Lockout energy control placarding for power distribution equipment

摘要

Lockout energy control, also commonly referred to aslockout-tagout, is a safety technique well known to industry due to itsrequirement by Federal law, CFR 29, 1910.147 and as supplemented by CFR1910 Subpart “S”. Properly implemented lockout energycontrol procedures utilize properly rated disconnect devices to open thedifferent supplies of energy to a machine. These disconnect devices arethen physically locked so that energy flow is prevented during the workprocess. Proper testing is performed to verify that the equipment hasbeen placed in an electrically safe work condition. Use of lockouttechniques is required in most facilities, including power distributionfacilities, but is often established in many differing ways. Many times,flags, tags, the instructions of a system operator, or other means areutilized in power distribution facilities to approximate the same levelof safety as is afforded by use of actual physical locks. Extensivetraining is required to maintain the integrity of these alternatesystems, but chance of error is greater than in the systems where locksare used. Use of personal locks also squarely places the responsibilityachieving the electrically safe condition of the equipment upon theworker or employee. The tool discussed in this paper, called a placard,has been used in some industrial facilities to enhance the federalrequirements of a lockout energy control program. This tool has beenapplied to power distribution equipment. The development andimplementation of this tool, its advantages, and difficultiesencountered during the process are discussed