General Requirements

Operations shall be considered exempt from this procedure only if the equipment or machine is adequately de-energized and is under the control and visual supervision of the person performing the work.

Work on conductors and circuit parts that cannot be de-energized and locked out shall be performed by properly trained and authorized personnel.

Electrical equipment with a cord and plug does not require Lockout/Tagout of the electrical energy if the individual working on the equipment has exclusive control of the equipment, the equipment is unplugged and the plug is within reach of the person doing the work.

A single block valve shall never be relied upon for protection from toxic or flammable materials. Single block valves can provide a temporary means of isolation of hazardous materials if the worksite is never left unattended by the crew or individual performing the work.

All isolation points, including blinds, double lock and bleeds, are to be tagged at the nearest valve, flange or fitting.

Locks are the preferred means of isolation and shall be required where isolation devices will accept a lock.

All harmful levels of energy will be tagged out and/or locked out in accordance with these procedures if the unexpected release of energy may pose a hazard to employees doing maintenance or servicing work.

Blinds, blind flanges or plugging of lines with materials of equivalent strength as the lines will constitute “lockout” for the purpose of this procedure.

alves may be tagged or locked in the open or closed position as needed to either lock or vent the hazardous energy safely away from workers.

All locks and tags used for Lockout/Tagout activities shall not be used for any other purpose than described in these procedures.

All contractors conducting production work shall be responsible for implementing their own Lockout/Tagout procedures. In the event that contractors and production employees are working on a project together where Lockout/Tagout Procedures are necessary, supervisory and/or management personnel from the specific production department(s) and the contractor(s) shall coordinate their efforts to ensure adequate Lockout/Tagout procedures are followed to protect all workers in the impacted area.

Where practical, all new equipment and machines shall be so designed with devices which are capable of being locked out.

Hazard Assessment

All equipment where service and/or maintenance is performed must be assessed for all energy sources present.

The identification of each specific energy source for each piece of equipment shall be documented by energy source (electrical, gas, liquid, mechanical, etc.), machine or equipment, and location/inventory number.

Equipment or machines should be identified by type and specific location/inventory in the event similar equipment exists.

The authorized individual(s) assigned to work on any equipment, machinery or other related energy sources shall determine that all hazardous energy sources which may endanger personnel are isolated and the equipment is shut down.

Electrical circuits may be supplied from more than one source, so all feeds must be identified.

Lockout/Tagout Procedures shall be incorporated into equipment operating procedures where appropriate to ensure hazards are managed as part of cleaning, adjusting, service, repair and replacement process.

Energy Source Isolation

The Authorized Person shall notify all Affected Person(s) that a Lockout/Tagout system is going to be used and the reason.

The Authorized Person will know the type(s) of energy and understand its hazards.

The Authorized Person will shut down operation equipment using the unit’s normal shutdown procedure.

Electrical equipment and circuits to be de-energized will be disconnected from all energy sources by the Authorized Person (or a trained electrician, when required).

Control circuit devices, such as push buttons, selector switches, or electrical interlocks that de-energize electric circuits indirectly, will not be used as the sole means for de-energized circuits or equipment that are being worked on by personnel.

All Authorized Persons conducting work on equipment shall determine first that all hazardous energy sources have been properly shut down by the following guidelines:

Stored and residual energy (electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, thermal, chemical, etc.) shall be safely released.
All capacitors shall be discharged and high capacitance elements shall also be short-circuited and grounded.
Springs, moving parts, rams, etc., shall be physically restrained or blocked to prevent closure.
Piping systems shall be drained and valves closed, appropriately secured and blank flanges installed.
Potentially hazardous energy sources (gas, thermal, hydraulic, electrical, etc.) shall be dissipated, blocked, and/or isolated at the point of control that cannot be overridden or accidentally or inadvertently bypassed.
The Authorized Person shall lock vent valves and the like in the open position, where applicable, to prevent pressure buildup and equipment movement.

The Authorized Person shall attach their personal protective lock along with the personal protection tag before attempting to start any work on the equipment.

The Authorized Person shall verify that all potentially hazardous energy is secured by attempting to start the equipment by normal means.

The Authorized Person will monitor and take appropriate action where the energy may re-accumulate after isolation.

An “Out of Order” tag and administrative lock shall be attached by the Authorized Person to provide protection during shift change, delayed personnel changes, or extended shutdown periods.

Each Authorized Person shall personally verify visually that each energy source is disabled and apply their own lock and tag while working on equipment or machines.

The Authorized Person shall attach a personal protection tag before starting work on the equipment when the energy source is not equipped with an isolating device capable of being locked.

Additional safety measures shall be taken when a Lockout/Tagout is not possible. These additional safety measures may include:

Isolation of the circuit element (fuse removal or lockout of circuit breaker).
Blocking of a controlled switch
Opening of an extra disconnecting means
Removal of a valve handle to reduce the likelihood of an inadvertent energization.

Equipment and Machine Specific Procedures

When necessary, specific procedures for each individual piece of equipment or machinery must be developed to control specific hazards.

Energy control procedures must outline the scope, purpose, rules and techniques utilized to control hazardous energy and the means for enforcing compliance.

