Canadian Occupational Safety

24 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com the lockout, Petaski says. Many companies include a diagram of the machine with arrows showing where lockout points are. The procedures must include step- by-step instructions: Preparation: Before shutting down a machine, authorized persons should identify hazardous energy to be controlled, select control methods and gather the necessary materials. They should inform all affected employees of the reason for the LOTO and likely duration. Machine shutdown: All controls are turned off. Machine, equipment or process isolation: Energy-isolating devices are applied in a way that isolates the machine from the energy supply. Control of stored energy: According to WorkSafeNB, methods of releasing residual energy include draining air from an air tank, bleeding a hydraulic system and placing blocks under an elevated weight. Lockout/tagout: The authorized person affi xes a lock and tag to each energy-isolating device. Locks and tags should clearly indicate the name of the person who applied the device, date and reason for LOTO. With group lockout, each person applies a personal lock and tag. A device such as a hasp may be used. To prevent unauthorized removal of locks, each lock has only one key, the person who applies a lock retains the key for it and only the person who installed it removes the lock. Locks and tags must be standardized by colour, shape or size. Companies often use a system of colour coding, Button says. "For example, the electrical department is blue and the maintenance department is red. That way, you can tell what department is working on it without even looking at the tag." Verifi cation of isolation: Once equipment is locked out and before maintenance work starts, employees have to verify by testing that the machine is not operative, says Jim Arsenault, director of occupational health and safety and traffi c safety at Safety Services New Brunswick in Fredericton. "Whether it's an on/off switch — in a lot of cases, it might be on a fuse panel or master control panel — they have to ensure before they work on the machine that it's in a zero-energy state and there's not an opportunity for something to happen." Return to service: With the work area cleared of tools and workers in a safe area, locks and tags are removed, the machine re-energized and affected employees notified of its imminent re-start. After each lockout, workers should sign off on it and document the work done, Arsenault says. All workers perform- ing maintenance tasks on a machine that can unexpect- edly cause injury must be trained on lockout/tagout, Rood says. "Authorized workers must be aware of the types and magnitudes of hazardous energies they could encounter," he says. They must also know how to perform all lockout steps on the machines in the workplace. Training for affected individuals, including machine operators, should cover the purpose of the program as well as potential hazards to themselves and authorized workers. Employers should docu- ment initial and refresher training and revise it as equipment is added or modifi ed. Arsenault notes training reg- ulations vary across jurisdictions. In New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, for example, employers can provide the training to their employees. In Newfoundland, however, it must be provided by a third party. CSA Z460-13 advises companies to review the effectiveness of their program at least every three years. "The auditing process will vary," Petaski says. "A company may want to review procedures annually to make sure they are still up to date. Another company may want to do inspections periodically to make sure the program is being followed properly." At Moosehead, the key to ensuring workers follow safe lockout procedures is education, says Pellegrini. In fact, the company even requires offi ce staff go through orientation to understand its purpose and process. "We want to educate as many people as we can and make it as open as possible, so there's no mystery. Everyone understands the reason for lockout," he says. "With more education, people are going to be more aware of the need for safety and more willing to adopt safe procedures." Linda Johnson is a freelance writer based in Toronto. She can be reached at lindajohnson@sympatico.ca. The classic OH&S resource in the format you prefer Now you can access the go- to OH&S resource for Ontario companies – the "Green Book" – as a smart eBook on your iPad, Android tablet or directly from your web browser. Powered by the Thomson Reuters ProView™ app, our eBook gives you the freedom and fl exibility to work wherever and whenever you want. 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THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO VERIFY LOCKOUTS: • The machine, equipment or process controls (push buttons, switches etc.) are engaged or activated and the result is observed. No result means isolation is verifi ed. Return controls to safe position (off). • Visual inspection of: ■ electrical connections to ensure they are open ■ suspended parts to ensure they are lowered to a resting position or blocked to prevent movement ■ other devices that restrain machine or process movement ■ valve positioning for double block and bleed (for pipes or ducts) — closing two valves of a section of a line and then bleeding (or venting) the section of the line between the two closed valve. ■ presence of solid plate used to absolutely close a line — called line blanking (for pipes or ducts) ■ any other acceptable method of energy isolation. • Testing of the equipment: ■ Test circuitry (should be done by certifi ed electrician). However, equipment with capacitors needs to be cycled until all energy is drained. ■ Check pressure gauges to ensure hydraulic and pneumatic potential energy is removed. ■ Check temperature gauges to ensure thermal energy has been discharged. Choose the method that will best ensure the energy to the system has been isolated without creating other hazards during the verifi cation. Source: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety machine operators, should cover the purpose of the program as well as potential hazards to themselves and authorized or modifi ed. Arsenault notes training reg- ulations vary across jurisdictions. In New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, for example, employers can provide the training to their employees. In closing two valves of a section of a line and then bleeding (or venting) the section of the line between the two closed valve. presence of solid plate used to absolutely close a line — called any other acceptable method of energy isolation. Test circuitry (should be done by certifi ed electrician). However, equipment with capacitors needs to be cycled Check pressure gauges to ensure hydraulic and pneumatic Check temperature gauges to ensure thermal energy Choose the method that will best ensure the energy to the system has been isolated without creating other Source: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety

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