The standard specifies several information collection requirements. The following sections describe who uses the information collected under each requirement and how they use it. These requirements aim to control the release of hazardous energy while workers service, maintain, or repair machines or equipment when activation, startup, or release of energy from an energy source is […]
The US Chemical Safety Board’s (CSB) most recent Safety Bulletin: Key Lessons from the ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery Isobutane Release and Fire was once again a great piece of work by the agency. But as with most incidents, other underlying issues may have contributed (or not) to the incident. In this bulletin, I could not help but notice
The OSHRC sided with the company that used Appendix A from 1910.147 as their machine-specific LOTO procedure. They did so without any revisions to the content of the Appendix, and the OSHRC found this as an acceptable machine-specific LOTO procedure!
A manufacturer of rigid metal, plastic, and hybrid containers faces $503,380 in proposed penalties after OSHA inspectors responded to four (4) separate reports of workers suffering injuries at the facility. As a result of its investigations, OSHA cited the business for five (5) repeated and five (5) serious safety violations of machine safety procedures and placed
I spent this week surrounded by safety pros who wanted to learn the finer details of safety; one day was dedicated to LOTO. I always get some questions about spending a day on LOTO… “what the heck are we going to talk about LOTO for 8 hours?”. I think that if you were to poll
At 11:57 a.m. on December 27, 2016, an employee, 27 years old, was performing a “salt flush” on line four 2,500 lb. double ribbon mixer. He/she dropped an 80 lb. bag of salt into the mixer. A coworker walked down to close the mixer trap door, and the deceased employee entered the mixer to
Recently IN-OSHA issued citations to the nation’s largest grocery store chain when management at one of their retail outlets removed a contractor’s LOTO lock without following their own (or the contractor’s lock removal procedures). We can get some idea as to what happened based on the citations, but bottom line… BEFORE cutting off a LOTO lock, procedures
A 38-year-old welder was fatally injured while doing maintenance on a large chip conveyor at a commercial wood chipping facility. A new conveyor system had been installed to move wood chips from a large chipper to the yard area. The system was operational but not complete. Two workers, including a welder, were working at the
OSHA promulgated the LOTO standard in 1989, nearly 30 years ago, and yet… This is the “classic failure” that brought about the LOTO standard – employee kills employee – so when your employees say it never happens, you can provide this. At 11:57 a.m. on December 27, 2016, an employee was performing a salt flush on
Those who manage Lockout-Tagout (LOTO) in a “processing operation” know first-hand how different LOTO is as compared to how its done in an “assembly line” style operation. I have always picked up some “Best Practices” for LOTO at the companies I worked for over the years and as a consultant, I have seen many more at some of my
In OSHA’s LOTO standard (1910.147), the agency included in their definition of a “lockout device” a “blank flange” and “bolted slip blind” when in fact, these devices are actually “energy isolation devices.” So why would OSHA consider these devices a “lockout device”? NOTE: I am not in agreement with this and have never called a “blank
In the Final Rule, OSHA determined that lockout is a surer means of ensuring equipment is de-energized than tagout and is the preferred method. However, the Agency also recognized that tagout will nonetheless need to be used instead of lockout where the energy control device cannot accept a locking device. Where an energy control device
