How to Keep Your Employees Safe during Maintenance

A group lockout is defined as a lockout that occurs when more than one employee will be performing maintenance on a single piece of equipment simultaneously. Similar to a personal lockout, there should be one authorized employee that is in charge of the entire group lockout.  Also, OSHA requires that each employee must affix his/her own personal lock on each group lockout device or group lockbox.

Requirements for Authorized Employee in Charge

A requirement from OSHA is that a single authorized employee must assume the overall responsibility for all of the members of the group while the maintenance work is in progress. The authorized employee with overall responsibility must:

      §  Implement the energy control procedures ;

      §  Communicate the purpose of maintenance to the group;

      §  Organize the operation, and;

      §  Ensure that the lockout-tagout procedure has been followed correctly.

When assigning a single individual to assume the entire responsibility, it is crucial that this authorized employee be familiar with the types and magnitudes of the energy sources that they will be exposed to while working on this piece of equipment.

While performing a group lockout, the most important aspect of the lockout is that every employee performing the maintenance applies his/her own lock to each group lockout device or lockbox. There are two different methods that can be followed in order to comply with this OSHA requirement, the first being the hasp method.

Hasp Method for Group Lockout

The hasp method for group lockout requires each employee to place his or her personal lock to each energy disconnect that is mentioned in the corresponding lockout-tagout procedure. In order to allow for more than one lock on each energy disconnect, a hasp is used. The hasp is a lockout-tagout device that allows for six different locks to be placed on any energy disconnect. Therefore, the authorized employee that is assuming the responsibility, will place their lock on the hasp first at every energy disconnect, and every other employee performing the maintenance must place their lock on each hasp as well. Additionally, it is crucial to remember that every other employee has the right to inspect the lockout prior to affixing their locks.

Here are a few of the scenarios that will prove the hasp method to be beneficial, they include:

      §  Lockout of less complex equipment (less than four energy disconnects).

      §  When employees have multiple personal locks provided by employer.

      §  Fewer employees involved in group lockout (2-3 persons).

Group Lockbox Method for Group Lockout

Unlike the hasp method, the group lockbox method only requires one employee to affix multiples locks to the machine, while everyone else applies just one locks to the lockbox. The authorized employee that has been designated to assume the responsibilities of the group will be required to place personal locks on each energy disconnect, place the keys to those locks inside a lockbox, and lock the lockbox with an additional personal lock. Next, the other employees performing the service will inspect the lockout and afterwards place his/her own personal lock on the lockbox as well. If another employee joins the lockout or if anyone leaves, they are responsible for adding or removing their lock to the lockbox.

The situations that prove the lockbox method to be the more efficient method include:

      §  Lockout of complex equipment (5 or more sources).

      §  When each employee only has 1 or 2 personal locks from employer.

      §  Large number of employees involved in group lockout.

      §  When employees will be joining and leaving the lockout frequently (shift change, etc.).

The employee in charge should be the first person to apply their lock and the last to remove it from the group lockbox; they are also responsible for restoring the unit to normal operation after all servicing is complete.

Summary

Although both methods are compliant, there are different situations that prove one of the methods to be superior to the other. It is the decision of the company as to what method they would like to incorporate, but it is crucial to remember that no matter which method is chosen, each employee must affix his/her or personal lock to each hasp or to the group lockbox. Also, group lockouts are more complex than normal lockouts; coordination and communication is required from the employee in charge to the other members of the group in order to complete a successful and safe lockout for all everybody.