(a) Application. The provisions of this
section apply to the use of lockout/tagout procedures for the control of energy
sources in installations for the purpose of electric power generation,
including related equipment for communication or metering. Locking and tagging
procedures for the deenergizing of electric energy sources which are used
exclusively for purposes of transmission and distribution are addressed in
Section
2940.14.
NOTE to subsection (a): Installations in electric power
generation facilities that are not an integral part of, or inextricably
commingled with, power generation processes or equipment are covered under
Section 3314.
(b) General.
(1) The employer shall establish a program
consisting of energy control procedures, employee training, and periodic
inspections to ensure that, before any employee performs any servicing or
maintenance on a machine or equipment where the unexpected energizing, start
up, or release of stored energy could occur and cause injury, the machine or
equipment is isolated from the energy source and rendered
inoperative.
(2) The employer's
energy control program shall meet the following requirements:
(A) If an energy isolating device is not
capable of being locked out, the employer's program shall use a tagout
system.
(B) If an energy isolating
device is capable of being locked out, the employer's program shall use
lockout, unless the employer can demonstrate that the use of a tagout system
will provide full employee protection as follows:
1. When a tagout device is used on an energy
isolating device which is capable of being locked out, the tagout device shall
be attached at the same location that the lockout device would have been
attached, and the employer shall demonstrate that the tagout program will
provide a level of safety equivalent to that obtained by the use of a lockout
program.
2. In demonstrating that a
level of safety is achieved in the tagout program equivalent to the level of
safety obtained by the use of a lockout program, the employer shall demonstrate
full compliance with all tagout-related provisions of this standard together
with such additional elements as are necessary to provide the equivalent safety
available from the use of a lockout device. Additional means to be considered
as part of the demonstration of full employee protection shall include the
implementation of additional safety measures such as the removal of an
isolating circuit element, blocking of a controlling switch, opening of an
extra disconnecting device, or the removal of a valve handle to reduce the
likelihood of inadvertent energizing.
(C) Whenever replacement or major repair,
renovation, or modification of a machine or equipment is performed, and
whenever new machines or equipment are installed, energy isolating devices for
such machines or equipment shall be designed to accept a lockout
device.
(c)
Hazardous Energy Control Procedures. Written procedures shall be developed,
documented, and used for the control of potentially hazardous energy covered by
subsection (a) of this section.
(1) The
procedure shall clearly and specifically outline the scope, purpose,
responsibility, authorization, rules, and techniques to be applied to the
control of hazardous energy, and the measures to enforce compliance including,
but not limited to, the following:
(A) A
specific statement of the intended use of this procedure;
(B) Specific procedural steps for shutting
down, isolating, blocking and securing machines or equipment to control
hazardous energy;
(C) Specific
procedural steps for the placement, removal, and transfer of lockout devices or
tagout devices and the responsibility for them;
(D) Specific requirements for testing a
machine or equipment to determine and verify the effectiveness of lockout
devices, tagout devices, and other energy control measures; and
(E) The employer's hazardous energy control
procedure shall include separate procedural steps for the safe lockout/tagout
of each machine or piece of equipment affected by the hazardous energy control
procedure.
EXCEPTION to subsection (c)(1)(E): The procedural steps
for the safe lockout/tagout of prime movers, machinery or equipment may be used
for a group or type of machinery or equipment, when either of the following two
conditions exist:
Condition 1:
A. The operational controls named in the
procedural steps are configured in a similar manner, and
B. The locations of disconnect points (energy
isolating devices) are identified, and
C. The sequence of steps to safely lockout or
tagout the machinery or equipment are similar.
Condition 2: The machinery or equipment has a single
energy supply that is readily identified and isolated and has no stored or
residual hazardous energy.
(F) The employer shall conduct a periodic
inspection of the energy control procedure at least annually to ensure that the
procedure and the provisions of subsection (o) of this section are being
followed.
(G) The employer shall
provide training in accordance to subsection (p).
(d) Protective Materials and Hardware.
