LOTO (Lockout Tagout)

LOTO (Lockout Tagout) is a safety procedure used to ensure that dangerous equipment is properly shut off and not able to be started up again prior to the completion of maintenance or repair work. It requires that hazardous energy sources be “isolated and rendered inoperative” before work is started on the equipment in question. The isolated power sources are then locked and a tag is placed on the lock identifying the worker and reason the LOTO is placed on it.
The worker then holds the key for the lock, ensuring that only they can remove the lock and start the equipment.   This prevents accidental startup of equipment while it is in a hazardous state or while a worker is in direct contact with
it.

LOTO is used across industries as a safe method of working on industrial equipment and is mandated by law in most of the countries.Disconnecting or making safe the equipment involves the removal of all energy sources and is known as isolation. The steps necessary to isolate equipment are often documented in an isolation procedure or a LOTO procedure. The isolation procedure generally includes the following tasks:

Announce shut off

Identify the energy sources

Isolate the energy sources

Lock and tag the energy sources

Prove that the equipment isolation is effective now

In the Pakistan, the local law states that a safety/service disconnect must be installed within sight of operational equipment. The safety
disconnect ensures the equipment can be isolated and there is less chance of someone turning the power back on if they can see the work going on. These safety disconnects usually have multiple places for locks so more than one person can work on equipment safely. Safety equipment manufacturers provide a range of isolation devices specifically designed to fit various switches, valves and effectors.
For example, most circuit breakers have a provision to have a small padlock attached to prevent their activation. For other devices such as ball or gate valves, plastic pieces which either fit against the pipe and prevent movement, or clamshell-style objects which completely surround the valve and prevent its manipulation are used.