If there’s one simple thing an organisation can do to prevent horrible accidents happening, it’s using lockout.
Imagine, for example, that a worker in an industrial factory is responsible for carrying out essential maintenance work on an extremely powerful hydraulic press which usually crushes metal into shape.
There’s two ways to do this: the right way, and the wrong way.
The Wrong Way
The worker switches off the hydraulic press, confident that it is entirely powered down and will stay that work while he carries out his work.
He then goes to carry out the maintenance work, and, at first, everything goes well. The repairs are in progress, and the machine stays switched off.
Meanwhile, another worker has just finished up his lunch, and has just come back onto the factory floor. As he enters, he immediately notices that the hydraulic press isn’t working, and hastens to the energy source that powers it.
He doesn’t spot the other worker carrying out the maintenance.
In order to make sure that there isn’t a huge fault on the press, the second worker reactivates the hydraulic press with the other worker still underneath it.
As you can imagine, this doesn’t end well.
Unfortunately, these kinds of accidents can and will happen in the workplace if lockout/tagout isn’t enforced and followed diligently.
The Right Way
The worker’s first step is to inform the rest of his fellow colleagues about the intended maintenance. He then ensures everyone is moved away from the machinery, before he returns to the energy source of the hydraulic press and switches it off.
With the power down, the worker (and his maintenance team) go about the process of checking for any leftover residual energy and ensure that the machine cannot be energised.
The worker than applies a sturdy lockout to the energy source of the hydraulic press that fixes it completely in place, stopping operation until the lockout is removed. Each member of the maintenance team attaches a padlock to the lockout, thus ensuring that only they can remove their own padlocks are accounted for once the maintenance is complete.
Once this is done, the person responsible for lockout must also tag the isolation point clearly to inform any passers-by of the maintenance work.
With the lockout in place and all excess residue energy removed, it is then possible for maintenance to proceed, as all energy sources are correctly isolated and it is impossible to activate the energy source until the maintenance is completed.
The team can then finish up all their work without fear of the reactivation of the press, and once completed, each team member then removes their own padlock, the lockout is removed, a final check is performed to see all team members are present and then the hydraulic presses’ energy source can be reactivated.
The Difference Between Right and Wrong Saves Lives!
Although these examples are just a fictional scenario, the reality is these accidents can and do happen all the time in working environments that don’t adhere to the rules and regulations of lockout/tagout procedures.
It is therefore important for organisations working with dangerous equipment to develop, enforce and regulate their own lockout/tagout regulations, as not doing so could end up with severe fines, injuries to your employees and – in the worst case scenario – could even kill those working on maintenance.