(1) Locks, tags, chains, wedges, key blocks,
adapter pins, self-locking fasteners, or other hardware shall be provided by
the employer for isolating, securing, or blocking of machines or equipment from
energy sources.
(2) Lockout devices
and tagout devices shall be singularly identified; shall be the only devices
used for controlling energy; shall not be used for other purposes; and shall
meet the following requirements:
(A) Lockout
devices and tagout devices shall be capable of withstanding the environment to
which they are exposed for the maximum period of time that exposure is
expected.
1. Tagout devices shall be
constructed and printed so that exposure to weather conditions or wet and damp
locations will not cause the tag to deteriorate or the message on the tag to
become illegible.
2. Tagout devices
shall be so constructed as not to deteriorate when used in corrosive
environments.
(B) Lockout
devices and tagout devices shall be standardized within the facility in at
least one of the following criteria: color, shape, size. Additionally, in the
case of tagout devices, print and format shall be standardized.
(C) Lockout devices shall be substantial
enough to prevent removal without the use of excessive force or unusual
techniques, such as with the use of bolt cutters or metal cutting
tools.
(D) Tagout devices,
including their means of attachment, shall be substantial enough to prevent
inadvertent or accidental removal. Tagout device attachment means shall be of a
non-reusable type, attachable by hand, self-locking, and nonreleasable with a
minimum unlocking strength of no less than 50 pounds and shall have the general
design and basic characteristics of being at least equivalent to a one-piece,
all-environment-tolerant nylon cable tie.
(E) Each lockout device or tagout device
shall include provisions for the identification of the employee applying the
device.
(F) Tagout devices shall
warn against hazardous conditions if the machine or equipment is energized and
shall include a legend such as the following: Do Not Start, Do Not Open, Do Not
Close, Do Not Energize, Do Not Operate.
(e) Energy Isolation. Lockout and tagout
device application and removal shall only be performed by the authorized
employees who are performing the servicing or maintenance.
(f) Notification. Affected employees shall be
notified by the employer or authorized employee of the application and removal
of lockout or tagout devices. Notification shall be given before the controls
are applied and after they are removed from the machine or equipment.
NOTE to subsection (f): See also subsection (i) of this
section, which requires that the second notification take place before the
machine or equipment is reenergized.
(g) Lockout/Tagout Application. The
established procedures for the application of energy control (the lockout or
tagout procedures) shall include the following elements and actions, and these
procedures shall be performed in the following sequence:
(1) Before an authorized or affected employee
turns off a machine or equipment, the authorized employee shall:
(A) Notify the affected employee(s) in
accordance with subsection (f).
(B)
Have knowledge of the type and magnitude of the energy, the hazards of the
energy to be controlled, and the method or means to control the
energy.
(2) The machine
or equipment shall be turned off or shut down using the procedures established
for the machine or equipment. An orderly shutdown shall be used to avoid any
additional or increased hazards to employees as a result of the equipment
stoppage.
(3) All energy isolating
devices that are needed to control the energy to the machine or equipment shall
be physically located and operated in such a manner as to isolate the machine
or equipment from energy sources.
(4) Lockout or tagout devices shall be
affixed to each energy isolating device by authorized employees.
(A) Lockout devices shall be attached in a
manner that will hold the energy isolating devices in a "safe" or "off"
position.
(B) Tagout devices shall
be affixed in such a manner as will clearly indicate that the operation or
movement of energy isolating devices from the "safe" or "off" position is
prohibited.
1. Where tagout devices are used
with energy isolating devices designed with the capability of being locked out,
the tag attachment shall be fastened at the same point at which the lock would
have been attached.
2. Where a tag
cannot be affixed directly to the energy isolating device, the tag shall be
located as close as safely possible to the device, in a position that will be
immediately obvious to anyone attempting to operate the
device.
(5)
Following the application of lockout or tagout devices to energy isolating
devices, all potentially hazardous stored or residual energy shall be relieved,
disconnected, restrained, or otherwise rendered safe.
