Energy Control

Purchase

Overview

For most workers in the process and energy industries the biggest hazard that they face is the possibility of injury or death from a source of high energy such as pressure, temperature, toxic chemicals, electricity, moving parts, pneumatic and hydraulic equipment, or falls from heights, often due to failure of the lockout tagout system. Therefore, before working on a piece of equipment, particularly before it is opened for inspection or maintenance, the associated sources of high energy must be identified and either removed or isolated from the workers.

This ebook outlines a six-step process for organizing and implementing an Energy Control program. Additional topics covered include minimizing contact with air, equipment isolation, lockout / tagout, work permits, confined space entry, hot tapping and the clearing of plugged lines.

The third means of protecting maintenance workers is to use lockout / tagout. (It is often used in conjunction with  other isolation methods). Once a switch or valve is in the correct position it is locked so that it cannot be moved, and a “Do Not Operate” tag is attached to it. (Valves are often chained in place, with the lock being used to secure the chain such that the valve handle cannot be moved.)

In spite of the security that a lockout system provides, it is less safe than the use of positive isolation methods. First a valve may leak while it is in the closed position. Second, in spite of all precautions, someone may remove the lock before the work has been finished. There is also a chance of confusion; the wrong valve may be chained closed, while the valve that should have been secured is left in its normal operating state.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Regulations and Standards
   29 CFR 1910.119 
   API 2015 
   API 2026 
   API 2217A 
   ANSI Z117.1 
   NFPA 69 
Example
Risk Management 
Energy Control Program 
Step 1 — Job Hazards Analysis
Step 2 — Work Permit
   General Work Permits 
   Hot Work Permits 
   Confined Space Permits
   Issuing the Permit
   Multiple Work Permits
   Changes in Conditions
   Barrier Tape
Step 3 — Vent, Drain and Purge
   Inert Gas 
   Air-Blowing Hydrocarbon Lines
Step 4 — Isolate the Equipment
   Positive Isolation
      Level 1 — Closed Valve
      Level 2 — Closed Valve with Open Bleeder
      Level 3 — Double Block and Bleed
      Level 4 — Block and Bleed with Line Break
      Level 5 — Block, Bleed and Spectacle Blind
      Level 6 — Double Block and Bleed with Blind
      Level 7 — Double Block and Bleed with Line Break
Non-Positive Isolation 
   Administrative Controls 
   Pipe Plugs 
Step 5 ─ Open the Equipment
   Test for Oxygen
   Heavy Sludge Deposits
Step 6 — Complete Work / Return to Service
Lockout / Tagout
   Car Seals
   Group Lockout / Lockboxes
   Padlocks
   Tags
   Removing Locks and Tags
Electrical Isolation
Confined Space Entry 
   Types of Space
   The Entry Permit
   Personnel
      Entrant
      Supervisor
      Manway Attendant
      Gas Tester
      Rescue Team 
   Test 
   Excavations 
      Preparations
      Inspection
      Cave-In Protection
Tie-Ins 
Hot Tapping
Plugged Lines 
  Prevention of Pluggage
  Unplugging a Line
  Mechanical
  Differential Pressure
    Fluid Selection
    Steam
    Compressed Gas

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Copyright © Ian Sutton. 2024. All Rights Reserved.

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