University of Maryland, College Park Policy on Control of Hazardous Energy During Maintenance of Equipment

This is a statement of official University policy to establish the process for compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation, "Control of Hazardous Energy," 29 CFR 1910.147. It is intended to protect University employees from hazards caused by the inadvertent activation of equipment during maintenance. This policy establishes the minimum requirements to protect employees from such hazards.

Servicing and/or maintenance which takes place during normal production operations is covered by this plan if: 1) An employee is required to remove or bypass a guard or safety device; or 2) An employee is required to place any part of his or her body into an area of the machine or piece of equipment where work is actually performed upon the material being processed (point of operation) or where an associated danger exists during a machine cycle.

Minor tool changes and adjustments (e.g., clearing jammed paper from a copier, printer or typewriter) and other minor servicing activities, which are routine, repetitive, and take place during normal production operations, are not covered by this plan. This type of maintenance must be completed using alternative safety measures (e.g., proper use of manufacturer-required and recommended machine guards).

This plan also does not apply to work on cord and plug connected electrical equipment for which exposure to the hazards of unexpected start-up is controlled by unplugging it from the energy source if the plug is under the exclusive control of the employee performing the service.

The University is dedicated to providing safe work facilities for students and employees, and complying with federal and state occupational health and safety standards. Administrators, managers, faculty, staff and students all share a responsibility to reduce hazards due to the unintentional release of hazardous energy.

The Lockout/Tagout Plan (LOTO) will be implemented for all facilities at the College Park Campus where there is need to perform maintenance or provide routine service to machinery or equipment. Servicing of all electrically, chemically, pneumatically, thermally and/or hydraulically powered machinery is included in this plan. Contractors who perform work on University equipment will also comply with the procedures outlined in this plan.

1. Department of Environmental Safety (DES) will:
   1. Provide consultation to assist in the identification of equipment where LOTO should be utilized;
   2. Prepare the LOTO Plan with periodic review and revisions as needed;
   3. Distribute the LOTO plan to each affected department for distribution to all individuals who are authorized by the department to perform maintenance on energized equipment;
   4. Approve locks to be used by individual departments;
   5. Investigate and document all reported accidents and/or near-miss accidents that are directly or indirectly related to the locking and tagging of equipment; and
   6. Provide training and retraining to all authorized employees.
2. Department Heads will:
   1. Designate supervisors to implement specific LOTO procedures; and
   2. Select appropriate locking and tagging devices for their respective department.
3. Designated Supervisors will:
   1. Implement all provisions of the LOTO for work areas under their control;
   2. Inventory and identify all potentially dangerous equipment capable of releasing hazardous energy during maintenance in work areas or facilities under their control;
   3. Prepare specific LOTO and emergency procedures for hazardous machinery (refer to Appendix A of the LOTO Plan);
   4. Identify persons authorized to implement LOTO procedures and assure that each person attends training provided by the Department of Environmental Safety;
   5. Report all workplace injuries, unsafe conditions and near-misses to the Department of Environmental Safety;
   6. Instruct authorized LOTO personnel regarding the applicability of this plan to their respective shop;
   7. Provide proper locking and tagging equipment including locks, tags, multiple lock holders, etc.;
   8. Direct periodic safety audits of LOTO procedures to determine regulatory compliance, and recommend action to correct conditions of noncompliance; and
   9. Comply with necessary documentation requirements.
4. Authorized employees shall:
   1. Adhere to the requirements of the Lockout Tagout Plan;
   2. Follow guidelines referenced in this plan to protect themselves and others from the release of hazardous energy;
   3. Ensure the security of their own locking devices;
   4. Complete all safety training requirements and comply with documentation procedures; and
   5. Report all workplace injuries, unsafe conditions and near-misses to their supervisors and/or the Department of Environmental Safety.
5. Affected employees shall:
   1. Notify the appropriate persons when equipment needs servicing; and
   2. Follow LOTO instructions given by the authorized employees.

Assistance will be provided by the Department of Environmental Safety to any Department or individual requesting guidance or training to satisfy implementation of this policy. (Departmental telephone number is (301) 405-3960; electronic mail (E-Mail) address is Safety@UMDACC.UMD.EDU; WWW Home Page address is http://www.wam.umd.edu/~safety). A complete copy of the LOCKOUT TAGOUT PLAN may be obtained from the Department of Environmental Safety.