(6) If there is a possibility of
reaccumulation of stored energy to a hazardous level, verification of isolation
shall be continued until the servicing or maintenance is completed or until the
possibility of such accumulation no longer exists.
(h) Test. Before starting work on machines or
equipment that have been locked out or tagged out, the authorized employee
shall verify that isolation and deenergizing of the machine or equipment have
been accomplished. If normally energized parts will be exposed to contact by an
employee while the machine or equipment is deenergized, a test shall be
performed to ensure that these parts are deenergized.
(i) Release From Lockout/Tagout. Before
lockout or tagout devices are removed and energy is restored to the machine or
equipment, procedures shall be followed and actions taken by the authorized
employees to ensure the following:
(1) The
work area shall be inspected to ensure that nonessential items have been
removed and that machine or equipment components are operationally
intact.
(2) The work area shall be
checked to ensure that all employees have been safely positioned or
removed.
(3) After lockout or
tagout devices have been removed and before a machine or equipment is started,
affected employees shall be notified that the lockout or tagout devices have
been removed.
(4) Each lockout or
tagout device shall be removed from each energy isolating device by the
authorized employee who applied the lockout or tagout device. However, if that
employee is not available to remove it, the device may be removed under the
direction of the employer, provided that specific procedures and training for
such removal have been developed, documented, and incorporated into the
employer's energy control program. The employer shall demonstrate that the
specific procedure provides a degree of safety equivalent to that provided by
the removal of the device by the authorized employee who applied it. The
specific procedure shall include at least the following elements:
(A) Verification by the employer that the
authorized employee who applied the device is not at the facility;
(B) Making all reasonable efforts to contact
the authorized employee to inform him or her that his or her lockout or tagout
device has been removed; and
(C)
Ensuring that the authorized employee has this knowledge before he or she
resumes work at that facility.
(j) Additional Requirements.
(1) If the lockout or tagout devices must be
temporarily removed from energy isolating devices and the machine or equipment
must be energized to test or position the machine, equipment, or component
thereof, the following sequence of actions shall be followed:
(A) Clear the machine or equipment of tools
and materials in accordance with subsection (i)(1) of this section;
(B) Remove employees from the machine or
equipment area in accordance with subsections (i)(2) and (i)(3) of this
section;
(C) Remove the lockout or
tagout devices as specified in subsection (i)(4) of this section;
(D) Energize and proceed with the testing or
positioning; and
(E) Deenergize all
systems and reapply energy control measures in accordance with subsections (g)
and (h) of this section to continue the servicing or
maintenance.
(k) Group Lockout or Tagout. When servicing
or maintenance is performed by a crew, craft, department, or other group, they
shall use a procedure which affords the employees a level of protection
equivalent to that provided by the implementation of a personal lockout or
tagout device. Group lockout or tagout devices shall be used in accordance with
the procedures required by subsection (c) of this section including, but not
limited to, the following specific requirements:
(1) Primary responsibility shall be vested in
an authorized employee for a set number of employees working under the
protection of a group lockout or tagout device (such as an operations
lock);
(2) Provision shall be made
for the authorized employee to ascertain the exposure status of all individual
group members with regard to the lockout or tagout of the machine or
equipment;
(3) When more than one
crew, craft, department, or other group is involved, assignment of overall
job-associated lockout or tagout control responsibility shall be given to an
authorized employee designated to coordinate affected work forces and ensure
continuity of protection; and
(4)
Each authorized employee shall affix a personal lockout or tagout device to the
group lockout device, group lockbox, or comparable mechanism when he or she
begins work and shall remove those devices when he or she stops working on the
machine or equipment being serviced or maintained.
(l) Shift or Personnel Changes. Procedures
shall be used during shift or personnel changes to ensure the continuity of
lockout or tagout protection, including provision for the orderly transfer of
lockout or tagout device protection between off-going and on-coming employees,
to minimize their exposure to hazards from the unexpected energizing or
start-up of the machine or equipment or from the release of stored
energy.
