296-307-320 Control of hazardous energy
(lockout-tagout).
296-307-32001 What does this section cover?
296-307-32003 When does this section not apply?
296-307-32005 What definitions apply to this section?
296-307-32007 What are the required elements of an energy control
program?
296-307-32009 How does an employer determine when to use lockout vs.
tagout?
296-307-32011 What requirements must be met to substitute tagout for
lockout?
296-307-32013 What are the required elements of energy control procedures?
296-307-32015 What requirements apply to lockout and tagout devices
and materials?
296-307-32017 How often must the energy control procedure be inspected?
296-307-32019 What general requirements apply to energy control program
training and communication?
296-307-32021 What additional requirements apply to tagout training
and communication?
296-307-32023 What requirements apply to employee retraining?
296-307-32025 What training records must an employer keep?
296-307-32027 Who may perform lockout or tagout?
296-307-32029 Who must be notified of lockout and tagout?
296-307-32031 What order of events must lockout or tagout procedures
follow?
296-307-32033 What order of events must be followed to remove lockout
or tagout devices?
296-307-32035 What requirements apply to testing and positioning machines
and equipment?
296-307-32037 What requirements apply to outside servicing contractors?
296-307-32039 What requirements apply to group lockout or tagout?
296-307-32041 What requirements apply to lockout/tagout during shift
changes?
WAC 296-307-320 Control
of hazardous energy (lockout-tagout).
(1) WAC
296-307-320 covers the servicing and maintenance of machines
and equipment in which the unexpected start up of the machine
or equipment or release of stored energy could cause injury to
employees. This standard establishes minimum performance requirements
for the control of such hazardous energy.
(2) Normal production operations are not covered by this standard. Servicing
and/or maintenance that takes place during normal production operations
is covered by this standard only if:
(a) An employee is required to remove or bypass a guard or
other safety device; or
(b) An employee is required to place a body part into a point
of operation or where an associated danger zone exists during
a machine operating cycle.
Exception: Minor servicing activities, that
take place during normal production operations, are not covered
by this standard if they are routine, repetitive, and integral
to the use of the equipment for production, provided that the
work is performed using alternative measures that provide effective
protection.
(1) WAC
296-307-320 does not apply to work on cord and plug connected
electric equipment when:
(a) Unexpected energization or start up of the equipment is controlled
by unplugging the equipment from the energy source; and
(b) The plug is under the exclusive control of the employee performing
the servicing or maintenance.
(2) WAC
296-307-320 does not apply to hot tap operations involving
transmission and distribution systems for substances such as gas,
steam, water, or petroleum products when they are performed on
pressurized pipelines, when:
(a) Continuity of service is essential;
(b) Shutdown of the system is impractical; and
(c) Documented procedures are followed, and special equipment is used
that will provide proven effective protection for employees.
(3) WAC
296-307-320 does not cover exposure to electrical hazards
from work on, near, or with conductors or equipment in electric
utilization installations. These hazards are covered in chapter
296-307
WAC Part T.
“Affected employee” means an employee who uses a machine or equipment
while it is serviced or maintained under lockout or tagout, or who works
where such servicing or maintenance is being performed.
“Authorized employee” means a person who locks out or tags out
machines or equipment in order to perform servicing or maintenance on
that machine or equipment. An affected employee becomes an authorized
employee when that employee's duties include performing servicing or maintenance
covered under this part.
“Capable of being locked out” means an energy isolating device
that has a hasp or other means for a lock to be affixed, or has a locking
mechanism built into it. It also means that the device can be locked out
without dismantling, rebuilding, or replacing the energy isolating device
or permanently altering its energy control capability.
“Energized” means connected to an energy source or containing
residual or stored energy.
“Energy isolating device” means a mechanical device that physically
prevents the transmission or release of energy, including but not limited
to the following:
A manually operated electrical circuit breaker;
A disconnect switch;
A manually operated switch with conductors of circuit that can be
disconnected from all ungrounded supply conductors and allows no pole
to operate independently;
A line valve;
A block; and
Any similar device used to block or isolate energy.
