A very large percentage of accidents occur because of failure to lockout/tagout the machinery. In my experience, the failure to lockout/tagout is one of the largest source of violations found by OSHA when investigating an accident.
When to Lockout / Tagout:
Lockout and Tagout is required by OSHA for any maintenance or servicing operation when:
An employee is required to remove or bypass a guard or other safety device; or
An employee is required to place any part of his or her body into an area on a machine or piece of equipment where work is actually performed upon the material being processed (point of operation) or where an associated danger zone exists during a machine operating cycle.
Employers Must Develop a Lockout / Tagout Program
OSHA requires all employers to develop a specific program to ensure all machinery and equipment is locked out and tagged out during maintenance and servicing:
OSHA 1910.147(a)(3)(i) This section requires employers to establish a program and utilize procedures for affixing appropriate lockout devices or tagout devices to energy isolating devices, and to otherwise disable machines or equipment to prevent unexpected energization, start up or release of stored energy in order to prevent injury to employees.
OSHA 1910.147(c)(4)(i)The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout): Procedures shall be developed, documented, and utilized for the control of potentially hazardous energy when employees are engaged in the activities covered in this section.
