The Nautical Institute provides lessons learned from an incident where a crew member requested a Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) tag before ascending the mast.
A crew member was told to verify the steering light on the forward mast while the vessel was under way. Before ascending the mast, the crew member radioed the bridge to inform the OOW and request that the Lock Out Tag Out (LOTO) tag be put on the bridge foghorn activator. The Master was also on the bridge and, as he went to the bridgewing, he remembered there were also foghorn activators there.
He informed the OOW and LOTO tags were installed on those activators as well.
Lessons learned
- Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) is an important procedure that can only be truly effective if both the ‘lockout’ and the ‘tagout’ have been completed. In this case, only the ‘tagout’ was accomplished.
- Putting ’tagout’ signs on an activator may be reassuring, but this action alone does not prevent the stored energy from being accidently released. This practice surreptitiously undermines the goal of LOTO which is to prevent 100% of accidents related to accidental energy release.
