SAFE ISOLATION OF MACHINERY

Code No: 702

Video Running Time: 21 minutes

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One of the facts surrounding the operation of powerful machinery on board ship is that when it is switched off for repair or maintenance it must still be controlled by safety measures. A lock out and tag out system has been designed to provide this safety.

The training package explains that there are two tiers to this safety system. A tag out system represents the administrative control, which involves placing a warning tag on the means of machine or power isolation, informing others that the machinery or power system is being worked on. The tag should prohibit the reinstatement of the system by anyone other than the person who placed the tag. Severe disciplinary action and retraining should follow any violation of this rule.

The second tier of safety involves the use of a physical locking out of controls, switches and isolators, thereby preventing its reconnection by anyone other than the key holder of the lock out device. A tag must be attached to the locking device, informing others of the name of the person who placed it, the reason for its isolation and the date on which it was placed. Other information, which may be given on the warning tag, includes the department and contact details of the person placing the device. Both tiers of this safety system must be recorded in a log-book and cancelled when the work has finished and the lockout device and tag have been removed.

The video illustrates the use of the lock out/tag out system in some special cases, for example, when the same machinery is being worked on by several different engineers and when shift work is involved and the new shift arrives before the last one has finished working.