Page 40 - Occupational Health & Safety, March 2019

LOCKOUT/TAGOUT
Up-to-date and accurate schematics are required for LOTO.
3. Shall include disconnecting means verification. Ensure that the equipment is turned off.
4. Identify the responsible qualified per- son charged with coordinating LOTO as a whole.
5. Verify that the equipment/system cannot be restarted or energized. Attempt to start system, depress on button, attempt to close disconnect, etc.
6. Test target circuit/equipment to ver- ify lack of energy. This process will consist of the following steps:
a) Verify test instrument on known good live source to verify test equipment is working properly.
b) Measure test circuit/equipment to verify no energy is present. Two steps are required:
1. Check zero energy on phase to phase measurement. Test each of the 1φ/3φ.
2. Check zero energy on phase to ground measurement. Test each of the 1φ/3φ.
c) Re-verify test instrument on known good live source to verify test equipment is still working properly.
7. Grounding requirements shall be examined. Generally, if there is danger of backfeed or the circuit is rated over 600V, then personnel safety grounding should be implemented.
These are some of the major points to take into account when realizing an electri- cal LOTO program.
Conclusions for LOTO
These are general guidelines, and anyone implementing or designing a LOTO pro- gram should reference the OSHA regula- tions as well as the NFPA 70E for further guidance.
At the end of the day, everyone’s goal is to return home safely to their loved ones, without injury. Implementing and follow- ing through with a sound electrical safety program and proper electrical safety train- ing, including LOTO, is a giant step toward reaching that goal.
Robert J. St. Pierre is the Executive Vice Presi- dent of The Jacman Group, industry leaders in arc flash/electrical safety training (www.Jac- manGroupSafety.com). He may be reached personally by phone 877-252-2626, ext. 2069 or by email, bobs@jacmangroupsafety.com.
and maintain documentation of the audit. LOTO preparations should include the
following:
1. Any person who may be exposed to
the electrical energy should be party to the LOTO procedure.
2. A written LOTO procedure should be developed for each system or piece of elec- trical equipment.
3. Up-to-date and accurate documenta- tion should be referenced when developing the LOTO process. This will address all forms of energy and ensure that hazard ex- posure is minimized (eliminated).
4. LOTO is applied only to power sources, not controls. (LOTO breaker, not on/off switch).
5. LOTO equipment unique (don’t use LOTO locks for lockers, etc.).
LOTO equipment shall consist of the following: Any equipment installed/up- dated/replaced/modified after January 1990 should accept a lock in the open (off) position. The employer provides the lock, but the employee has the responsibility to use the lock when working on equipment. The lock should have only one key, its com- bination known to only one person, and identify who placed the lock on equipment (name, face, department, phone number, etc.). It should prevent operation of equip- ment without undue force or tools (using a
crowbar or grinder to bypass). Equipment should have a tag that displays “Do not use, Do not operate, etc.” Equipment should be suitable for the environment (paper tag inside a water tank not permitted). Use tagout only if it is not possible to apply a lock, and this must use two isolation means (open breaker and remove cable from lug).
LOTO procedure will include the fol- lowing: Locating sources of energy on up-to-date, accurate single line diagrams and also identifying any personnel that are in hazardous positions for the purpose of LOTO and any PPE required for their lo- cation. Also identify the person who is re- sponsible for the LOTO. This will provide for types of LOTO: Simple LOTO only has one source of energy and involves only qualified personnel. Complex LOTO in- volves multiple power sources, crafts, de- partments, etc.
Exception: A written procedure is not re- quired if there is only a single source of ener- gy, one single LOTO will isolate all energy to said equipment, the LOTO is under exclusive control of a single qualified person.
LOTO control elements shall consist of the following:
1. The shutdown procedure and the qualified person responsible.
2. Shall include methods for removal of all stored energy from equipment/system.
34 Occupational Health & Safety | MARCH 2019
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