# lockout tagout circuits



## aktrapper (May 28, 2013)

I know we are spose to....but how many of you use a breaker lock out or lock the panel when working on a circuit......say for instance in residential setting?? or office bldg?? i have asked several times for a lo.to. Kit and yet to have one on my van. just wanted to know how frequently they get used.....


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

I doubt I would every use one in a home. 

I do use them pretty offten in commercial work.


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## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

you need to make safe. that can be as simple as lifting the ckt conductor from a breaker, switch, or last junction. don't let your company's short-comings be the reason you get fried.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

The first thing I would do is document your request for a lock out/tag out kit. Any employer who does not act immediately on a request for safety supplies and equipment is not looking out for the welfare of his employees. He is also not following good business practices. One lawsuit could shut him down.

If I were you, I would buy a cheap padlock, lock out the main breaker and then wait for the complaining.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

99cents said:


> The first thing I would do is document your request for a lock out/tag out kit. Any employer who does not act immediately on a request for safety supplies and equipment is not looking out for the welfare of his employees. He is also not following good business practices. One lawsuit could shut him down.
> 
> If I were you, I would buy a cheap padlock, lock out the main breaker and then wait for the complaining.


This is why I love this place :thumbup::thumbup::laughing::laughing:


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## gold (Feb 15, 2008)

I use them in resi when I work with other trades. At least the little screw on locks with a tag. I always loto in kitchens, since I got lamped by an impatient manager.


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## sparky970 (Mar 19, 2008)

I use them everywhere, but my own home


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## Celtic (Nov 19, 2007)

99cents said:


> If I were you, I would buy a cheap padlock, lock out the main breaker and then wait for the complaining.



..to paraphrase...

Its easier to ask forgiveness than permission...especially when you are not dead.


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

BBQ said:


> I doubt I would every use one in a home....


 If other trades are in the house, it gets locked out.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

big john said:


> if other trades are in the house, it gets locked out with black tape.


fify.


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## Michigan Master (Feb 25, 2013)

aktrapper said:


> I know we are spose to....but how many of you use a breaker lock out or lock the panel when working on a circuit......say for instance in residential setting?? or office bldg?? i have asked several times for a lo.to. Kit and yet to have one on my van. just wanted to know how frequently they get used.....


We use them (industrial facility); it's company policy and an OSHA requirement. 

It's too easy for someone to wonder why a receptacle isn't working and to go looking for the breaker panel and just turn it back on. They're cheap lockout devices so it shouldn't be a difficult sell to management.

I have seen folks just turn off the breaker and then lock the breaker panel door, but there's usually other keys floating around somewhere so it's not exclusive control but I guess it's better than nothing.


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## uconduit (Jun 6, 2012)

They are common in industrial and commercial sites. Some of the larger industrial places require multiple locks on a circuit, require a tag with your picture and cell # on it with some cheesy line on it that says something like, "if you turn this on it will kill me__(your name)___". Other places might have multiple color coded loto kits in ammo cans and also documentation to sign in and out of. The plummer/fitter/boilermakers even have a form of loto for fluids in pipes too, but I don't know much about that.

It might seem like they are taking it too seriously and it's all a waste of time, but it took a lot of accidents for LOTO to get invented and now there are fewer fatalities and more wasted time and that is the trade off (more wasted time = fewer deaths) and while 240 vac might possibly be lethal, when it comes to larger switchyard applications involving, say, 225kv/1000amps there is neither a "might" or "possibly" about it being lethal. 

I'm sure some people here have seen a perplexed carpenter of plumber come up to a spider box and turn every single circuit off and on because their tool stopped working. On some large projects non-electricians aren't even allowed inside electrical rooms. You don't want just anyone turning switches on and off out of frustration.


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## aktrapper (May 28, 2013)

I would think that a reputable union shop in america would have a kit on every van. maybe i am thinking safety first?


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

I do LOTO if the circuit needs to be left off for a period of time... mostly for remodels where the circuit is incomplete. If I'm just in-and-out quickly, no LOTO.


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## Going_Commando (Oct 1, 2011)

480sparky said:


> I do LOTO if the circuit needs to be left off for a period of time... mostly for remodels where the circuit is incomplete. If I'm just in-and-out quickly, no LOTO.


If i am doing major work on a circuit, i pull it off the breaker. I will loto if i am working on a circuit with other tradesmen on the job, and i am working out of site of the disco.


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## gnuuser (Jan 13, 2013)

didnt do it very often before on resi breakers with the exception of the main
but since my heart attack now every time and all the time
complaints just go in one ear and out the other


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## bull mike (Nov 4, 2014)

It seems more & more companies are requiring NFPA70E gear


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## eddy current (Feb 28, 2009)

Just buy one. A simple breaker lock and padlock is only a few bucks and no one is supposed to have a key but you anyway.

I would also ask your office by email. Makes it official and proves you asked them. I bet they get you one soon after receiving the email.

I asked for my gloves to be tested many times and was ignored. I sent an email asking what our policy is on testing gloves and mine were sent off to be tested the next day. :whistling2:

You know what they say...........safety third :thumbsup:


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## A Little Short (Nov 11, 2010)

eddy current said:


> You know what they say...........safety third :thumbsup:


You know what else they say?

They say: "you just got sucked into a thread that is over a year old"
:laughing:


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## SdCountySparky (Aug 6, 2014)

Are you offering services? Or what is this about?


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