Push buttons, selector switches, and other control circuit devices are
not energy isolating devices.
“Energy source” means any source of electrical, mechanical, hydraulic,
pneumatic, chemical, thermal, or other energy, including gravity.
“Hot tap” means a procedure used in repair, maintenance, and service
activities that involves welding on a piece of equipment (pipelines, vessels,
or tanks) under pressure, in order to install connections or accessories.
It is commonly used to replace or add sections of pipeline without the
interruption of service for air, gas, water, steam, and petrochemical
distribution systems.
“Lockout” means placing a lockout device on an energy isolating
device, in accordance with an established procedure, to ensure that the
energy isolating device and the equipment being controlled cannot be operated
until the lockout device is removed.
“Lockout device” means a device with a positive means such as
a lock (key or combination type) to hold an energy isolating device in
the safe position and prevents the energizing of a machine or equipment.
Blank flanges and bolted slip blinds are included.
“Normal production operations” means using a machine or equipment
for its intended production function.
“Servicing and/or maintenance” means workplace activities such
as constructing, installing, setting up, adjusting, inspecting, modifying,
and maintaining and/or servicing machines or equipment. These activities
include lubrication, cleaning, or unjamming of machines or equipment and
making adjustments or tool changes, where the employee may be exposed
to the unexpected energization or start up of the equipment or release
of hazardous energy.
“Setting up” means any work performed to prepare a machine or
equipment to perform its normal production operation.
“Tagout” means placing a tagout device on an energy isolating
device, according to an established procedure, to indicate that the energy
isolating device and the equipment being controlled must not be operated
until the tagout device is removed.
“Tagout device” means a prominent warning device, such as a tag
and attachment, that can be securely fastened to an energy isolating device
according to an established procedure, to indicate that the energy isolating
device and the equipment being controlled must not be operated until the
tagout device is removed.
WAC 296-307-32007
What are the required elements of an energy control program?
You must establish a written energy control program consisting of:
An energy control procedure;
Employee training; and
Periodic inspections.
The purpose of the program is to ensure that before any employee services
or maintains a machine or equipment where the unexpected energizing, start
up, or release of stored energy could occur and cause injury, the machine
or equipment is isolated from the energy source, and rendered inoperative.
WAC 296-307-32009
How does an employer determine when to use lockout vs. tagout?
(1) If an energy isolating device is not capable of being locked out,
your energy control program must use a tagout system.
(2) If an energy isolating device is capable of being locked out, your
energy control program must use lockout unless a tagout system
will provide full employee protection according to WAC
296-307-32011.
(3) Whenever major replacement or major repair, renovation, or modification
of a machine or equipment is performed, and whenever new machines or equipment
are installed, energy isolating devices for such machines or equipment
must be designed to accept a lockout device.
WAC 296-307-32011
What requirements must be met to substitute tagout for lockout?
(1) You must ensure that when a tagout device is used on an energy isolating
device that is capable of being locked out, the tagout device is attached
at the same location that the lockout device would have been attached.
You must also ensure that the tagout program will provide safety that
is equivalent to a lockout program.
(2) To demonstrate that a tagout program provides safety that is equivalent
to a lockout program, you must demonstrate full compliance with all tagout
requirements and any other measures necessary to provide equivalent safety.
Other measures include:
(a) Implementing additional safety measures such as the removal of
an isolating circuit element;
(b) Blocking a controlling switch;
(c) Opening an extra disconnecting device; or
(d) Removing a valve handle to reduce the likelihood of inadvertent
energization.
WAC 296-307-32013
What are the required elements of energy control procedures?
(1) You must develop, document, and use procedures to control potentially
hazardous energy when employees are engaged in activities covered by this
section.
