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Electrical safety in the plant

2. Lockout Tag out (LOTO) permit procedure
1.0 When & Why?
When a job is to be carried out on any equipment operated by electricity, it is
necessary to isolate the electrical power to that equipment or system as the case
may be. In such case, the Lockout Permit Procedure has to be carried out. If more
than one agency is working on the same equipment, each agency has to take a
separate ELP.
Main reasons for Lockout Tag out Permit (Safety Work Permit) systems are:
• To avoid injury to the user / persons in the plant
• To avoid accident / fire / explosion causing property loss.
• To keep the faulty equipment isolated from the system

When LOTO permit is required?

It is required whenever
• Unexpected startup,
• Movement, or
• Release of energy from machinery or equipment could cause injury during

setup,

cleaning,

Un-jamming

or other maintenance activities.

2.0 Which energy is hazardous?

(a) Given the right circumstances, any energy can be hazardous. This includes:
• Electrical - Stored Electrical Energy – Capacitors, Inductance
• Pneumatic- Residual Pneumatic Pressure- Air Accumulator Tank
• Hydraulic –
• Mechanical Stored Mechanical Energy - Spring Tension or Compression
• Thermal - in form of steam, hot water/liquid, hot air
• Chemical – hot liquid through pipe line
• Gravity - Stored Gravitational Energy- Large Counterweight

(b) Energy can be released by:

• Cross-circuiting
• Reversed wiring
• Unblocking
• Component failure
• Repositioning
• Separation
• Actions of Others
• Leakage

(c) Simply turning off a machine or piece of equipment or power to equipment

doesn’t guarantee our safety. The safest way to work on a machine or piece of
equipment is to bring it to a Zero Energy State. To do this, we use Energy Isolating
Device, suitable for that type of energy.
Which are EIDs ?
• For Electrical power supply- Switch, fuses, Circuit breaker
• For Steam – Isolation valves
• For Water & other liquids –Valves
• For machines – Electric power or compressed air
• For compressed air – Isolation valve,

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Electrical safety in the plant

3.0 Every year, thousands of workers are injured and many are killed on the job due
to the unexpected release of energy.
• Most frequently, people working do not isolate total power when the point of
working is from more than one source.
• In Switchgear panel, people do not know that some part in the panel was live,
even if the breaker was switched off.
• This may be due to lack of knowledge or hurry to work.
• People working on OH lines become victim of such cases.
• People forget to discharge capacitors, after switching off.
• Unexpected release of charge energy can be very dangerous
• Spring energy of charged spring can crush the finger.
Electrical Energy can be isolated By:
• Shutting off all Electrical energy sources
• Isolating the power to the equipment from those energy sources. (EID)
• Locking out the EIDs
• Releasing any stored energy – e.g. charge on capacitors or the charged spring
in breaker mechanism or charge accumulated on long cable.
• Testing to make sure you have reached the Zero Energy State

4.0 Sections/stages in the LOTO system

There are four parts in the LOTO system Electrical Lockout Permit (ELP) format
may slightly vary from one organization to other.

Part A:
The department asking permit to work on the equipment, requests Control Room
to issue the electrical lockout permit. If it is some contractor who is going to
work, name of the contractor is written. Filling other data like tag no of the
equipment, date and time, reason of shutdown are to be filled carefully.
Operation shift- in-charge signs and agrees to release the equipment. He
issues the ELP form (in duplicate) with Part A. Now the permit is sent to
substation for isolation of power.

Part B:
The Electrical Shift-in-charge/technician isolates power to the equipment
mentioned in the Part A of the permit. It is necessary that the equipment is
switched off by the Operation Group before issuing the permit.
Various details are to be filled by substation person.
In many organizations, there is a procedure of providing padlock on the
module or power switch handle or ON-OFF control switch. Power is isolated; fuses
are removed, after switching OFF.
Lockout tag (‘DO NOT SWITCH ON’) is tied on the LT switch handle or the
operating switch (on the door) of the breaker panel. If some interlocks are there,
it will be checked, whether the interlocked equipments are to be isolated or not.
Date & time of isolation are also written Part B. Finally it is signed by the
electrical supervisor.
After proper isolation, one copy is given back to the agency taking ELP, along
with field tag (to be tied on the field push button).

