If you spend enough time working on Lockout/Tagout (LOTO), you are bound to come across some crazy situations. Luckily I have some world-class clients who allow me to share my “interesting finds” and encourage me to share with all of you. This most recent find was at an OSHA VPP STAR site. We have been hired to do program-specific audits each quarter, with an emphasis on energy control. This means even though I may be auditing flammable liquids this quarter, I am ALWAYS auditing LOTO and conducting “periodic inspections” (and yes, I am an “authorized employee” within their LOTO program – I wrote it, wrote 99% of the machine-specific control plans, and still do all the LOTO training at the facility). For the most part, this facility KNOWS LOTO and LIVES IT DAILY; but we all have flaws – no one or no facility is perfect. Hence why we need LAYERS of PROTECTION in all our safety efforts. So today, I was making my rounds talking with everyone and came across one of the safety committee members who was cleaning a piece of equipment. He knew I was there to do an audit, as he had previously participated in many audits with me. He was PROUD and CONFIDENT of his ability to meet all LOTO requirements. But, the good will end there. Here is the image of his electrical isolation – do you see anything wrong?
More LOTO Adventures (photo)