Prevention Through Design

Important topics in Hazardous Energy Control and/or Lockout-Tagout, are the concepts of Risk Assessment and Prevention-through-Design (PtD). Risk Assessment is like planning ahead. It may be based on the hazards but is preferably based on a combination of the general hazards and the hazards specific to each task. The team of users of a program should consider each task and hazard and determine what can be done to mitigate them to an acceptable level or eliminate them. This should be done throughout the lifecycle, birth-to-death, of the machine or system including but not limited to; concept, acquisition, design, installation, integration, operation, maintenance, reconstruction, dismantling, and discard. While it is acceptable to prevent access to the hazard, the effective approach is to eliminate (design out) the hazard if possible. It is always better to have addressed the hazard as early as possible, which is why acquisition is considered part of the life-cycle.

Employers should seek out and specify features in new equipment purchases and new facility designs that will accommodate lockout procedures. OSHA 1910.147 (c)(2)(iii)] specifies that after January 2, 1990 “Whenever replacement or major repair, renovation, or modification of a machine or equipment is performed, and whenever new machines or equipment are installed, energy isolating devices for such machine or equipment shall be designed to accept a lockout device.”

For more on the Prevention-through-Design approach see  their website.

Other Resources

ANSI/B11 Standards Inc. B11.0-2015 Safety of Machinery; General Requirements and Risk Assessment

This standard, an A-type standard, covers the safety of most machinery and can be used in a variety of circumstances. It describes risk assessment and general requirements for safety of machinery and is especially useful when a lower level machine specific, C-type, standard does not apply. The 2015 document is a revision of the 2010 version.

ANSI/B11 Standards Inc. B11.19-2010 Performance Requirements for Safeguarding

This standard is a B-type standard which focuses mainly on the application, specification, and use of safeguarding. It is useful in the adding safeguarding devices and is referenced by many standards. This standard is also under revision.

ANSI/ASSE Z244.1- 2016

This standard addresses industry expectations for lockout, tagout, energy-control and alternative measures for hazardous energy control.

Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS, 2009). Inherently Safer Chemical Processes: A Life Cycle Approach. 2nd Edition. Print ISBN: 9780471778929; Online ISBN: 9780470925195.