Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
August 15, 2019 11:37 AM

Attorneys: Lockout/tag-out violations are costly OSHA violations

Bill Bregar
Senior Staff Reporter
Plastics News Staff
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Accuform

    Columbus, Ohio — OSHA is hitting hard at the issue of lockout/tag-out and machine safety guarding and putting a laser focus on amputations that could result from failure to disconnect all energy before servicing and maintenance of industrial machines.

    That was the message from two lawyers who spoke at the Environmental Health and Safety Summit.

    "When do most often amputations occur? When someone forgot to lockout/tag-out and when there's a lack of a guard. That's when you're going to see an amputation," said Nelva Smith, of the Steptoe & Johnson law firm.

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration revised its reporting rule on Jan. 1, 2015, so employers now must report within 24 hours any amputation injury, even if there is no loss of bone, as well as eye injuries and all in-patient hospitalizations. OSHA kept its ongoing rule that fatalities must be reported within eight hours.

    Smith said OSHA is increasing fines every year for amputations.

    "Now you can go up to $139,000 for a maximum for a willful and a repeat [violations]," she said. "So you can easily get one citation for $139,000. Imagine if you got five citations? How much is that? Over a half million dollars. And again, there's a pattern. They're really hitting the lockout/tag-out and machine guarding."

    Plastics machinery, such as injection molding machinery, can cause serious injuries from pinching and crushing, especially in the mold clamping area.

    "It's to prevent serious injury or death. You should be aware of the standard and what your requirements are under the standard," Smith said.

    OSHA defines "amputation" broadly and is stricter than workers' compensation, according to William Wahoff, a lawyer at the firm. "If it is the tip of the finger without any bone damaged, you still have to report it for OSHA."

    And Wahoff said amputations are likely to lead to OSHA inspections: 65 percent of reported amputations resulted in inspections, compared with in-patient hospitalizations, which lead to inspections in around 35-40 percent of the cases.

    Smith and Wahoff gave an hour-long presentation about lockout/tag-out and machine guarding during the health and safety conference, held July 18-19 in Columbus. Both lawyers are based in Columbus.

    OSHA uses the term "control of hazardous energy," for what's commonly called lockout/tag-out, Smith said, covering sources of energy such as electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical and thermal.

    "Why do we need to do it? Because during the servicing and maintenance of these machines and equipment, that's where the injuries do occur, more often than not," Smith said. "The unexpected startup or release of stored energy will usually result in a serious injury or death. Usually these are very complicated big machines, with a lot of working parts, a lot of sharp edges and pinch-points and that sort of thing. And if you've got a maintenance person working on a machine and a fellow employee doesn't know it's not locked out and just says, 'Oh, I'm gonna hit the start button; I don't see anybody.' This is where it happens."

    Smith and Wahoff said manufacturers must have an energy control program and specific procedures for each machine. They recommend posting the step-by-step procedure for lockout/tag-out right on the machine, making it visible for employees and OSHA inspectors. OSHA will ask about the hazardous energy policy, even if they are on-site for another type of complaint, the lawyers said.

    Wahoff said that companies train plant employees and maintenance staff; they should use OSHA's hazardous energy control terminology, at least part of the time, so they know the right wording when an inspector questions the workers.

    Smith added that the person who puts the lock tag on the machine must be the one who takes it off when the work is completed.

    What about during "normal production"? Smith said that is not covered by lockout/tag-out.

    "The problem we run into is, can we argue certain things are normal production and I don't have to lockout/tag-out, because it can be a very complicated procedure to disconnect all of the sources of energy," she said. Minor tool changes and adjustments and other minor servicing activities are OK, "if it's routine, it's repetitive and integral to the use of the machine, and you use alternative measures to protect that employee," Smith said.

    But Wahoff said OSHA does not consider the setup of dies to be "normal operation."

    Smith laid out the way to think about it: "If you want to make an exception to the lockout/tag-out procedure, am I putting an employee in a zone of danger? Are they having to put themselves in a machine? Are we having to bypass a guard? Is that really 'normal production'?"

    Related Articles
    Speaker emphasizes the need for factories to put safety first, every day
    Safety depends on every person, in every moment
    Know what OSHA wants before OSHA even arrives
    Speaker: Poor shop conditions most likely cause of minor injuries
    Automation Plastics wins top firm in safety practices
    Safety summit speaker talks drugs, medical marijuana
    OSHA looking at new technology 
for lockout/tag-out

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is considering whether to update its lockout/tag-out standard to modernize it without compromising worker safety during the serving and maintenance of machines. 
    OSHA first adopted the standard in 1989. Lockout/tag-out, which OSHA also calls “the control of hazardous energy,” currently requires the energy sources to be controlled using energy isolating devices (EID). Circuit control-type devices were specifically excluded from the standard.
    “Nevertheless, OSHA recognizes that there have been safety advancements to control circuit-type devices since OSHA adopted the standard in 1989,” the agency said in its explanation. “Accordingly, OSHA is revisiting the lockout/tag-out standard to consider whether to allow the use of control circuit-type devices instead of EIDs for some tasks or under certain conditions.”
    OSHA said, “Over the years, some employers have stated that they believe that control circuit-type devices that use approved components, redundant systems, and control-reliable circuitry are as safe as EIDs.” They could lead to less downtime, the agency said.
    Washington-based OSHA, part of the U.S. Department of Labor, is seeking comments, information and data to determine which conditions, if any, control circuit-type devices could be used.
    OSHA also is considering changes to lockout/tag-out rules for robots “that would reflect new industry best practices and technological advances for hazardous energy control in the robotics industry,” the agency said. Part of the reason is the advent of collaborative robots, or “cobots,” that work alongside human employees.
    The Plastics Industry Association is preparing comments to meet the agency’s Aug. 19 deadline. The Washington-based trade group issued a statement encouraging plastics processors to give OSHA their input, as lockout/tag-out primarily impacts the users of plastics machinery — rather than just machine manufacturers.
     “Safety is paramount for the U.S. plastics industry — for the thousands of companies it consists of and the hundreds of thousands of workers that make it what it is. [The Plastics Industry Association] supports a modernized regulatory standard that allows the use of effective technological advancements to control hazardous energy, and is eager to assist OSHA now and in future rule-making,” the trade association said in the prepared statement.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Industry sees Biden bioplastics goal as serious signal
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Biden sets US goal to replace 90% of plastics with biomaterials
    2
    Industry sees Biden bioplastics goal as serious signal
    3
    Report urges treaty to regulate plastics like pharmaceuticals, limit growth
    4
    One injured in explosion at Ineos cumene plant in Texas
    5
    Engineering resin prices close the first quarter with a drop
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified