A serious accident can happened when someone believes that a machine or the power to the machine was safely turned off. "Lock-out tag-out" is a way to protect yourself and your employees by ensuring that machines remain off when repairs need to be made. Without a lock-out tag-out system, there is always the possibility that a machine will unexpectedly start up, either because of stored energy which was not correctly released, or the actions of a technician who began the repair process without realizing that it wasn’t safe to do so.
The OSHA lock-out tag-out standard requires that hazardous energy sources be "isolated and rendered inoperative" before maintenance or servicing a machine can begin. These energy sources include electrical (either active current or stored as in a capacitor), pneumatic, hydraulic, mechanical, thermal, chemical and the force of gravity. It is important to remember that all energy sources must be "isolated and rendered inoperative."
If your shop is visited by OSHA, one of the safety issues that may be a violation could be the compliance of three basic elements in a lock-out tag-out program. These are training, written procedures and inspections. Training is required for two types of people: "authorized employees" and "affected employees." Authorized employees are people who do the maintenance or servicing work. They are the people who actually perform the lock-out tag-out. Affected employees are people who may be affected by or work near equipment which is locked or tagged out. Affected employees are not permitted to perform servicing or maintenance work that requires a lock-out or tag-out.
Written procedures detailing the lock-out tag-out procedure are required for equipment having two or more energy sources.
The tuition is only $149 per employee with a minimum of two employees (one manager/one employee) successfully completing the course – one identified as “Authorized” and the other identified as “affected.”
For more information please contact: Ken McCreight at kmccreight@ntma.org
