What happened?
At a seafood processing warehouse in Sydney, an employee arrived at work in the early hours of the morning and as usual began setting up the processing machinery for the day. The afternoon prior, some maintenance was carried out on a conveyor by the owner, however, it was not able to be completed due to a missing spare part. Proper lockout-tagout procedures weren’t followed, despite the site having a procedure in place. An employee noticed that the conveyor was unplugged, however, this was not unusual due to cleaning procedures. The employees powered up the conveyor and significant damage was caused to it, but thankfully none of the team were hurt in the process.
What we learned
Ensuring that lockout-tagout procedures are always followed is imperative for staff safety and protection of plant and equipment when it is being commissioned, cleaned, serviced, repaired or altered.
Tips and tools
Lockout-tagout is a planned safety procedure that disables the energy supply of machinery and equipment whilst servicing, maintenance work, repairs or cleaning are in progress.
Development of a written procedure, containing all details of Lockout/Tagout steps to be followed during the work is vital to ensuring the safety of people on your worksite. Ensure that the procedure is regularly updated, and that a copy is made easily accessible to all employees, contractors and visitors.
For more information on practical safety ideas from AMSA, click here.