Lock out Tag out Cant reach

[brother]

Ive been reading over the rules for removing a lockout/tagout when a person is not reachable. But the regulations dont give much insight on what to do when the supervisor/company is hard/cant get ahold of.

Do we as a seperate company go thru our OWN safety officer in these situations?? Other than making sure there is NO immediate hazard if the power was turned on, I just want to know the PROPER protocol. Thanks, Osha articles would be helpful.

 

[tom baker]

This would be addressed in your written procedure on LOTO.
Typically the supervisor is contacted. This is an OSHA area, I am not familiar with as in Washington we are under WISHA.

 

[billsnuff]

1910.147 LOTO General Industry

1910.147 LOTO General Industry

I work in manufacturing, you may need to look for the construction std.

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_id=9804&p_table=STANDARDS

You can search the various stds, right under the heading, look for the arrow.

 

[safetyva]

Here is the section of the OSHA General Industry stds covering how/who/when to take off a lock or tag. It is the responsibility of your employer to have a written policy or program that describes what should happen and who should be contacted (not just by voice mail or email) before an attempt is made to remove the device of an employee who is not available to remove it him/herself. (In parts 1910.147(e)(3)(i), (ii) & (iii), the term authorized employee means the employee who originally installed the lock or tag.) I have seen employers who use logbooks, etc.

Your employer's documented procedure should include a section on what to do if a supervisor or company rep is not available. (My bolds.)

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1910.147(e)(3): Lockout or tagout devices removal. Each lockout or tagout device shall be removed from each energy isolating device by the employee who applied the device.

Exception to paragraph (e)(3): When the authorized employee who applied the lockout or tagout device is not available to remove it, that device may be removed under the direction of the employer, provided that specific procedures and training for such removal have been developed, documented and incorporated into the employer's energy control program. The employer shall demonstrate that the specific procedure provides equivalent safety to the removal of the device by the authorized employee who applied it. The specific procedure shall include at least the following elements:

1910.147(e)(3)(i)
Verification by the employer that the authorized employee who applied the device is not at the facility:

1910.147(e)(3)(ii)
Making all reasonable efforts to contact the authorized employee to inform him/her that his/her lockout or tagout device has been removed; and

1910.147(e)(3)(iii)
Ensuring that the authorized employee has this knowledge before he/she resumes work at that facility

 

[brother]

Here is the section of the OSHA General Industry stds covering how/who/when to take off a lock or tag. It is the responsibility of your employer to have a written policy or program that describes what should happen and who should be contacted (not just by voice mail or email) before an attempt is made to remove the device of an employee who is not available to remove it him/herself. (In parts 1910.147(e)(3)(i), (ii) & (iii), the term authorized employee means the employee who originally installed the lock or tag.) I have seen employers who use logbooks, etc.

Your employer's documented procedure should include a section on what to do if a supervisor or company rep is not available. (My bolds.)

.
.

1910.147(e)(3): Lockout or tagout devices removal. Each lockout or tagout device shall be removed from each energy isolating device by the employee who applied the device.

Exception to paragraph (e)(3): When the authorized employee who applied the lockout or tagout device is not available to remove it, that device may be removed under the direction of the employer, provided that specific procedures and training for such removal have been developed, documented and incorporated into the employer's energy control program. The employer shall demonstrate that the specific procedure provides equivalent safety to the removal of the device by the authorized employee who applied it. The specific procedure shall include at least the following elements:

1910.147(e)(3)(i)
Verification by the employer that the authorized employee who applied the device is not at the facility:

1910.147(e)(3)(ii)
Making all reasonable efforts to contact the authorized employee to inform him/her that his/her lockout or tagout device has been removed; and

1910.147(e)(3)(iii)
Ensuring that the authorized employee has this knowledge before he/she resumes work at that facility

all of that is fine, however in this scenerio, The person/company that applied lock/out does NOT work for this employer, nor can the company they work for has been able to be reached, so what is the PROPER procedure in this case??

 

[jim dungar]

all of that is fine, however in this scenerio, The person/company that applied lock/out does NOT work for this employer, nor can the company they work for has been able to be reached, so what is the PROPER procedure in this case??

Good Luck

This is why personal LOTO locks should be removed whenever the employee leaves the site or is not longer actively working on the equipment. There are other locking procedure/methods available for when equipment must remain in a "safe" condition.

 

[e57]

all of that is fine, however in this scenerio, The person/company that applied lock/out does NOT work for this employer, nor can the company they work for has been able to be reached, so what is the PROPER procedure in this case??

It still gets covered by the same...

1910.147(e)(3)(i)
Verification by the employer that the authorized employee who applied the device is not at the facility:

He's not there

1910.147(e)(3)(ii)
Making all reasonable efforts to contact the authorized employee to inform him/her that his/her lockout or tagout device has been removed;

Tried but didn't get him....

1910.147(e)(3)(iii)
Ensuring that the authorized employee has this knowledge before he/she resumes work at that facility

Next time he comes back tell him or hand him both halves of his lock

 

[petersonra]

It still gets covered by the same...

1910.147(e)(3)(i)
Verification by the employer that the authorized employee who applied the device is not at the facility:

He's not there

1910.147(e)(3)(ii)
Making all reasonable efforts to contact the authorized employee to inform him/her that his/her lockout or tagout device has been removed;

Tried but didn't get him....

1910.147(e)(3)(iii)
Ensuring that the authorized employee has this knowledge before he/she resumes work at that facility

Next time he comes back tell him or hand him both halves of his lock

If he left w/o taking his padlock off, he wouldn't be invited back in a lot of plants.

Some places have the supervisor put the main lock on, and then the employees put their's on. The employees generally are required to remove their locks at the end of the shift, while the supervisor lock stays on.