Developing Equipment Specific Lockout/Tagout Procedures
Challenge
Antea Group was contracted by one of the world’s largest chemical manufacturing organizations to provide equipment-specific lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedures at their largest research and development facility in North America. The overall objective of the project was to evaluate worker risks during maintenance and repair operations associated with laboratory equipment at the facility, and to mitigate those risks through the development and implementation of equipment specific lockout/tagout procedures. Development of these procedures also helped the facility to ensure regulatory compliance with OSHA’s standard on Control of Hazardous Energy (29 CFR 1910.147).
Solution
Antea Group assisted the site in preparing an inventory of laboratory equipment subject to coverage by the OSHA standard. In all, over 300 individual pieces of equipment were identified in the facility as requiring new procedures. Key types of equipment in the survey included:
Plastics extruders & molders
Weather & UV light simulation chambers
Test ovens
Autoclaves
Chemical reactor systems
A range of analytical equipment, including GCs, HPLCs, mass spectrometers, and NMR unit
Scanning Electron Microscopes
A team of Antea Group professionals organized to develop highly visual LOTO procedures with clearly identified isolation step photos and instructions. Per the client’s request, procedures were developed within a 3-week time period in order to meet a corporate deadline.
Result
Client benefits included reduced risks for persons who work with, service, or repair equipment within the facility and the client is better assured that it is in full compliance with OSHA’s standard on Control of Hazardous Energy (29 CFR 1910.147). The client was also able to successfully meet its closure deadline related to an internal EHS audit and since the audit, Antea Group has served as a trusted partner for updating the procedures and equipment expansions.
