WAC 296-803-800 Definitions

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Affected employee

An employee who’s required to operate, use, or be in the area where a machine or equipment could be locked or tagged out for service or maintenance.

Authorized employee

An employee who locks or tags out a machine or equipment to do service or maintenance.

Can be locked out

An energy-isolating device that can be locked in the “off” or “safe” position.

Employer

Based on chapter 49.17 RCW, an employer is any person, firm, corporation, partnership, business trust, legal representative, or other business entity which engages in any business, industry, profession, or activity in this state and employs one or more employees or who contracts with one or more persons, the essence of which is the personal labor of such person or persons and includes the state, counties, cities, and all municipal corporations, public corporations, political subdivisions of the state, and charitable organizations: Provided, that any persons, partnership, or business entity not having employees, and who is covered by the Industrial Insurance Act must be considered both an employer and an employee.

Energized

Connected to an energy source or containing residual or stored energy.

Energy-isolating device

A mechanical device that physically prevents transmitting or releasing energy. This includes, but is not limited to:

• – Manually operated electrical circuit breakers
• – Disconnect switches
• – Manually operated switches that disconnect the conductors of a circuit from all ungrounded supply conductors if no pole of the switch can be operated independently
• – Line valves
• – Blocks
• – Similar devices used to block or isolate energy

Push buttons, selector switches and other control circuit type devices are not energy isolating devices.

Energy source

Any source of electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal or other energy, including gravity

Hot tap

A procedure which involves welding on pressurized pipelines, vessels, or tanks to install connections or accessories. It’s commonly used to replace or add sections of pipeline used in air, gas, water, steam, and petrochemical distribution systems without interrupting service

Lockout

Placing a lockout device on an energy-isolating device using an established procedure to make sure the machine or equipment can't be operated until the lockout device is removed.

Lockout device

A device that uses a positive means, such as a key or combination lock, to hold an energy-isolating device in the “safe” or “off” position. This includes blank flanges and bolted slip blinds.

Normal production operations

Using a machine or equipment for its intended production function

Primary authorized employee

An authorized employee who has overall responsibility for meeting the requirements of the lockout/tagout procedures

Service and maintenance

Activities such as constructing, installing, setting-up, adjusting, inspecting, modifying, maintaining, and servicing machines or equipment. It also includes lubricating, cleaning, unjamming, and making tool changes.

Setting-up

Work done to prepare a machine or equipment for normal production operations.

Tagout

Placing a tagout device on an energy-isolating device using an established procedure to indicate that the energy-isolating device and the machine or equipment being controlled may not be operated until the tagout device is removed.

Tagout device

A prominent warning device, such as a tag and a means of attachment. It can be securely fastened to an energy-isolating device to indicate that the energy-isolating device and the machine or equipment being controlled may not be operated until the tagout device is removed.

You

See definition of employer.