Mud Wrestling 2

The New Tag Team WORLD CHAMPS……………LOCKOUT/TAGOUT
 

By Allan Kaufman, Director, The Compliance Resource Center, www.thcrcenter.com


Have you ever watched professional wrestling?  One of the matches often shown is a tag team match.  Now you can have your own safety tag team. 
 
“Lockout/Tagout (LOTO)” refers to specific practices and procedures to safeguard employees from the unexpected energization or startup of machinery and equipment, or the release of hazardous energy during service or maintenance activities.  It is the number five (5) most fined area in OSHA.

Approximately 3 million workers service equipment and face the greatest risk of injury if lockout/tagout is not properly implemented. Compliance with the lockout/tagout standard (29 CFR 1910.147) prevents an estimated 120 fatalities and 50,000 injuries each year. The lockout/tagout standard’s formal name is The Control of Hazardous Energy, 29 CFR 1910.147. To get a copy of the full standard, all you need to do is visit a page of OSHA’s Web site at www.osha-slc.gov/OshStd_data/1910_0147.html.  Workers injured on the job from exposure to hazardous energy lose an average of 24 workdays for recuperation.
 
In a study conducted by the United Auto Workers (UAW), 20% of the fatalities (83 of 414) that occurred among their members between 1973 and 1995 were attributed to inadequate hazardous energy control procedures specifically, lockout/tagout procedures.  The two (2) main fined areas are failure to have policies and procedures and failure to do training.  Part of compliance means having GOOD written lockout/tagout policies and procedures, and a GOOD training program. 
 
Most professional athletics will tell you (even professional wrestlers), that a good and effective training program can often make the difference between a championship, or finishing near the bottom.  Watching some Chicago Cub baseball games, I can’t help but notice the number of mental errors the players make. 
 
 
 
 
 
Many of the baseball and safety errors can be dramatically reduced, by initiating a good training program and a continued refresher-training schedule.  Most Lockout/Tagout incidents occur when someone is trying to rush or has not been trained properly.  Make you team part of the LOCKOUT/TAGOUT World Champion Tag Team.
 
Below is a checklist, which I hope you will find useful in developing your Lockout/Tagout program.
 
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Lockout/Tagout Checklist  

YES NO Is all machinery or equipment capable of movement required to be de-energized, disengaged, or locked out during cleaning, servicing, adjusting, or set-up?
YES NO If the equipment or lines cannot be shut down, locked out, and tagged, is a safe job procedure established and rigidly followed?
YES NO Have all employees been trained not to start up machinery or equipment if it is locked out or tagged out?
YES NO Are all workers notified when the machinery or equipment they usually use is shut down and locked out for maintenance or servicing purposes?
YES NO After maintenance is completed, is the machinery checked to ensure non-essential items have been removed and the machine is operationally intact?
YES NO Before the machinery is activated, are employees removed from possible danger?
YES NO When the machinery is fully operational, are the employees notified?
YES NO Are all of the equipment control valve handles provided with a means for locking out?
YES NO Does the lockout procedure require that stored energy, whether it is mechanical, hydraulic or air, be released or blocked before the equipment is locked out for repairs?
YES NO Are appropriate employees provided with individually keyed personal safety locks?
YES NO Are the employees required to keep personal control of their keys while they have safety locks in use?
YES NO Is it required that only the employee exposed to the hazard install or remove the safety lock?
YES NO Is it required that employees check the safety lockout by attempting a start-up after making sure no one is exposed?
YES NO After the safety is checked, is the switch again placed in the “off” position?
YES NO Are employees instructed always to push the control circuit stop button before reenergizing the main power switch?
YES NO Is there a way to identify any or all employees who are working on locked out equipment by their locks or accompanying tags?
YES NO Are enough accident prevention signs, tags and safety padlocks provided for any reasonably foreseeable repair emergency?
YES NO Where the power disconnect equipment does not disconnect the electrical control circuit, are the appropriate electrical enclosures identified?
YES NO Where the power disconnect for equipment does not disconnect the electrical control circuit, is a means provided to assure the control circuit can be disconnected and locked out?
YES NO Is it prohibited to lock out control circuits in lieu of locking out main power disconnects?