Excerpts from the Course

Lockout Tagout Procedures | Shutting Down

The first step in a lockout and tagout process is to prepare the machine for the shutdown. Hence, many machines can release stored energy when they are shut down abruptly. So it is important to prepare for shutdown to reduce the possibility of accidents at the time of shutdown.

Firstly, OSHA states that the shutdown must be done only by an authorized employee.  And this employee must know the type and magnitude of the energy that will be released when it is shut down. Appropriate safety measures must be taken to ensure that it does not impact the employee adversely, so he or she must know how to control this released energy.

Isolating the Equipment

After the equipment is shut down, the next step is to locate the source of the machine’s energy. This includes switches, valves, circuit breakers, etc. As a result, these pieces of equipment must be identified physically and isolated by employees who are authorized and knowledgeable to do it.

This makes the machine safe for servicing or repair as there will be no sudden surge in energy.

Releasing Stored Energy

So, After applying the lockout and tagout devices, the authorized employee must also safely release the stored energy.   While Stored Energy could be present inside the machine before it becomes ready for repair or servicing.

Also, the authorized employee must know where to look for the stored energy and. And in addition, how to safely release it without impacting any individual, machine, or the environment as a whole.

Some of the methods that can be used for releasing this stored energy are:

• Bleeding off pressure
• Blocking elevated parts
• Draining lines
• Allowing the equipment to cool
• Discharging capacitors, and
• Other methods as specified by the manufacturer

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