Exception: You are exempt from documenting procedures
for a particular machine or equipment only when all of the following elements
exist:
(a) The machine or equipment has no potential for stored or residual
energy or reaccumulation of stored energy after shut down that could
endanger employees;
(b) The machine or equipment has a single energy source that can be
readily identified and isolated;
(c) The isolation and locking out of that energy source will completely
deenergize and deactivate the machine or equipment;
(d) The machine or equipment is isolated from that energy source and
locked out during servicing or maintenance;
(e) A single lockout device will achieve lockout;
(f) The lockout device is under the exclusive control of the authorized
employee performing the servicing or maintenance;
(g) The servicing or maintenance does not create hazards for other
employees; and
(h) The worksite has experienced no accidents involving the unexpected
activation or reenergization of the machine or equipment during servicing
or maintenance.
(2) The procedures must clearly and specifically outline the scope, purpose,
authorization, rules, and techniques for the control of hazardous energy,
and the means to enforce compliance including, but not limited to, the
following:
(a) A specific statement of the intended use of the procedure;
(b) Specific procedural steps for shutting down, isolating, blocking,
and securing machines or equipment to control hazardous energy;
(c) Specific procedural steps for the placement, removal, and transfer
of lockout devices or tagout devices and the responsibility for them;
and
(d) Specific requirements for testing a machine or equipment to determine
and verify the effectiveness of lockout devices, tagout devices, and
other energy control measures.
WAC 296-307-32015
What requirements apply to lockout and tagout devices and materials?
(1) You must provide locks, tags, chains, wedges, key blocks, adapter
pins, self-locking fasteners, or other hardware for isolating, securing,
or blocking machines or equipment from energy sources.
(2) Lockout and tagout devices must be singularly identified; must be
the only device(s) used for controlling energy; must not be used for other
purposes.
(3) Lockout and tagout devices must be durable and meet the following
requirements:
(a) Lockout and tagout devices must be able to withstand the environment
to which they are exposed for the maximum period of time that exposure
is expected.
(b) Tagout devices must be constructed and printed so that exposure
to weather conditions or wet and damp locations will not deteriorate
the tag or make the tag's message illegible.
(c) Tags must not deteriorate when used in corrosive environments such
as areas where acid and alkali chemicals are handled and stored.
(4) Lockout and tagout devices must be the same within the facility in
at least color, shape, or size. Also, tagout devices must have the same
print and format.
(5) Lockout and tagout devices must be substantial and meet the following
requirements:
(a) Lockout devices must be substantial enough to prevent removal without
the use of excessive force or unusual techniques, such as with the use
of bolt cutters or other metal cutting tools.
(b) Tagout devices and their means of attachment must be substantial
enough to prevent accidental removal. Tagout device attachment means
must be single-use, attachable by hand, self-locking, releasable with
an unlocking strength of at least 50 pounds, and having the general
design and basic characteristics of being at least equivalent to a one-piece,
all-environment-tolerant nylon cable tie.
(c) Lockout and tagout devices must indicate the name of employee applying
the device(s).
(6) Tagout devices must warn against hazardous conditions if the machine
or equipment is energized and must include a message such as: “Do not
start,” “do not open,” “do not close,” “do not energize,” “do not operate.”
WAC 296-307-32017
How often must the energy control procedure be inspected?
(1) You must conduct an inspection of the energy control procedure at
least annually to ensure that the procedure and the requirements of this
standard are followed.
(a) An authorized employee, other than the one(s) using the energy
control procedure, must perform the inspection.
(b) The inspection must be conducted to correct any deviations or inadequacies
identified.
(c) Where lockout is used for energy control, the inspection must include
a review, between the inspector and each authorized employee, of that
employee's responsibilities under the energy control procedure.
(d) Where tagout is used for energy control, the inspection must include
a review, between the inspector and each authorized and affected
employee, of that employee's responsibilities under the energy
control procedure, and the elements of WAC
296-307-32021.
(2) You must certify that the inspections have been performed. The certification
must identify the machine or equipment on which the energy control procedure
was being used, the date of the inspection, the employees included in
the inspection, and the person performing the inspection.
