LOTO Safety: 7 Steps of lockout tagout

LOTO Safety: 7 Steps of lockout tagout
Once equipment with hazardous energy sources are properly identified and maintenance procedures are documented, the following general steps should be accomplished before servicing activities are carried out:

Prepare for shutdown
Notify all affected employees of the activities and equipment involved
Shut down the equipment
Isolate the equipment from the hazardous energy source
Dissipate residual energy
Apply applicable lockout or tagout devices
Verify that the equipment is properly isolated
LOTO Safety: Lockout tagout tools
Physical tools required to perform LOTO procedures can be classified as generally two types:

Lockout devices:
Physical restraints that ensure that a particular equipment is inaccessible or isolated; basic example is in the form of a lock and key

Tagout devices:
Prominent warning devices that visibly identify an equipment to be potentially hazardous; these can be in the form of signs or symbols attached securely to equipment

More recently, non-physical tools such as specialized software are being utilized to make LOTO processes more efficiently performed. Tracking LOTO activities through maintenance management software is an advantageous functionality to ensure accurate compliance to standards.

The importance of lockout tagout
Incident reports show that a shocking number of maintenance tragedies could have been prevented by implementing some basic lockout/tagout process.

In 2012, the tragic demise of a 21-year old on his first day as a temporary worker could have been prevented if only proper LOTO precautions were practiced. A palletizing machine was mistakenly switched on while he was performing cleaning tasks.

The promotion of a safety culture in a plant’s operations should be kept in mind to safeguard employees from avoidable harm. Seemingly obvious processes can go a long way if performed consistently and consciously. Observing the practice of lockout/tagout is a concrete way of making the workplace safer.