These ten principles sum up what Lockout/Tagout is ALL ABOUT. Always remember…LOTO is ALL ABOUT YOU, and it is NOT a team activity!
- LOTO applies every time you remove a guard, bypass a guard, or place any part of your body into the point of operation during servicing or maintenance activities.
- LOTO protects YOU from the unexpected energization, start-up, or release of stored energy.
Safety interlocks, light curtains, and emergency stops are safety control circuits and are NOT to be used in lieu of LOTO during any servicing or maintenance activities. NOTE: there are some exceptions for those tasks: ROUTINE, REPETITIVE, and INTEGRAL. - LOTO is ALL about YOU having 100% EXCLUSIVE CONTROL of ALL the energy isolation devices protecting YOU! ONLY YOU can lock out an energy source for YOUR protection; NEVER rely on anyone else’s lock to protect YOU.
- LOTO REQUIRES that a ZERO energy state be obtained; ZERO is ZERO!
- NEVER share or pass on keys to your LOTO locks.
- LOTO Locks MUST BE identified as such, either by shape, color, or size;
- LOTO Locks MUST identify who placed the lock on the isolation device
- LOTO Locks can NEVER be used for anything other than LOTO (i.e., can not be used for personal security, quality reasons, etc.); other locks must be used for these efforts.
- NEVER use On/Off buttons or switches to perform a LOTO; these buttons/switches are NOT energy isolation devices but instead are “control” devices. We MUST go back to the true energy isolation device for that energy source (i.e., electrical break, electrical disconnect, etc.)
- ALWAYS verify ZERO energy BEFORE starting work (e.g., use pressure gauges, and temperature gauges, try to start equipment, etc.)