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RoboticsChecking everyone is clear of the cell
The cell is clear of tools and the robot is intact. Before any lock comes off, you check the work area: every employee is out of the robot's area or in a safe position. When a crew works under a group lockout, the authorized employee in charge knows where each member is. It is the second step of the release from lockout in the federal rule.
Free to startScenarios
- You serviced the robot alone and are about to restore it.
- A crew serviced the robot under a group lockout.
- The robot has to be energized briefly to test or position it.
The steps
- Before any lock or tag is removed, check the whole work area around the robot.
- Make sure every employee has been removed from the robot's area or is safely positioned.
- Under a group lockout, the authorized employee in charge confirms the exposure status of each member of the group.
- When more than one crew or department is involved, the authorized employee who coordinates them confirms that the protection stays continuous for all of them.
- Only then go on to remove the locks or tags.
Safety rules that stop the station
- No lock or tag comes off until every employee is safely positioned or out of the area.
- To energize the robot only for a test or to position it, employees are removed from the robot's area first, as in the full release.
To pass
- Every employee was safely positioned or out of the area before the locks came off.
- A crew working under a group lockout gets a level of protection equal to a personal lock for each employee.
- In a group lockout, primary responsibility rests with one authorized employee for a set number of employees.
Official source
Federal · OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.147(e)(2)(i)
29 CFR 1910.147, The control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout)
GovInfo publishes 29 CFR 1910.147 free: paragraph (e)(2)(i) requires checking that all employees are safely positioned or removed before the locks come off.
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