2018-11-29EHSBestPractice-ControlofHazardousEnergy

BestPracticesforControlofHazardousEnergy(Lockout/Tagout)

Scope

ThescopeofthisbestpracticecoverstheControlofHazardousEnergy,commonlyreferredto

asLockout/Tagout.ThisactivityisregulatedbyOSHAunder29CFR1910.147andthereader

mustbethoroughlyfamiliarwiththisregulation.Althoughthisbestpracticeprovides

commentaryoncertainaspectsoftheregulation,itisnotintendedtobeusedinlieuofthe

regulation.Controlofhazardousenergyiscriticaltoprotectingworkersfrompotentiallyfatal

orseriousinjuries,andaneffectiveprogramwillprotectemployeesfrominjuryduetothe

unexpectedenergizationofequipment.

KeyPoints

• WebelieveyouwillfindtheEnergyControlProcedureattheendofthisdocumentfar

moreusefulthantheEnergyControlProceduresampleprovidedinAppendixAofthe

regulation.

• Whenapplyinglockoutdevicesonvalves,makesurethevalvecannotbeoperated.

• Audityourfacilitytoensurethatpersonallockoutlocksandenergyisolation

locks/devicesareONLYusedforthispurpose.Agoodplacetostartonanauditare

locksonpersonallockers.

• Formultiple-daylockouts,bestpracticeistoremovepersonallocksattheendofthe

shiftandtoreapplythemwhentheemployeesreturnthefollowingday.Thisminimizes

thechancethatwhenthejobiscompleted,personallocksremainforworkerswhoare

noton-site.

• Insituationswheregrouplockoutboxesareemployed,itiscriticalthatthegrouplock

boxesbeclearlylabeledandrecordedontheEnergyControlProcedure.Nearmisses

haveoccurredwhenamechanicorcontractorhasappliedtheirpersonallocktothe

wronglockbox.Thisissueshouldbeaddressedduringpre-taskbriefingswhenmultiple

grouplockoutboxesareinuse.

• Commerciallyavailablegrouplockoutboxesvaryinquality.Ensurethattheboxes

cannotbeeasilytamperedwithtoimproperlyremovekeys.

• Tagoutinsteadoflockoutisstronglydiscouraged.

• Requiredperiodic(atleastannual)inspectionsofEnergyControlProcedurescanbe

streamlinedbygroupingenergycontrolproceduresforsimilarequipmentand

magnitudesofenergy.

• AnannualreviewofthewrittenEnergyControlProgramisrecommendedinadditionto

therequiredannualperiodicinspection(audit)oftheEnergyControlProcedures.

• Annualrecurringtrainingisstronglyrecommended.

2018-11-29EHSBestPractice-ControlofHazardousEnergy

TypesofHazardousEnergy

Hazardousenergycomesinmanyforms.Theseinclude,butarenotlimitedtoelectrical,

mechanical,hydraulic,pneumatic,chemical,thermal,gravity(suspendedloads)andradiation.

Insomecases,theenergymaybestoredandmustbeaddressedandrenderedsafe.Examples

ofstoredenergyincluderesidualgasorliquidpressureinapipeline,springenergy,stored

electricityinacapacitororbattery,etc.

EnergyControlProgram

EveryfacilityisrequiredtohaveadocumentedEnergyControlProgram.Thisistypicallyinthe

formofadocumentedsafeworkpracticespecifictothissubject.OSHArequiresthefollowing

threeelements:EstablishedEnergyControlProcedures,employeetrainingandannualprogram

reviews.Bestpracticerequiresthefollowing:

• Establishrolesandresponsibilities

• Definethescopeoftheprogramandanyexceptionsthatmayapplytotroubleshooting

andnormalproductionoperationactivities(e.g.,openingvalves/hatchestoaddraw

materials)

• Specifywhatpersonallocksthatmaybeusedandprovisionsforuseof“grouplockout

boxes”(discussedbelow)

• Defineanyspecialprovisionsrequiredforlockoutduringconfinedspaceentry

• DevelopablankchecklistfortheannualreviewsofEnergyControlProcedures.

