Lockout Tagout

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…...

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…...

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...

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…...

We have a machine and this machine has a couple of tasks that have been deemed “minor servicing”.  As we walk by we see a worker in the machine and no LOTO in place so of course we stop and ask about the situation.  We are told the task being done, “XXXXXXXX”, is indeed a…...