Taking Control of Safety - LOTO

TAKING CONTROL OF SAFETY – LOCK OUT / TAG OUT

Lock out / tag out electrical disconnect principles and procedures are found in OR-OSHA standards 1910.147 and 1910.333 for general industry work locations.  For contractors working on construction projects, apply the requirements found in 1926.417.  Better yet, the NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, can be used to meet OSHA compliance in both work locations.  The 70E includes a sample LOTO policy, which provides a simple step-by-step format to ensure maximum safety for your electricians.

NFPA 70E requires those working on exposed conductors and circuit components, operating at 50 volts or more, to use lock out/ tag out devices and procedures, and to be properly trained. The document also outlines specific circumstances when work on live circuits is permitted and sets approach boundaries for both qualified and unqualified persons.

Lock out / tag out procedures specify the steps electricians must follow to remove power from an electrical circuit or panel and to lock out and tag the panel or circuit so no one can re-energize it while work is in progress. An increasing number of specialty contractors, ranging from inspectors to thermographers, must work around electrical panels and exposed circuits.

For their own safety, these contractors and anyone else who may be exposed to live voltages should understand lock out / tag out procedures and know how to verify power has been removed from the environment before beginning work, especially if live circuits may be nearby.

At a minimum, an employer's procedures must contain: a statement on how to use the procedures; specific steps to shut down, isolate, block, and secure machines; specific steps for safe placement and removal of locks and tags and names of those responsible for the locks and tags; and specific requirements for testing machines to determine and verify the effectiveness of all energy-control measures.

Only the person who applied the locks or tags is authorized to remove them (although 1910.147(e)(3) explains how another person may do so under the employer's direction, if the original employee cannot remove the device). All employees must be trained to respect locks and tags fundamentally, in all circumstances, because the life-threatening risks of accidental restart have been adequately explained to them.

* Train more thoroughly and more frequently than OSHA demands. "Periodic" training must be annual, at least, but it should be much more frequent to make sure lock out / tag out is followed whenever it is needed, without exceptions.

* Document each and every infraction of your LOTO policy. Supervisors cannot afford to be lenient here. Cut no slack to anyone. The risks and the penalties for failure are simply too great to take chances.

* Communicate fully with contractors and other outside personnel who are working on site and may be exposed. The host employer and the outside employer must inform each other of their lock out / tag out procedures and ensure their employees comply with the other firm's procedures.

Additional training resources include:

OR-OSHA LOTO Fact Sheet

LOTO Jobsite Toolbox Talks

New LOTO Product:  2 Piece Locking Bar to Secure Entire Panel Board