Sooner or later, all electrically powered machinery requires maintenance, repair or inspection. Naturally, working in and around high-voltage machines is inherently dangerous. If a machine starts up accidentally, the results could be catastrophic in terms of injury or death to the workers and, secondarily, cause costly damage to the machinery. When the MRO time comes, the unit must be taken off line, powered down and secured.

U. S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard 29 CFR, Part 1910.147 establishes minimum performance requirements for the control of hazardous energy, commonly known as Lockout/Tagout, or LOTO.

Lockout/Tagout Basics

These rules apply to industrial manufacturing, aerospace, oil and gas, metalworking shops, and similar operations. Employee safety is paramount. Here are the basics you should know:

1. You need a LOTO program —OSHA requires employers to establish a program and procedures for affixing lockout or tagout devices to energy isolating apparatus, and to disable machines or equipment from energizing, activating or releasing stored energy unexpectedly.

• Lockout vs. Tagout —A lockout device is a key or tag that secures an energy isolating device in the “safe” position; it prevents the device from being energized. A tagout is a warning device indicating that the equipment cannot be operated until the tagout is removed. OSHA mandates that if a device cannot be locked out, then a tagout procedure must be used. The tagout procedure must provide the same level of employee protection as a lockout procedure.

• Equipment — Employers are required to provide LOTO equipment, which is specific for LOTO operations and, to avoid confusion, cannot be used for any other purpose. LOTO equipment must be durable and able to withstand whatever environmental conditions are present. They must be identifiable, difficult to accidentally remove or vandalize, and standardized in terms of use in a facility (by color, shape or size). LOTO tags must be installed or removed only by authorized personnel, and each tag should normally be removed by the worker who installed it.

• Inspection — LOTO procedures and responsibilities must be reviewed annually by an inspector from outside the crews who do the routine LOTO work.

• Training — OSHA directs employers to adequately train all LOTO-engaged workers in proper procedures, precautions and use of equipment while performing their duties.

• Testing — When a machine must be tested during the MRO operation,the OSHA protocol is as follows: (a) remove tools and materials, (b) clear employees from the area, (c) remove LOTO devices, (d) energize and proceed with testing.

• Group LOTO — Specific rules govern shift or team work where multiple people have LOTO responsibilities, including the orderly transfer of LOTO “custody” to ensure worker safety.

Need help?

For assistance in setting up OSHA-compliant LOTO procedures or with product selection, turn to BlackHawk. We’ll connect you with our industry partner experts. These suppliers have the savvy about all aspects of hazardous energy management regulations. Between their guidance and our breadth of products, we’ll find the right solution for your facility. This service is free.

Blackhawk offers more than 1600 LOTO products, including lockout tags for circuit breakers, switches, cables and more. We also carry a full selection of hasps, padlocks, lockout management stations and labels as well as training materials, signage and key control systems. We can equip your workers with personal protection gear for LOTO work, including insulating gloves and boots, and proper tools such as insulated pliers.

Download an OSHA Lockout/Tagout Fact Sheet here.

For any questions about products sold by BlackHawk, give us a call. We’re happy to help. Our mission is to provide innovative, value-added services and products that reduce our customer’s total cost. Feel free to contact us for more information.

BlackHawk Industrial

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Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74012

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