Real workplaces are not one-person jobs. Several workers may service one large machine. A job may last through two shifts. A contractor may do the repair. The standard has specific rules for each of these cases, so that protection never has gaps.
Group lockout or tagout
When more than one person works on the same equipment, the standard requires a group procedure that gives each person protection equal to a personal lock. A group may use one lock or tag set on a main isolating point, for example on a large production line. The standard sets out the following.
- One authorized employee has primary responsibility for a set number of employees working under the group device.
- That person finds out the exposure status of each group member to the hazards.
- If more than one crew, craft or department is involved, one authorized employee is made responsible for overall job-associated lockout control and coordinates the work.
- Each authorized employee puts a personal lockout or tagout device on the group device when starting work, and takes it off when they stop working on the machine.
A common way to do this is a lockbox. The key to the group lock goes into the box, and each worker adds a personal lock to the box. The key comes out only when the last personal lock is removed.
Shift or personnel changes
A job may start with one crew and finish with another. The standard requires specific procedures to keep protection continuous during a shift or personnel change. This includes the orderly transfer of lockout or tagout devices between the leaving and the arriving employees, so there is no moment with no protection.
In practice:
- The outgoing worker does not remove the lock and leave. The new worker must put on their own lock first, or the transfer is handled as the procedure says.
- A handover briefing tells the new crew what has been done and what is still locked.
- Any lock or tag left by a previous shift is never ignored or assumed forgotten.
Outside contractors
Outside service people often work in a facility that is not their own. The standard says that when outside personnel do servicing covered by the standard:
- the on-site employer and the outside employer must inform each other of their lockout or tagout procedures;
- the on-site employer must make sure its employees understand and comply with the restrictions in the outside employer's program.
If you work for the host company, you may find a contractor's lock on equipment. It means someone could be working inside. Do not touch it.
Notification and communication
All affected employees must be told before controls are applied and after they are removed. This is how a nearby operator knows that the machine is not to be started. A sign, a radio call or a short briefing may be used, as the employer's procedure says.
Temporary and unusual situations
Shutdowns and turnarounds often bring in many contractors. The more people involved, the more important it becomes that:
- someone is in charge of the lockout plan;
- everyone has their own lock;
- lists show which locks are on which devices.
What to remember
- In a group, each person adds a personal lock to the group device.
- One authorized employee is in charge of the group.
- At a shift change, protection must be continuous: devices are transferred in an orderly way.
- Host and contractor must tell each other their procedures.
- A lock or tag you did not apply is never yours to remove.