PART C:
It contains the declaration of completion of the job. The agency completing the
job has to certify that the area is cleaned and equipment is safe for starting. In

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Electrical safety in the plant
this part, name and signature of person returning the permit and area in charge
are required.

PART D:
Now the permit is sent to substation for giving power. Electrical group can lift
the lockout but if any other lockout permit is pending on this equipment, power
will not be switched on. Field tag (returned by the agency with ELP) and the one
tied on the switch, breakers/ LT switchgear are compared. After checking, if all
points are cleared, Caution boards are removed.
The equipment can not be energized because if any other permit is pending on
the same equipment. If all permits are cleared, power is restored to the
concerned equipment.

5.0 While taking or processing LOTO, where one can make mistake?
(a) Equipment Tag number is not written correctly
(b) Some boxes in the form are left unfilled and some are not properly filled.
(c) Production group has not switched off the equipment, before sending the ELP
to substation.
(d) Isolation is not fully done or wrong equipment is isolated.
(e) HT panel door or MCC module door is not closed properly.
(f) Tags given are not properly tied on the location/hardware required.
(g) Equipment is energized by lifting the LOTO permit ‘Temporarily’
(h) Agencies working on the same equipment, do not take separate LOTO permit.
(i) After LOTO permit is returned, different fuses are inserted in the module,.

6.0 For safe operation of plant, LOTO procedure should be followed by all. Many
accidents have occurred due to partial compliance or non-compliance of LOTO
procedure. The highest loss figure accident in oil industry is Piper Alpha
(Offshore) platform in North Sea (7/7/1988). One of the reasons was non-
compliance of LOTO system. The loss (on the basis of 2009 cost) was US$ 1600
million.
During safety audit also, observance of this system is checked.

7.0 Case Study - Accident on 11 KV panel (22nd October 2000)

 There were 11 KV panels in substation. In one corner, there was shift operation
room. Shutdown was required on panel-15 feeding Transformer (11KV/425 V) Tr
02.

 After getting the permit, A & B both started from the room. (A was operation
tech. and B was Maintenance Tech. B was to work on the rear side of Pnl-15)

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Electrical safety in the plant
 B gave LOTO form to A; For switching off the breaker of Panel-15, A came out of
room and started walking towards panel-15. At the same time B started and went
on the rear side of the HT panels. He had with tool box with him.
 B took out ratchet spanner and started loosening the bolts of the rear cover of
Panel-15.
 About four minutes passed. B removed all twenty two bolts (out of 26 bolts). He
removed all 22 bolts. He checked his risk watch; Five minutes had passed.
 He took earth rod and he fixed one end of the wire with top end of the rod. Other
end, he clamped with earth strip running on the wall.
 B assumed that by now, A must have switched off the breaker. He opened the
rear cover.
 He touched the rod active end to one HT cable lug…..And there was heavy
flashover.
 The HT breaker of Panel-15 tripped. B had heavy burn injury on hands and fore
arm.
Investigation:
 During investigation, A told that from halfway, he had come back to the room,
because he had heard the telephone ring. It was official communication.
Investigators checked and found true.
 Investigator noted that, A had not given LOTO permit duly filled signed (after
isolation) to A.

List out
(a) The reasons (causes) of the above accident.
(b) What was the positive act in this accident?

. Accident on 11 KV panel
(a) Reasons of accident
 Hurry to start the job.
 Assumption
 Lack of communication
 Safety LOP procedure not followed in totality, before starting the job.
(b) Positive act in this accident
 Use of earthing rod before working on the 22 KV terminations.

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