Specific procedures should contain the following minimum elements:

Purpose of procedure
Method for shutting down machine or equipment
Methods for isolating or blocking energy to control each hazard source
Steps for testing machines or equipment to verify effectiveness of energy isolation devices
Methods for relieving stored energy as well as restraining, disconnecting or blacking
Responsibilities for the placement, removal and transfer of isolation devices
Methods for controlling locks and tags
Methods for communicating equipment shutdown and startup to all affected employees
Procedures for the transfer of responsibility between shifts or individuals.

Where tags are not able to be located directly on the isolation device, the tag shall be placed as close as possible to the device in a position that will be immediately obvious to anyone attempting to operate the device.

Preventative maintenance procedures shall include steps for the energy isolation as part of each machine servicing guidelines.

These machine specific procedures shall be included as part of the generated preventative maintenance procedure issued to each employee as the work is assigned.

Machine specific procedures may be developed as the work is assigned if no current energy isolation procedure exists. Where this condition exists, employees must adhere to the requirements in this procedure and obtain a supervisor’s or foreman’s review and approval of the energy isolation steps prior to beginning the work.

Control of Locks and Tags

Locks used for energy isolation shall be used exclusively for lockout/tagout applications and shall not be used for any other purpose.

All locks shall be keyed differently to prevent lock removal by anyone other than the authorized individual. Possession of each key shall be maintained by the authorized individual. Department management may maintain a set of master keys for removal in the absence of the authorized individuals in compliance with section 5.7 of these procedures.

All energy isolation devices shall include a tag which identifies the authorized individual applying the device, date and a warning against hazardous conditions such as Danger, Do Not Start, Do Not Operate, Do Not Close, or Do Not Open.

Transfer of Responsibility

Operation specific procedures for the transfer of responsibility during shift changes or for other conditions must be developed and approved prior to implementation.

Procedures must ensure that the continuity of energy isolation is maintained and that an orderly transfer of responsibility between individuals takes place.

Transfer of responsibility procedures shall be designed to minimize exposure of hazards associated with the unexpected startup or release of energy from machines or equipment.

Removal of Energy Isolation Devices by Other Than Authorized Individuals

When the authorized employee who applied the device is not available to remove it, the device may be removed under the direction of department supervision under the following conditions:

The procedure can be proven to provide equivalent safety as the removal of the isolation device by the authorized individual and include the following minimum elements:

Verify the authorized individual is not on site.
Make all efforts to contact the authorized individual to inform them that their energy isolation device has been removed. Ensure the individual has knowledge before they resume work.

In situations where the isolation device must be temporarily removed from the machine to test or position the equipment, the following sequences of actions must be followed. Specific procedures and employee training must be in place to address this condition prior to implementation:

Clear the machine of tools
Remove employees from the machine or equipment
Energize or proceed with test or positioning
De-energize all systems and reapply all energy isolation devices in accordance with the established procedure

Outside Services and Contractors

When any production activities performed by contractors is covered by this procedure, the the production department(s) or other group involved in coordinating the work should coordinate energy isolating procedures with the contractor.

When a crew, craft, department or joint production and contractor group performs joint servicing or maintenance operations, production lockout/tagout procedures, or a combination of production and contractor procedures shall be adhered to.

Multiple working group procedures shall provide equivalent protection to energy isolation practiced for individual work controls through the use of additional controls such as multiple lockout devices and increased communication between production employees and contractors at all levels.

When more than one crew or craft is involved, the production’s project supervisor or group leader involved in the project shall be assigned the overall job lockout/tagout energy control responsibility.

The production’s project supervisor or group leader shall require that each authorized person affix a personal lockout and tagout device to the group lockbox or comparable mechanism when each individual begins work and that each individual remove their own lock when they stop working on the machine or equipment.

Release to Service

The Authorized Person is responsible for ensuring a safe and orderly release to service when the work is completed on Lockout/Tagout equipment or machinery that should include the following:

The work area will be inspected for debris, tools or equipment that may pose a hazard when the de-energized system is started.
All guards shall be replaced and safety devices and systems activated.
Verify all employees are removed from machine or equipment.
The Authorized Person shall check the work area for other Authorized Person(s) or Affected Person(s) to notify that the system is being activated.
Each Authorized Person shall remove their own personal protection locks and tags ONLY.
Personal protection locks and tag left on equipment from previous shifts may be removed by the Authorized Person’s supervisor before the equipment is released to service after it is assured that it can be safely done in compliance with these procedures.

Training

Department management shall ensure all employees within their area of responsibility who perform the duties of Authorized or Affected Person(s) as defined in this procedure have been trained.

Training shall include instruction in the purpose of this procedure, knowledge of the potential hazards associated with Lockout/Tagout, and use of the provisions described in this procedure.

Detailed training shall cover specific procedures related to each department’s equipment and machines.

Training records for each employee educated and trained in Lockout/Tagout shall be maintained by the production.

Supervision of Authorized Person(s) and Affected Person(s) shall provide appropriate training whenever there is a change in job assignments, machines, equipment, and/or processes presenting a new or previously unrecognized hazard and when lockout auditing results in the need for additional training.

Program Review

After implementation, the program will be reviewed at least annually by the Production.

Anonymous inquiries can be made via the Safety Hotline (844) 222-1739.