Controlling Hazardous Energy

We often talk about hazardous energy. It includes a variety of sources. But how can hazardous energy be controlled?

How can hazardous energy be controlled?

Hopefully our readers know the importance of controlling hazardous energy. Accidents caused due to uncontrolled hazardous energy are often serious, and can lead to injury, including the loss of limb, or even death. A failure to control it leads to an approximate ten per cent ‘serious accidents' across industries. This brings us to the importance of proper LOTO i.e., lockout tagout procedures.
 These practices protect employees from the release of hazardous energy. OSHA's (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) guidelines (The federal agency of the United States Department of Labor has a factsheet for this purpose.) lay out the process to be followed to disable machines or equipment. Its standard for The Control of Hazardous Energy details how to control various types of hazardous energy. (Various types of energy sources, such as, electrical, mechanical, thermal and chemical are included.) Remember, it is an employer's responsibility to ensure that his workers remain protected from uncontrolled hazardous energy. But how do they do that?
 For one, employers have to train all their workers to ensure that the provisions of hazardous energy control procedures are understood and can be followed by them.

1. Mentioned above, OSHA standard for The Control of Hazardous Energy presents procedures for controlling hazardous energy while machinery and equipment is being serviced. Employers need to ensure that their workers have possess the knowledge and skills required to safely use and remove energy control devices.

2. Workers working in areas that utilize energy control procedures are to be instructed in the purpose and use of these procedures. Of particular mention is the prohibition against the attempt to restart the machinery or equipment that has been locked out.

3. Talking of training, employees authorized to perform servicing or maintenance of machinery or equipment are required to be trained to recognize applicable hazardous energy sources at their workplace, the type and magnitude of the energy and the methods to isolate and control it.

4. The workers are also to be made well-aware of the limitations pertaining to tagout systems where they are allowed.

5. Employees have to be retrained so that they remain well-versed with the latest control methods.

While the above list is not an ultimate guide on energy control, it forms a basic resource on the controlling of hazardous energy. Wishing everyone safety at work!