WAC 296-307-32019
What general requirements apply to energy control program training and
communication?
You must provide training to ensure that employees understand the purpose
and function of the energy control program, and that employees have the
knowledge and skills required for the safe application, use, and removal
of the energy controls. The training must include the following:
(1) Each authorized employee must receive training in the recognition
of applicable hazardous energy sources, the type and magnitude of the
energy available in the workplace, and the methods and means necessary
for energy isolation and control.
(2) Each affected employee must be instructed in the purpose and use
of the energy control procedure.
(3) All other employees who work in an area where energy control procedures
must be used, must be instructed about the procedure and the prohibition
against attempting to restart or reenergize machines or equipment that
are locked out or tagged out.
WAC 296-307-32021
What additional requirements apply to tagout training and communication?
When tagout systems are used, employees must also be trained in the
following limitations of tags:
(1) Tags are warning devices affixed to energy isolating devices, and
do not provide the physical restraint on those devices that is provided
by a lock.
(2) When a tag is attached to an energy isolating means, it is not to
be removed without approval of the authorized person responsible for it,
and it is never to be bypassed, ignored, or otherwise defeated.
(3) Tags must be legible and understandable by all authorized, affected,
and other employees working in the area.
(4) Tags and their means of attachment must be made of materials that
will withstand the environmental conditions encountered in the workplace.
(5) Tags may create a false sense of security, and their meaning needs
to be understood as part of the overall energy control program.
(6) Tags must be securely attached to energy isolating devices so that
they cannot be accidentally detached during use.
(1) Authorized and affected employees must be retrained whenever there
is a change in job assignments, machines, equipment, or processes that
present a new hazard, or when there is a change in the energy control
procedures.
(2) Additional retraining must also be provided whenever an inspection
reveals, or whenever you believe, that the employee's knowledge or use
of the energy control procedures is inadequate.
(3) Retraining must reestablish employee proficiency and introduce new
or revised control methods and procedures, as necessary.
You must keep records that certify that employee training has been completed
and is up to date. The records must contain each employee's name and dates
of training.
Affected employees must be notified of the application and removal of
lockout or tagout devices. Notification must be given before controls
are applied and after they are removed.
WAC 296-307-32031
What order of events must lockout or tagout procedures follow?
The established lockout or tagout procedures must cover the following
elements in the following sequence:
Machinery or equipment shutdown before lockout or tagout:
(1) Before an authorized or affected employee turns off a machine or
equipment, the authorized employee must have knowledge of the type and
magnitude of the energy, the hazards of the energy to be controlled, and
the method or means to control the energy.
(2) The machine or equipment must be turned off or shut down using the
procedures established for the machine or equipment. The shutdown must
be done in the prescribed order to avoid increased hazards to employees.
(3) All necessary energy isolating devices must be physically located
and operated in such a manner as to isolate the machine or equipment from
the energy source.
Application of the lockout or tagout device:
(4) Lockout or tagout devices must be affixed to each energy isolating
device by authorized employees.
(5) Lockout devices, where used, must be affixed in a manner that will
hold the energy isolating devices in a “safe” or “off” position.
(6) Tagout devices, where used, must be affixed in such a manner as will
clearly indicate that the operation or movement of energy isolating devices
from the “safe” or “off” position is prohibited.
(a) Where tagout devices are used with energy isolating devices designed
with the capability of being locked, the tag attachment must be fastened
at the same point at which the lock would have been attached.
(b) Where a tag cannot be affixed directly to the energy isolating
device, the tag must be located as close as safely possible to the device,
in a position that will be immediately obvious to anyone attempting
to operate the device.
Eliminating the hazards of stored energy:
(7) After applying lockout or tagout devices to energy isolating devices,
all potentially hazardous stored or residual energy must be relieved,
disconnected, restrained, and otherwise rendered safe.
