Who needs to comply with LOTO OSHA standards? These lockout and tagout procedures limit energy access to equipment and show warning signs to notify employees about upcoming hazards. And these are crucial for the maintenance activities of manufacturing plants.Īs far as LOTO is concerned, its name itself indicates that it used two approaches to ensure the safety of employees during maintenance activities. If we talk about the guidelines prescribed by OSHA, they cover all energy resources from mechanical to thermal, including electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, and chemical. Then, in 1989 those guidelines became the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. The purpose was to deliver safety precautions needed when employees were doing maintenance of hazardous energy sources. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) published its first-ever lockout/tagout practicing guidelines in 1982. Blue lock = used in place of orange lock for lockboxes having 6+ isolation points.Yellow lock = used to lockout equipment before servicing by an affected employee.Orange lock = used to indicate that it is safe to perform service procedure.Red lock = used to lockout equipment during a maintenance procedure.Orange tag = group isolation or lockbox tag.However, there is a generally used system regarding the typical color codes: Till now, OSHA has provided no standardized color-coding system for lockout locks and tags. In the meantime, tags come perfectly handy where locks can’t physically lock out energy-isolation devices.Īlong with that, they also provide crucial information like who approved the lockout, why it was approved, and also keep you up to date about the current status and time. It’s used as an energy-isolating device that turns off the energy source of the machine to secure the device in a safe position. Locks are used when the equipment is required to be locked physically. In short, both are hardcore protection against unsafe equipment where the lockout device is the first layer, and the tagout device is the second. Meanwhile, the tagout tells them not to work on the machinery. The lockout device stops employees from working on the equipment. However, do not confuse lockout and tagout as performing a similar function. This process ensures that the equipment is shut down and inoperable until workers complete the planned action. LOTO procedure also includes placing tags and locks on energy isolation devices (e.g., power switches, control valves) to prevent their unauthorized use during the servicing of a machine. The procedure is executed in several steps in which an authorized employee ensures that equipment is properly shut down and any potentially dangerous stored energy is isolated and released prior to maintenance. Lockout/tagout (LOTO) is a technique used to prevent energy from being released during the servicing of equipment. So, what does the lockout/tagout program include and how to start with its implementation? We looked at the official materials from OSHA and CDC to bring a detailed overview to everyone interested in the topic. Properly implemented lockout/tagout program can prevent many injuries, incidents, and even deaths occurring in workplaces. That means, LOTO standards compliance is often inspected and controlled by OSHA and eventually may result in hefty fines for companies that do not meet the policy.Īnd it’s not a surprise. Before starting to service, verify that nobody is in a position to get hurt.Lockout/tagout procedure (often labeled as “LOTO procedure” or “lockout/tagout”) is one of the top ten most frequently cited standards by the Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Once all primary and secondary sources of energies are disconnected and locked out, it is important to verify that the equipment is in the ZERO ENERGY State. Stored energies are very hazardous as their sudden release can cause serious injuries. Identify the process that relieves any remaining pressure or other energy. When multiple energies are present, different devices are applicable to isolate different energies.īy disconnecting the main energy source, we may remove much of the potential danger, but it is possible that there are stored energies present, such as energy from the movement of springs, Pressurized or moving gases, etc. Once the main energy source has been disconnected, LOTO needs to be applied. all the energies should be taken seriously and equipment should be disconnected from these energy sources. Whether the main energy sources include electricity, steam, water, gas, compressed air, etc. Step 4: Isolate Equipment Main Energy Source One needs to follow the procedure strictly to ensure the safety of man and machine. A step by step isolation must take place as described in the procedure. The shutdown process should be explained in detail.
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