(m) Outside Servicing
Personnel. Whenever outside servicing personnel are to be engaged in activities
covered by subsection (a) of this section, the on-site employer and the outside
employer shall inform each other of their respective lockout or tagout
procedures, and each employer shall ensure that his or her personnel understand
and comply with restrictions and prohibitions of the energy control procedures
being used.
(n) System Operator. If
energy isolating devices are installed in a central location and are under the
exclusive control of a system operator, the following requirements apply:
(1) The employer shall use a procedure that
affords employees a level of protection equivalent to that provided by the
implementation of a personal lockout or tagout device.
(2) The system operator shall place and
remove lockout and tagout devices in place of the authorized employee under
subsections (e), (g)(4), and (i)(4) of this section.
(3) Provisions shall be made to identify the
authorized employee who is responsible for (that is, being protected by) the
lockout or tagout device, to transfer responsibility for lockout and tagout
devices, and to ensure that an authorized employee requesting removal or
transfer of a lockout or tagout device is the one responsible for it before the
device is removed or transferred.
(o) Periodic Inspections.
(1) The periodic inspection shall be
performed by an authorized employee who is not using the energy control
procedure being inspected at least annually.
(2) The periodic inspection shall be designed
to identify and correct any deviations or inadequacies.
(3) If lockout is used for energy control,
the periodic inspection shall include a review, between the inspector and each
authorized employee, of that employee's responsibilities under the energy
control procedure being inspected.
(4) Where tagout is used for energy control,
the periodic inspection shall include a review, between the inspector and each
authorized and affected employee, of that employee's responsibilities under the
energy control procedure being inspected, and the elements set forth in
subsection (c)(1) of this section.
(5) The employer shall certify that the
inspections required by this section have been accomplished. The certification
shall identify the machine or equipment on which the energy control procedure
was being used, the date of the inspection, the employees included in the
inspection, and the person performing the inspection.
(p) Training. The employer shall provide
training to ensure that the purpose and function of the energy control program
are understood by employees and that the knowledge and skills required for the
safe application, usage, and removal of energy controls are acquired by
employees. The training shall include the following:
(1) Each authorized employee shall receive
training in the recognition of applicable hazardous energy sources, the type
and magnitude of energy available in the workplace, and in the methods and
means necessary for energy isolation and control.
(2) Each affected employee shall be
instructed in the purpose and use of the energy control procedure.
(3) All other employees whose work operations
are or may be in an area where energy control procedures may be used shall be
instructed about the procedures and about the prohibition relating to attempts
to restart or reenergize machines or equipment that are locked out or tagged
out.
(4) When tagout systems are
used, employees shall also be trained in the following limitations of tags:
(A) Tags are essentially warning devices
affixed to energy isolating devices and do not provide the physical restraint
on those devices that is provided by a lock.
(B) When a tag is attached to an energy
isolating means, it is not to be removed without authorization of the
authorized person responsible for it, and it is never to be bypassed, ignored,
or otherwise defeated.
(C) Tags
shall be legible and understandable by all authorized employees, affected
employees, and all other employees whose work operations are or may be in the
area, in order to be effective.
(D)
Tags and their means of attachment shall be made of materials which will
withstand the environmental conditions encountered in the workplace.
(E) Tags may evoke a false sense of security,
and their meaning needs to be understood as part of the overall energy control
program.
(F) Tags shall be securely
attached to energy isolating devices so that they cannot be inadvertently or
accidentally detached during use.
(5) Retraining shall be provided by the
employer as follows:
(A) Retraining shall be
provided for all authorized and affected employees whenever there is a change
in their job assignments, a change in machines, equipment, or processes that
present a new hazard or whenever there is a change in the energy control
procedures.
(B) Retraining shall
also be conducted whenever a periodic inspection under subsection (o) of this
section reveals, or whenever the employer has reason to believe, that there are
deviations from or inadequacies in an employee's knowledge or use of the energy
control procedures.
(C) The
retraining shall reestablish employee proficiency and shall introduce new or
revised control methods and procedures, as necessary.
(6) The employer shall certify that employee
training has been accomplished and is being kept up to date. The certification
shall contain each employee's name and dates of training.