Lockout/Tagout

This reading sits behind a Safety panel. Every gallery in the Museum of VoTech carries a cautions band, and every student holds an OSHA 10 card before working unsupervised; these readings are the reasons why.

The panel text

A machine that is off can still kill you. Lockout/tagout is how a worker makes sure it stays off.

The idea. Before servicing, isolate every energy source — electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, gravity, stored spring, steam — and lock the isolation point with a lock only you hold the key to. Tag it with your name. Try to start the machine. Only then put your hands inside.

The rule. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147. It exists because maintenance workers were killed by machines a colleague restarted.

The steps. Notify · shut down · isolate · lock and tag · release stored energy · verify zero energy · work · remove locks in reverse, each worker their own.

The trades. Industrial maintenance, electrician, HVAC, elevator mechanic, data-center technician, water-plant operator, appliance repair — anyone who opens a machine.

Try it. The lockout station: six energy sources, six locks. Find the one most people miss.

Reading further

The panel's series (Safety) hangs together in Gallery G2, Tools, beside the demo bays. Each panel in the series is printed at 48 inches on aluminum composite, lent to schools and libraries, and archived here with its reading.