors on the fl oor must also be trained in LOTO procedures and be able to recognize defi ciencies in the performance of lockout by their personnel. In addition, OSHA requires the annual inspection of the competent performance of all authorized workers.” OSHA also requires that
written procedures be in place that describe the correct LOTO procedure for every piece of equipment, even those with only one energy source. These documents identify energy sources and list step-by-step instructions to LOTO, release stored energy and verify the equipment cannot be restarted. Grover adds that these procedures must be kept up to date and communicated to all LOTO- authorized employees. Manufacturers like Master Lock off er equipment that can assist with LOTO. These include specially designed lockout padlocks, adhesive tags for tagout, specialized training programs and more.
The key, says Grover, is to make
sure employees have access to this equipment. “There needs to be a suffi cient number of personal locks available,” he says. “For instance, a machine operator may need one or two locks because that’s the number of energy sources on their machine. But a maintenance worker may need a dozen personal locks because they may be working on three machines at the same time. Locks can be individually keyed or they can be keyed alike so that one key fi ts all 12 of this maintenance person’s locks.”
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