121.8 LOCKOUT/TAGOUT PROCEDURES
121.8.1 PURPOSE
This standard provides energy control procedures to establish and maintain safe working conditions during set-up, servicing and maintenance of machines, processes, and systems where the unexpected start-up, or release of stored energy of machines could cause injury to company employees and/or contractor employees. This procedure is structured to comply with the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.147 Control of Hazardous Energy.
Energy control is required during the servicing and/or maintenance of machines and equipment. More specifically, an energy control is required any time an employee or contractor must remove or bypass a guard or other safety device. It is also required when he/she must place any part of their body into an area on a machine or piece of equipment where work is actually performed (the point of operation), or where an associated danger zone exists during a machine operating cycle. Any violation of this program presents a serious potential safety hazard. As such, the employee is subject to corrective action and disciplinary procedures, up to and including immediate discharge. Contractors violating this policy will be subject to the provisions contained in the contract, up to and including removal from the job site.
121.8.2 RESPONSIBILITIES
1. The Director for Facilities has overall responsibility for ensuring the safety of the workplace by seeing that appropriate safety procedures are established and enforced. He/she supports the lockout/tagout program by providing adequate financial and human resources to effectively carry it out.
2. The Director is responsible for ensuring that equipment specific lockout/tagout procedures are developed for all equipment within his/her area of responsibility that present the potential for release of hazardous energy as defined in the Objective and making sure that each procedure is followed by all employees and contractors. He/she will be responsible for ensuring that all accidents involving lockout/tagout are thoroughly investigated and reviewing/approving each investigation report and recommendations.
3. The Director is responsible for creating and maintaining detailed Departmental Procedures for lockout/tagout.
4. The Director has overall responsibility for the development of all employee training programs as needed to support this program, maintenance of all training records, and the distribution and maintenance of the master copies of all lockout/tagout procedures and safety manual updates.
5. The Director is responsible for reviewing recommendations regarding any proposed changes to the program, for keeping abreast of any changes in Federal or State of Arizona regulations pertaining to control of hazardous energy, and for providing technical safety assistance as requested in the development of equipment specific procedures, investigation of accidents involving lockout/tagout, and the conduct of job site audits to determine the effectiveness of the program. He/she will also provide assistance as requested by the Director of Human Resources for the development and delivery of employee training programs.
6. The Director for Facilities is responsible for reviewing all contractors’ lockout/tagout procedures and for informing them about the equipment specific procedures of Coconino Community College. He/she will ensure that contractor employees have been informed and are properly trained before they begin work on a particular piece of equipment.
7. "Authorized" Employees are responsible for following all equipment specific lockout/tagout procedures during the servicing, set-up, maintenance and repair of equipment.
8. "Affected" and "Other" Employees are responsible for not removing or defeating lockout/tagout devices when equipment is in a lockout/tagout state. They will stay out of the danger zone of maintenance/repair operations.
121.8.3 DEFINITIONS
1. Affected Employee: An employee whose job requires him/her to operate or use a machine or equipment on which servicing or maintenance is being performed under lockout or tagout, or whose job requires him/her to work in an area in which such servicing or maintenance is being performed.
2. Authorized Employee: An employee whose job requires him/her to lock out or tag out machines or equipment in order to perform servicing or maintenance on that machine or equipment. An affected employee becomes an authorized employee when that employee's duties include performing servicing or maintenance covered under OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.147.
3. Capable of being locked out: An energy-isolating device is capable of being locked out if it has a hasp or other means of attachment to which, or through which, a lock can be affixed, or it has a locking mechanism built into it. Other energy isolating devices are capable of being locked out, if lockout can be achieved without the need to dismantle, rebuild, or replace the energy-isolating device or permanently alter its energy control capability.
4. Energized: Connected to an energy source or containing residual or stored energy.
5. Energy Isolating Device: A mechanical device that physically prevents the transmission or release of energy, including but not limited to the following: a manually operated electrical circuit breaker, a disconnect switch, a manually operated switch by which the conductors of a circuit can be disconnected from all ungrounded supply conductors and, in addition, no pole can be operated independently; a line valve; a block; and any similar device used to block or isolate energy. Push buttons, selector switches, and other control circuit type devices are not energy isolating devices.
6. Energy source: Any source of electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal or other energy.
7. Hot tap: A procedure used in the repair, maintenance and service activities which involves welding on a piece of equipment (pipelines, vessels, or tanks) under pressure, in order to install connections or appurtenances. It is commonly used to replace or add sections of pipeline without the interruption of service for air, gas, water, steam, and petrochemical distribution systems.
8. Lockout: The placement of a lockout device on an energy-isolating device, in accordance with an established procedure, ensuring that the energy isolating device and the equipment being controlled cannot be operated until the lockout device is removed.
9. Lockout device: A device that utilizes a positive means such as a lock, either key or combination type, to hold an energy isolating device in the safe position and prevent the energizing of a machine or equipment. This includes blank flanges and bolted slip blinds.
10. Normal production operations: The utilization of a machine or equipment to perform its intended production function.
11. Servicing and/or maintenance: Workplace activities such as constructing, installing, setting up, adjusting, inspecting, modifying, and maintaining and/or servicing machines or equipment. These activities include lubrication, cleaning or unjamming of machines or equipment and making adjustments or tool changes, where the employee exposed to the unexpected energization or startup of the equipment or release of hazardous energy.
12. Setting up: Any work performed to prepare a machine or equipment to perform its normal production operation.
13. Tagout: The placement of a tagout device on an energy-isolating device in accordance with established procedure, to indicate that the energy isolating device and the equipment being controlled may not be operated until the tagout device is removed.
14. Tagout device: A prominent warning device, such as a tag and a means of attachment, which can be securely fastened to an energy-isolating device in accordance with an established procedure, to indicate that the energy isolating device and the equipment being controlled may not be operated until the tagout device is removed.
121.8.4 LOCKOUT PROCEDURES
1. General Information: Lockout is the preferred method of isolating equipment or machines from energy sources. New equipment or modification of existing equipment will be installed with lockout capability. Tagout will only be used when it can be proven that the tagout procedures offer an equivalent level of protection as would be afforded by the use of a lock and lockout device.
2. Equipment Specific Procedures: Documented, equipment specific procedures will be developed for all equipment.
121.8.5 DEPARTMENTAL PROCEDURES
1. Detailed lockout/tagout procedures will be maintained as Departmental Procedures within the Facilities Department.