• Setproceduresforremovalofapersonallockbysomeoneotherthantheindividualwho

installedit.

• ReviewtheEnergyControlProgramperiodically,butnolessthanonceeachyear.

EnergyControlProcedures

Foreachspecificequipmentitemtobeisolated,developanEnergyControlProcedure,

sometimescalledanenergycontrolchecklist,equipmentisolationchecklistorsomeother

similarname.Thisdocumentidentifieseachisolationpointinchecklistformtorecordwho

appliedthelockateachlocation,whoindependentlyverifiedthelockapplication,andwhenit

wasremoved.Thesearetypicallypreparedwellinadvance(thelistingofisolationpoints)and

keptonfileuntilneeded.Foruniquelockoutsthatcan’tbeanticipated,ablankEnergyControl

Procedurecanbeusedandfilledinbyhandimmediatelypriortoequipmentlockout.

OSHAstatesthefollowingasregardsEnergyControlProcedures:

“Theenergy-controlproceduresmustoutlinethescope,purpose,authorization,rules,and

techniquesthatemployeeswillusetocontrolhazardousenergysources,aswellasthemeans

thatwillbeusedtoenforcecompliance.Theseproceduresmustprovideemployeesatleastthe

followinginformation:

• Astatementonhowtousetheprocedures;

• Specificproceduralstepstoshutdown,isolate,block,andsecuremachines;

2018-11-29EHSBestPractice-ControlofHazardousEnergy

• Specificstepsdesignatingthesafeplacement,removal,andtransferoflockout/tagout

devicesandidentifyingwhohasresponsibilityforthelockout/tagoutdevices;and

• Specificrequirementsfortestingmachinestodetermineandverifytheeffectivenessof

lockoutdevices,tagoutdevices,andotherenergy-controlmeasures.”

Regardingthelastbulleteditemontestingmachinestoverifytheeffectivenessofthelockout,

therearesomekeypointsregardingelectricalmotors.Electricalmotorscanpresentunique

riskswhentestingtoverifythattheyareproperlylockedout.Forexample,amotorthatwas

notproperlyisolatedmaynotstartwhentestedduetoaninterlockortimerunrelatedtothe

lockout,givingfalseindicationthatthelockoutwaseffective.Thisriskcanbeaddressedby

havingaqualifiedelectricianinstallatestbuttonthatbypassesalltimersandinterlocks.

Anotherwaytoaddresstheriskofanimproperelectricalmotorlockoutistohaveaqualified

electricianparticipateinthetesting/verificationsteptoensurethatthelockoutiseffective.

Energycontrolproceduresaretobeinspectedperiodically,atleastannually.OSHAhas

clarifiedinaletterofinterpretationtoallowgroupingofenergycontrolproceduresforsimilar

equipmentandmagnitudesofenergyforthepurposesofperiodicinspections.Thisstreamlines

theperiodicinspectionprocess.Ensuretheseinspectionsaredocumented.

EnergyIsolationDevicesandLockoutDevices

OSHAdefinesanEnergyIsolationDeviceas“amechanicaldevicethatphysicallypreventsthe

transmissionorreleaseofenergy,includingbutnotlimitedtothefollowing:Amanually

operatedelectricalcircuitbreaker;adisconnectswitch;amanuallyoperatedswitchbywhich

theconductorsofacircuitcanbedisconnectedfromallungroundedsupplyconductors,and,in

addition,nopolecanbeoperatedindependently;alinevalve;ablock;andanysimilardevice

usedtoblockorisolateenergy.Pushbuttons,selectorswitchesandothercontrolcircuittype

devicesarenotenergyisolatingdevices.”

