 The Lockout Tagout Procedure An electrical safety procedure commonly used in industry is Lockout Tagout. The Lockout Tagout Procedure protects a person who is working on equipment from serious injury or death. Lockout Tagout is designed to keep equipment from being set in motion inadvertently. Before the Lockout Tagout Procedure was widely accepted, it was common practice to simply turn off the power by pressing the stop button before installing, adjusting, troubleshooting, repairing, or cleaning electrical or mechanical equipment. However, injuries and deaths occurred when equipment was turned back on inadvertently by someone else working in the area. In an effort to eliminate preventable accidents, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, OSHA, enacted Lockout Tagout as a safety procedure. This procedure is designed to keep equipment from being set in motion and endangering a worker. In a Lockout, a disconnect switch, circuit breaker, valve handle, or other energy isolation mechanism is placed in the off position. A locking device, typically a padlock, is used so the system cannot be activated. After the lock is installed, a tag is attached to alert everyone that the equipment should not be powered back on. The term Lockout refers to the process of blocking energy flow from a power source to a piece of equipment and assuring that it remains blocked. The term Tagout refers to placing a do not operate tag on the power source to warn others not to restore power. The Lockout Tagout Procedure can be divided into seven steps. Step one, stop all running equipment by using the controls at or near the equipment to be worked on. Step two, remove the power applied to the equipment by using a disconnection switch or other mechanism to isolate the energy. Using a tamper proof lock, which has only one key, have the locking bar go right through the switch itself and not just through the box cover. The key should be kept by the individual who owns the lock, particularly while work is in progress. Step three, place a tag on the lock. Make sure it contains the signature of the person working on the machine, along with the date and time the work was performed. Step four, when the work is completed and before restoring the power, check that all of the items used to do the repair, such as blocks, braces, and tools, are removed. Step five, make sure all of the employees stand clear of the machinery when the power is turned on. Step six, remove the tag and lock from the switch box and step seven, restore power to the equipment before the equipment is turned on. There are situations when several maintenance personnel are working on the same piece of machinery. For example, three mill rights, one fluid power technician, and four electricians may all be working on the same equipment at the same time. Each person who works on equipment needs to have his or her own lock. Most disconnects have only one hole to place the padlock through. To connect more than one lock, one or more hasps are used. One hasp is used if two to six workers are employed. Multiple hasps are used when there are more than six workers. When there is only one plug to insert into a socket and there is no disconnect, a plastic cylinder called a plug lockout is used for the lockout-tagout procedure. To prevent the plug from being inserted into a socket, the plug is placed inside the cylinder. The top of the cylinder is then closed. A padlock and tag are inserted through the cylinder's hole and locked. You have completed this activity on the lockout-tagout procedure.