What are the exceptions to lockout?

There are many reasons for accidental injuries related to lockout, such as failure to completely stop the machine or equipment; failure to cut off or isolate the power source; accidentally turn on the power that has been turned off; failure to exclude the remaining energy of the equipment and machinery; The work site was not cleaned up before restarting. In general, work is performed on equipment that is connected to an electrical source via cord and the plug is not subject to lockout. That being said, explicitly sets forth a couple of conditions that must be satisfied to capitalize on this exception. Then, let’s introduce in detail what are the exceptions to lockout?

Here is the content list:

l Plugged-in Equipment

l Hot water tap work on pressurized pipe

l Minor tool changes and adjustments

Plugged-in Equipment

First, unexpected energization or startup of the equipment must be controlled by unplugging the equipment from the energy source. Second, the plug must be under the exclusive control of the person performing the work on the equipment/machinery.

Hot water tap work on pressurized pipe

Hot openings or pressure openings on pressurized pipelines involving the transmission and distribution of natural gas, water, steam, or petroleum products are not included in the lockout standard. To apply this exclusion, you must meet four requirements: you must prove that continuous service of materials (eg, gas, water) is essential; you must consider system shutdown impractical; you must work according to documented procedures; you must use special Equipment to effectively protect employees from harm.

Minor tool changes and adjustments

From time to time, employees may need to make minor adjustments during normal production operations. Normal production operations are not subject to lockout/tag-out standard unless an employee is required to remove or bypass a guard or other safety device, or an employee is required to place any part of his or her body into an area on a machine or piece of equipment where work is performed upon the material being processed or where an associated danger zone exists during a machine operating cycle. If either of the two conditions above is true, then lockout/Tagout does apply.

That said, there are times during normal operations when adherence to lockout/tag out rules would disrupt the production process or make required maintenance impossible. In these cases—provided that the work is routine, repetitive, and integral to the use of the equipment—lockout/Tagout does not apply, as long as employees take other safety precautions under machine guarding standards.

While effective lockout/tag-out procedures are crucial to employee safety, capitalizing on these exclusions can provide needed relief in real-world situations. Knowing when lockout/Tagout applies, and when it doesn’t, can help you run a more efficient safety program and prevent severe injuries to your employees.

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