In his article, “Lockout/Tagout Tips for Safer Mining,” from the latest issue of the Mining Practice Specialty’s online technical publication Inside Global Mining, Matt Dudgeon states that since 1990, at least 75 fatal and 1,850 nonfatal incidents have occurred in the mining industry. MSHA classified these incidents as electrical, and many of them could have been prevented if the circuits were locked, grounded and tagged prior to any maintenance work performed.
Dudgeon emphasizes the importance of properly training employees to perform lockout procedures and provides a seven-step lockout/tagout process specific to mining operations.
For those of you in the mining industry, what methods do you use to ensure that your equipment is properly locked, grounded and tagged?
A Blog From the American Society of Safety Engineers