(8) If there is a possibility of reaccumulation of stored energy to a
hazardous level, verification of isolation must be continued until the
servicing or maintenance is completed, or until the possibility of such
accumulation no longer exists.
Before beginning service or maintenance:
(9) Prior to starting work on machines or equipment that have been locked
out or tagged out, the authorized employee must verify that the machine
or equipment has been isolated and deenergized.
WAC 296-307-32033
What order of events must be followed to remove lockout or tagout devices?
(1) Before removing lockout or tagout devices, the authorized employee
must complete the following procedures:
(a) Inspect the work area to ensure that nonessential items have been
removed and to ensure that machine or equipment components are operationally
intact.
(b) Check the work area to ensure that all employees have been safely
positioned or removed.
(2) After lockout or tagout devices have been removed and before a machine
or equipment is started, affected employees must be notified that the
lockout or tagout device(s) have been removed.
(3) Each lockout or tagout device must be removed from each energy isolating
device by the authorized employee who applied the device.
Exception: When the authorized employee who applied
the lockout or tagout device is not available to remove it, that device
may be removed under your direction, if specific procedures and training
for such removal have been developed, documented, and incorporated into
the energy control program.
You must ensure that the specific procedure provides equivalent safety
to the removal of the device by the authorized employee who applied it.
The specific procedure must include at least the following elements:
(a) Verification by the employer that the authorized employee who applied
the device is not at the facility;
(b) Making all reasonable efforts to inform the authorized employee
that the lockout or tagout device has been removed; and
(c) Ensuring that the authorized employee has this knowledge before
resuming work at that facility.
WAC 296-307-32035
What requirements apply to testing and positioning machines and equipment?
When lockout or tagout devices must be temporarily removed from the
energy isolating device and the machine or equipment energized to test
or position the machine or equipment, the following sequence of actions
must be followed:
(1) Clear the machine or equipment of tools and materials according to
WAC
296-307-32033 (1)(a).
(2) Remove employees from the machine or equipment area according to
WAC
296-307-32033 (1)(b).
(3) Remove the lockout or tagout devices as specified in WAC
296-307-32033(3).
(4) Energize and proceed with testing or positioning.
(5) Deenergize all systems and reapply energy control measures in accordance
with WAC
296-307-32031 to continue the servicing and/or maintenance.
WAC 296-307-32037
What requirements apply to outside servicing contractors?
(1) Whenever outside servicing contractors are to be engaged in activities
covered by this standard, you and the outside employer must inform each
other of your respective lockout or tagout procedures.
(2) The outside employer must ensure that employees understand and comply
with the restrictions and prohibitions of your energy control program.
WAC 296-307-32039
What requirements apply to group lockout or tagout?
(1) When servicing and/or maintenance is performed by a crew or other
group, they must use a procedure that provides a level of protection equivalent
to that provided by the implementation of a personal lockout or tagout
device.
(2) Group lockout or tagout devices must be used according to the procedures
required by WAC
296-307-32013 including, but not limited to, the following:
(a) An authorized employee has primary responsibility for a set number
of employees working under the protection of a group lockout or tagout
device (such as an operations lock); and
(b) A method for the authorized employee to determine if individual
group members are exposed to release of stored energy hazards; and
(c) When more than one crew or group is involved, assignment of overall
lockout or tagout control responsibility to an authorized employee designated
to coordinate individual group members and ensure continuity of protection;
and
(d) Each authorized employee must affix a personal lockout or tagout
device to the group lockout device when beginning work, and must remove
those devices when the work is complete.
WAC 296-307-32041
What requirements apply to lockout/tagout during shift changes?
During shift or personnel changes, you must ensure that employees follow
specific procedures to ensure the continuity of lockout or tagout protection.
The procedures must include orderly transfer of lockout or tagout protection
between off-going and oncoming employees, to minimize exposure to hazards
from the unexpected energization or start-up of the machine or equipment,
or release of stored energy.
For
printing
back
to top