Accidents due to Hazardous energy almost account for 10 per cent of all serious accidents in certain industries and there are several million workers at risk for hazardous energy injuries, including machine operators, labourers and electricians.
Maintenance activities or repair works can be mostly done with energy source only. The most probable cause of many accidents resulting in injury while during maintenance is that the work is performed with no knowledge of the system, whether it is energized or not and it can produce hazardous energy.
Release of hazardous energy can occur due to:
1. Failure to identify all energy sources
2. Absence of safe work provisions when energy is present
3. Reactivation of deactivated energy sources intentionally or accidentally without the knowledge of maintenance worker
Injuries due to hazardous energy occur when the energy in a machine or equipment is not properly controlled during maintenance. Common injuries with hazardous energy include burns, electrocution, crushing, cuts, lacerations, amputations and fractures. Such injuries could occur when a conveyor belt suddenly restarts crushing a worker after a jam is cleared, wiring in a piece of machinery shorts out electrocuting the worker or a steam valve turns on burning the workers during maintenance.
Everyone must be trained in energy control procedures, and workers in charge of these practices must be educated to recognize potential hazardous energy sources.
Serious injuries or death to workers can result while servicing and maintaining machines and equipment or during the unexpected startup or release of stored energy. The sources of hazardous energy sources include electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal, or other sources in machines and equipment. All the workers at workplace must be trained in energy control procedures and workers in charge of these practices must be educated to recognize potential hazardous energy sources.
- Mechanical energy from a machine’s moving parts, like wheels, springs or elevated parts.
- Hydraulic energy of pressurized, moving liquids, usually water or oil, in accumulators or lines.
- Pneumatic energy of pressurized, moving gas, as found in air in tanks and lines.
- Chemical energy by a chemical reaction between two or more substances.
- Thermal energy - Heat energy; most commonly, steam energy.
- Stored energy in batteries and capacitors.
The hazardous energy control program coordinator for each department shall coordinate the inspection of facilities and consult with employees and supervisors assigned to service and maintain equipment/machinery in order to develop hazardous energy control procedures. Hazardous energy control procedures shall be developed, documented, and utilized for the control of potentially hazardous energy during servicing and maintenance of equipment
Hazardous energy control programs involve five general steps:
1. Gathering information.
2. Performing a task analysis.
3. Conducting a hazard and risk analysis.
4. Implementing controls.
5. Communicating and training the workers
Develop a Hazardous energy control program in your industry
It is essential that the employers should develop a written program for hazardous energy control that includes detailed explanations of safe work and Lockout/Tagout procedures. Hazardous energy control program should include comprehensive training for all employees and outline the safety procedures.
1. Ensure the compliance with regulations
In order to protect workers from hazardous energy-related injuries and deaths, employers should ensure that all hazardous energy sources are shut down and completely de-energized before employees begin repair or maintenance tasks on equipment.
It is required that employers provide all means of safety procedures including guarding, insulation, and personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect workers from coming into direct contact with hazardous energy sources.
2. Identify all hazardous energy sources in the industrial facility
Employers should thoroughly inspect the jobsites and record all hazardous energy sources and all applicable energy sources can be properly locked out prior to any installation, maintenance or repair task to protect workers.
3. Implement a Lockout/Tagout program
Lockout/Tagout program involves placing a lock onto the energy source of a machine or equipment for maintenance or repair to de-energizes the machine, so that the workers working on it do not have the risk of exposure to hazardous energy that could injure or kill them. After installing the lock, a tag is attached to it, warning other workers that the equipment is not safe for use.
Lockout/Tagout program is based on the principle that each lock is to be controlled by only one worker with only one key to ensure that no machine or equipment will be prematurely re-energized during the maintenance or repair process. In case where multiple workers will be involved in a repair, each person is to install his respective lock to the equipment being serviced and the equipment can only be re-energized when all of the locks have been removed.
4. Ensure the energy sources have been successfully de-energized
It is essential to verify the equipment has been completely de-energized. If in any case the energy source has not been successfully isolated or fails to verify the energy sources can put workers at risk for severe injury or even death.
5. Inspect for complete repairs before re-energizing and returning them for normal use
Before the newly serviced equipment is returned to normal use or prior to re-energizing, it should be inspected by a competent person for any maintenance work, repairs or installations and verify that they have been completed correctly and are safe to restore. After the system has been re-energized, the equipment should be closely observed for several operation cycles to make sure that all components are running in a safe manner.
6. Include hazardous energy training to all employees
Hazardous energy control training is not limited to authorized repair personnel but train all workers to recognize, avoid and prevent hazardous energy-related accidents by educating them on the basics of energy isolation and control, Lockout/Tagout program, how to verify that equipment has been de-energized, and how to carry out the inspection activities. Hazardous energy training should include:
- Basics of Hazardous energy
- Anticipation, recognition, and evaluation of hazardous energy
- Control of hazardous energy (COHE)
- Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) procedures
- Isolation of hazardous energy
- Zero energy state systems
It is necessary to have a hazardous energy control program in the industrial facilities to ensure the safety of employees who work around moving or energized equipment and operate, while following established workplace safety rules and regulations.
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