OSHAdefinesaLockoutDeviceas“adevicethatutilizesapositivemeanssuchasalock,either

keyorcombinationtype,toholdanenergyisolatingdeviceinasafepositionandpreventthe

energizingofamachineorequipment.Includedareblankflangesandboltedslipblinds.”Per

OSHA,lockoutdevicesmustbe:

• Standardizedbycolor,shape,orsizeandonlyusedforthispurpose.

• Substantial

• Identifiable

Someenergyisolationdevicesareeasiertoapplyalockoutdevicethanothers,buttherearea

remarkablenumberofdevicescommerciallyavailabletolockoutalmostanything.Valvesare typicallylockedoutwithchainsorthevalvemayhavealigningholestoapplyalockwhenthe

valveisintheclosedposition.Whenlockingvalves,ensurethatthevalvecan’tbeoperated.

2018-11-29EHSBestPractice-ControlofHazardousEnergy

Whenremovingisolationdevices,itisgoodpracticetohaveaknowledgeableemployee

completeafieldinspectiontoassurealldevicesareremovedpriortostartup.

PersonalLockoutDevices

Locksappliedbyindividualsmustidentifyindividualusers.Thiscanbedonebyaffixingatagto

thelockwiththisinformationorwritingthisinformationdirectlyonthelock,ifthelockis

designedtodoso.PerOSHA,personallocksforlockoutmustbe:

• Standardizedbycolor,shape,orsizeandonlyusedforthispurpose.

• Substantial

• Identifiable

Thefacility’sEnergyControlProgramshoulddocumentthespecificlocktobeused.Itishighly

recommendedthatthefacilityaudititselftoensurethatthislockisn’tbeingusedforanyother

purpose.Agoodplacetostarttheinspectioniswithlocksappliedtopersonallockers.

Personallocksmustberemovedonlybythepersonwhoinstalledit.Bestpracticeistoremove

personallockseachdayandreapplythemthefollowingday.Thisminimizesthechancethat

whenthejobiscompleted,personallocksremainforworkerswhoarenoton-site.

EnsureyourEnergyControlProgramhasaproceduretoremovealockforanindividualwho

hasleftthefacility.Thistypicallyinvolvesattemptingtocontacttheindividual,involvingthe

SafetyDepartment,documentingremoval/cuttingofthelock,andcommunicationtothe

individual.It’sveryimportanttocommunicatetotheworkerofthelockremoval.Thiswill

preventtheworkerfromresumingworkuponhisorherreturn,assumingthatthepersonallock

isstillinplace.Ifpersonnelareissuedabadgetoenterthefacility,considershuttingoffaccess

tothefacilityuntilthiscommunicationcanoccur.

GroupLockoutBoxes

Theregulationallowsforthefacility’sEnergyControlProgramtoincludeprovisionsforagroup

lockoutsystem,aslongasthesamelevelofprotectionisprovidedtopersonnel.Thegroup

lockoutboxcanmakeequipmentisolationmoreefficientandequallyeffectivewhenthereare

multipleusersandmultiplelockoutdevicekeysbeingused.Individualpersonallocksarethen

appliedtothegrouplockoutbox.

Onlargeturnarounds,theremaybemultiplegrouplockoutboxesemployedfordifferent

processequipment.Nearmisseshaveoccurredwhentheemployeeaffixeshisorherpersonal

locktothewronggrouplockoutbox.Communicationmustbeclear,andapre-taskbriefingisa

goodwaytodothis.Anotherlevelofprotectionistoclearlyidentifyontheenergyisolation

procedurethenameornumberoftheapplicablegrouplockoutbox.

2018-11-29EHSBestPractice-ControlofHazardousEnergy

Commerciallyavailablegrouplockoutboxesvarysignificantlyinquality.Examinetheseto

ensurethatkeyscan’tfalloutorthattheboxcan’tbeeasilytamperedwithtoimproperly

removekeys.Ideally,agrouplockoutboxhasatransparentcoverwithhookstodisplaythe

keysforthelockoutdevices.

