Lockout tagout is a safety procedure that involves physically locking out and tagging equipment’s power sources to prevent accidental energization during repairs and maintenance. It is a key part of OSHA regulations and requires training, written procedures, and regular inspections. Lockout and tagout devices are available from safety equipment companies and must comply with legal requirements.
Lockout tagout, also referred to as lockout/tagout, is a series of safety procedures designed to protect workers from injury. Lockout tagout is a key part of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations that are designed to make American workplaces safer, and many other nations have safety systems similar to the lockout tagout method in place.
People use lockout tagout on live equipment that has more than one power source. The system involves physically locking out the equipment’s power sources so they cannot be turned on and tagging the lockouts to indicate that lockout tagging has taken place. As long as the equipment is locked out and tagged out, it should be safe to carry out repairs and maintenance, because there will be no chance of the equipment being accidentally energized. Using this system dramatically reduces the risk of injury anywhere from the factory floor to the physics lab.
A good missing tagout program has several components. The first is training for all authorized and interested employees. Authorized employees are people who can perform a block tagout, such as the people who operate the presses at a newspaper. Affected employees are people who need to be aware of the procedures because their job or their work could be affected. Equally important are written procedures describing the lockout tagout process, identifying all energy sources and moving parts of equipment, and identifying authorized employees, as well as regular inspections to confirm employees are compliant.
In a lockout tagout, the authorized employee first locks out all energy sources from being activated, along with any moving parts that could cause injury. Then, he tags all locks with a tag containing identifying information and a warning that the tags and locks can only be removed by the authorized employee who installed them. Once work on the equipment is complete, the authorized employee confirms that the area is clear, removes tags and lockouts, and restarts the machine.
Lockout and tagout devices are available from many companies that carry workplace safety equipment. Companies can also generate their own tagout devices, such as photo badges of authorized employees that make them easy to identify. The tags are non-reusable, ensuring there is no confusion when a piece of equipment is tagged, and lockout devices must comply with certain legal requirements designed to ensure they can only be removed by the authorized employee and cannot be accidentally breached.
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