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Toolbox Talks

Lock it off before you open it

Lock it off before you open it

Electrical 5 min 29 CFR 1926.417

Electrical, HVAC

Why it matters

A breaker that looks off can be flipped back on while your hands are in the panel. A start button, a plug, or a second feed can bring the machine back to life. Lock or tag every place it can be turned on, then try the switch and watch that it stays off.

The talk

The disconnect handle is down and the panel looks dead. That is not the same as locked out. You are about to hook up a wire, pull a motor, or reach into a unit that was running an hour ago. A helper across the room can flip the breaker. Someone can plug the cord back in because they need the outlet. A second feed can still be hot. Before your hands go inside, walk to every place this circuit or this machine can be turned on. That means the breaker, the disconnect, the plug, and the start button. If you cannot point to those points, you are not ready to open the cover.

Turn the circuit or the machine off first. If the control will take a lock, put your lock on it. If it will not take a lock, put a tag on it that says not to turn it on. The tag has to sit where a person would turn the power back on. It does not go in your pocket. It does not go on a cover you already took off. Then try the switch. Press start. Flip the switch at the machine. It should stay off. If it runs, or a light comes on, stop. There is another feed. Do not keep working. Only the person who put a lock on takes that lock off. Do not pull a lock because the other person went to the trailer.

On today's work, name the machine or the panel before anyone opens it. Say out loud where the power comes from. Put the lock or the tag on before the cover comes off, not after the first wire is loose. Try the switch, and have a second person watch that nothing moves. If two of you are in the same equipment, each of you puts on your own lock. When the job is done, take off only the lock you put on, and only after your hands are clear. If a tag is all that control will hold, the tag stays until the work is finished. Leave the locks at the panel, not in the truck, so the next person can find them.

Key points

  1. Turn the circuit or machine off before you open it.
  2. Lock the control if it will take a lock. Tag it if it will not.
  3. Put the tag where someone could turn the power back on.
  4. Try the switch and confirm the machine stays off.
  5. Only the person who put a lock on takes it off.
  6. Each person in the same equipment uses their own lock.
  7. If it still runs when you try the switch, stop and find the other feed.

Do this

  • Turn it off, then lock or tag the control before you work.
  • Try the switch and watch that the machine stays off.
  • Put a tag at every point where someone could turn it on.
  • Use your own lock when you are inside the equipment.
  • Take your lock off only after you are clear of the parts.

Do not do this

  • Do not trust a handle that is down if it is not locked or tagged.
  • Do not pull another person's lock so you can finish faster.
  • Do not skip the try of the switch.
  • Do not leave the plug or the start button unmarked if that is how it comes back on.
  • Do not open the cover if the machine still runs after you shut it off.

Talk about it

  1. Which machine or panel are we opening today, and where does its power come from?
  2. If that disconnect will not take a lock, where does the tag go?
  3. What do we do if the person who put the lock on has left the site?

This is a short crew briefing. It does not replace a competent person, training, or the law.

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