Summary
Lock Out/Tag Out procedures (LOTO) are internationally recognised safe systems of work designed to protect you while you work on equipment. Here is an example.
When used right these procedures protect you from life-changing injury and death.
LOTO lets you isolate specific power supplies and energy sources with a lock and a tag, letting you work on it safely and stopping it from being turned on by anyone else. It is required to work safely on some of the machines in the workshop.
For example, when working on the air line in the wood shop, you can use LOTO to turn off the air supply and prevent other members from turning it back on until you have completed the work safely.
Please Note
- When you isolate a tool you take responsibility for the safety of those working on it.
- You have a responsibility to make sure that anyone else working on the tool has finished and been warned before you turn the power on.
- Equally, nobody else may work on the tool without your permission while you have it locked out.
To lock out a tool:
- Get the lock and red tags from the red woodtech toolbox.
- Identify the supply to be locked out. Don’t guess. Follow the work instruction for that tool.
- Isolate the supply at the switch. If working on the air line, lock out the line to the shop and drain using an airline in the shop.
- With the switch in the off position, lock onto the switch so that it cannot be actuated. If anything stops you from locking the switch in position, do not continue as your safety will not be assured.
- Clip one red tag onto the hasp of the lock. Clip the second onto the key, and then onto a belt loop or somewhere else where you won’t forget it before leaving the space.
- Complete your work.
- When it is safe to do so reverse the isolation by removing the lock and tag. Place the lock and both tags back in the red toolbox.
If you leave the space without reversing an isolation please contact the woodtechs at the earliest opportunity to explain what has happened so they can deal with it safely.
Never remove a LOTO which someone else has fitted.
LOTO procedures are there to protect you.
Follow them and look after your safety and the safety of those around you.
Extended lock-outs
A LOTO can be used to keep a system safe for a longer period of time; for example, it could be used to lock out the air compressor while its being worked on over a weekend, or to prevent a tool with an unsafe condition being used for a longer period of time.
In this case, determine the best course of action with the other technicians, considering the impact on other areas of the space and members more generally. Remember to prioritise:
- Your own safety and the safety of others.
- The condition of the tools you’re working on.
- The chance for members to use the space.
If the LOTO must be left in place overnight or for longer than 24 hours, make arrangements with the rest of the woodtech team beforehand, and other tech teams or directors if necessary.