Most facilities will have a piece of equipment that is so large and complex that it will entail isolating many sources of all types of energy in order to get the entire system to a zero energy state (ZES). But what do we do when we have a task that involves exposure to only one…...
This is SIGNIFICANT for those who truly believe in the purpose and function of OSHA’s LOTO standard. I was never more disappointed in an ALJ than after they decided to vacate such a clear violation of LOTO. I may have even said, “Why do lawyers/judges make for bad safety professionals.” This fatality involved an apprentice…...
Have you ever been told… “it moves too slow to be a hazard”? If you stay in the safety profession long enough, you will be presented with this viewpoint. But LOTO is NEVER about how slow something moves; there is no exemption in the standard for such a thing. Here is a case we can…...
This is a written explanation of how I was taught to perform Group Lockout and how to manage contractors working on-site under a Group Lockout. There are many things in this document that are NOT required by OSHA; however, they are in the program to ensure compliance with OSHA’s minimum expectations. We did it this…...
If we had a dime for each time we get pushback on the most fundamental aspect of Lockout/Tagout (LOTO), we could all retire! NEVER is an authorized employee allowed to work under someone else lock – PERIOD! When servicing and maintenance that requires LOTO is performed, then EACH authorized worker MUST HAVE EXCLUSIVE CONTROL of…...
If you have equipment that uses compressed air (CA) as an energy source, you will understand my frustrations with how poorly we manage this hazardous energy source. Typically, compressed air is provided via a plant-wide header system with drops for machine/equipment. These drops will then use a hose to deliver the compressed air to the…...
LOTO locks can be keyed alike. For example, equipment/field locks can all be keyed to a SINGLE key; however, personal/individual locks MUST BE individually keyed (e.g., 1 key – 1 lock). Before starting work ask yourself this simple but very important question: Do I have EXCLUSIVE/SOLE control of each and every isolation device protecting ME? …...
One of the more popular findings in our LOTO assessments/audits involves the lack of specific procedures for verifying a zero energy state (ZES) for EACH energy source. The LOTO standard, 1910.147, makes it clear that the energy control procedure must be “specific.”…… Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready...
The client has approved this posting as they want to make sure others can learn from their incident. PLEASE discuss this incident with your teams if your LOTO practice(s) resemble theirs – what they did was VERY COMMON and I teach this method in all my LOTO courses at process plants. I have revised my…...
Earlier today I posted a recent OSHA citation where a facility was cited for not having procedures regarding the means to isolate and verify ZES for pneumatic energy sources (i.e. plant air). For some reason, on nearly all of my LOTO projects I find that air sources are a bastardized source of energy when it…...
This OSHA citation involves items other than LOTO. Still, the LOTO citations caught my eye precisely because the equipment-specific procedures did NOT state how pneumatic sources (e.g., air) were to be verified at a Zero Energy State (ZES). The means to verify a ZES is a critical step in LOTO, and far too often, the…...
In 2014, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) issued a judgment on an OSHA case, and in the case, they made it clear that “magnitude” matters in lockout/tagout (LOTO). But for some reason, this piece of data is absent from many machine-specific LOTO procedures and OSHA always takes issue with this oversight. So…...