Tagout

AlthoughOSHAallowstheuseoftagoutinlieuoflockout,thetagoutmustprovidethesame

levelofprotectionaslocks.Bestpracticeistocompletelyavoiduseofatagout-onlysystem.

DeviceswithaSingleIsolationPoint

“CordandPlug”Devices

PerOSHA,thesedevicesareexemptfromthelockoutstandard.However,ifthereisa

secondisolationpoint,suchasacompressedairline,theexemptionwouldnotapply.

OSHAstates:“Workoncordandplugconnectedelectricequipmentforwhichexposure

tothehazardsofunexpectedenergizationorstartupoftheequipmentiscontrolledby

theunpluggingoftheequipmentfromtheenergysourceandbytheplugbeingunder

theexclusivecontroloftheemployeeperformingtheservicingormaintenance.”

OtherEquipmentIsolatedbyaSingleIsolationPoint

Thesedevicesfallundertheregulation,butarenotrequiredtohaveanEnergycontrol

procedure.

EmployeeTraining

OSHArequiresinitialemployeetrainingandrecurringtraining.OSHAstatesthatrecurring

trainingshouldoccurwhenwheneverthereisachangeintheirjobassignments,achangein

machines,equipmentorprocessesthatpresentanewhazard,whenthereisachangeinthe

energycontrolprocedures,orwhentheperiodic(annual)inspectionrevealsdeviationsor

deficiencies.Bestpracticeforrecurringtrainingistodothisonascheduledbasis(e.g.every

year,everyotheryear)andalsotoconsiderincidentandnearmisshistorywhenestablishinga

frequency.

Disclaimer: The statements contained in this publication are suggestions to enhance performance of certain activities. There is no warranty or guarantee that following these suggestions will prevent each and every incidence of personal injury or property damage. Neither Pine Chemicals Association International nor any of its agents, officers, employees, consultants or contractors, warrants the accuracy, reliability, completeness or timeliness of any information published here and shall not be liable for any losses caused by such reliance on the accuracy, reliability, completeness or timeliness of this information, including, but not limited to, incidental or consequential damages. This publication is provided without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, an implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, compliance or non-infringement. The recipient of this information is responsible for compliance with all applicable restrictions, regulations, statutes or other standards or conditions.

2018-11-29EHSBestPractice-ControlofHazardousEnergy

SAMPLEENERGYCONTROLPROCEDURE

Date:__________________EquipmenttobeIsolated: Reasonforisolation: WorkOrderNumber(s):

Equipment

(DescriptionorLocation)Example:T-1AgitatorMotor

Note1

DescribeActionTaken

KeyNumber

InitialsofPerson(s)Isolating

Equipment

InitialsofPerson(s)

TestingandVerifying

InitialsofPerson(s)UnlockingEquipment

InitialsofPerson(s)ConfirmingUnlocking

(OptionalColumn)

Comments

open/close/dis-connect,etc.

Addmorerowsasneeded.

Note 1. Magnitude of energy being isolated is ≤ 150 psig and ≤ 480 volts and ≤ 212°F unless specified otherwise in this column.

2018-11-29EHSBestPractice-ControlofHazardousEnergy

AdditionalNotesorComments_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

NameandInitialsofPersonsInitialingBoxesinAboveProcedures:Name(Print): Initials: Disclaimer: The statements contained in this publication are suggestions to enhance performance of certain activities. There is no warranty or guarantee that following these suggestions will prevent each and every incidence of personal injury or property damage. Neither Pine Chemicals Association International nor any of its agents, officers, employees, consultants or contractors, warrants the accuracy, reliability, completeness or timeliness of any information published here and shall not be liable for any losses caused by such reliance on the accuracy, reliability, completeness or timeliness of this information, including, but not limited to, incidental or consequential damages. This publication is provided without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, an implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, compliance or non-infringement. The recipient of this information is responsible for compliance with all applicable restrictions, regulations, statutes or other standards or conditions.