Development of Specific Procedures for Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout)

Challenge

TRC was retained by a pharmaceutical company to develop control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout) machine specific procedures for their production and support equipment. The facility had over 50 pieces of equipment and machines that included, but not limited to, the following:

• Water Treatment and Purification Systems
• Syringe and Bag Fillers
• Autoclaves
• Compressors
• Boiler Units and Chillers
• HVAC Units
• Backup Generator
• Sterilizers

Solution

TRC provided on site assistance to the client to develop the lockout/tagout machine specific procedures and worked closely with operations and maintenance personnel, engineering and safety personnel to complete the procedures. TRC facilitated an initial kick-off meeting to explain the overall process of developing the procedures and review of the following:

• List of applicable machines and equipment
• Identify staff that will be involved in the procedure development process
• Establish a schedule and prioritization by department or production area
• Review the template provided by the company for the machine specific procedures
• Organization and identification of specific procedures
• Discuss potential obstacles, limitations, and/or safety concerns with developing the procedures

TRC then began to develop the procedures with the assistance of company personnel by reviewing the purpose and function of each machine or piece of equipment and documenting the following:

• Shutdown procedures
• Identification of the individual energy hazards
• Location of isolation points for each energy hazard using photographs
• Process for releasing stored energy as applicable
• Startup verification by hazard

Results

TRC successfully developed 55 lockout/tagout procedures for the specific machines and equipment. The procedures were subsequently reviewed by company personnel for completeness, accuracy and approval for use.