Make machine intervention safer!
Lockout/Tagout can save lives during machine maintenance and interventions in production facilities. Between 15 and 20 percent of workplace accidents can be avoided with Lockout/Tagout which is why the procedure should be part of any ambitious go-for-zero programme that bans accidents from the workplace.
In principle, Lockout/Tagout isolates machines from their energy supply during interventions, which prevents them from being reactivated prematurely. To implement Lockout/Tagout in the workplace, says Brady Corporation, machine-specific procedures need to list the necessary steps to isolate every machine. Writing these specific procedures requires some expertise and a thorough knowledge of Lockout/Tagout principles. Brady supports companies in creating and writing safe machine-specific procedures based on worldwide best practices.
To actively isolate a machine in line with the company-approved procedures, a number of lockout devices and padlocks are needed. For every energy isolation point, including handles, buttons, valves, levers and others, a Lockout/Tagout device exists that locks them in the off-position. A padlock will lock the device itself in place so that machinery that is being serviced, cannot be re-energised accidentally.
With best-practice machine-specific procedures, software to easily create and evaluate them, and the tools to isolate any machine from its energy sources, companies can avoid accidents during machine interventions and push a go-for-zero programme to the next level.
Click here to download the free Lockout/Tagout guide book, Safer Machine Interventions, from Brady.