*During 1982-2006,
NIOSH investigated 185 fatalities related to installation, maintenance,
service, or repair tasks on or near machines, equipment, processes or systems.
We all know by now how important Lockout or Tag-Out is. But what are the solutions? First and
foremost, having a written Lockout program that ALL employees are properly
trained in, is paramount. If you are in doubt about how to put one
together, contact a consulting company, search for basic program on line or
call your local OSHA office for help.
Secondly, you will need to invest in some Lockout
products. Your Lockout product needs
will depend on your facility, the number of employees and types of equipment
that you have. You will need to think
about locks, Hasps and Lockout Tags. You
might even need to consider Lockout Point Identification or Group Lockout Boxes
or a Lockout Station. Remember an energy
device must Locked Out at the energy source, and it must protect the
worker. There is a rare circumstance that actually
allows for Tag-Out these days so keep that in mind when shopping. Using durable products is a must. Be careful of low grade Lockout Hasps that
can break and Tags that easily tear.
The rule states:
1.
Mandate
yearly Lockout/Tagout trainings. Review your program annually and
update as needed. Plan annual trainings
for your crews to insure every employee remembers exactly how to remain safe in
the field.
2. Choose
your Lock Hasps. Choosing the proper Lockout Hasp is equally important.
Low grade pot metal lockout hasps can be
bent or can break. Yes breaking a hasp
is against the law, but you would be amazed at the stories we hear. More than
once we’ve heard of employees ending their shift and proceeding to retrieve
their locks only to find them on the ground next to a broken hasp. NOT a safe feeling!
3.
Consider Industrial-Grade
locks. When it
comes to Locks, there are three
companies that are worth discussing: Master Lock, American or Abus. These are trusted brand names that we
have seen hold the test of time, Master and American are the most popular, but
Abus makes a quality lock and has really started to make some headway in the
market share. All of these locks can be engraved with an employee name, number,
and company info. And all three have the ability to make them individual keyed or
keyed alike.
4.
Think
through your Lockout Tagging. Lockout Tags identify who is working on the
machine. There are so many kinds; LockoutTags, Lockwraps™, with a picture, with employee ID#, first and
last name, barcode, or equipment name. And there are a host of material choices
as well. Industrial facilities have some
nasty gritty dirty environments and often times a paper tag really does not
hold up, so be sure to take the environment into consideration when choosing
your end product. And
remember, it you ARE choosing for a Tag-Out application, the tag MUST meet a 50
lb pull test.
Give us a call for many more suggestions to improve your Lockout
program. For instance, we have a great
product called EZMAKE® SIGN SYSTEM that can help you stream-line your lockout
point identification. Our helpful staff
is eager to help you. Call 800-446-3525
*http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/wp-solutions/2011-156/pdfs/2011-156.pdf
