I realise that the Lock-out Tag system, originally came from the UK, but what are the respective penalties for removing these, if you are not the person, who fitted it in the first place.
I had a Tag removed on me last week, I am still getting over the shock that I recieved, with wet hands and touching Earthed metal, in a Chiller at the local Meat works, while I was repairing the lights in the said Chiller, person involved could'nt see, so they cut the Tag off and turned on the lights, need I say more.
Your input please.

Trumpy..did you put your own lock on it.

http://www.stanford.edu/dept/EHS/prod/aboutus/documents/safetyman/locktagout.html

Don't know legally,but a good old fashioned a$$ kickin comes to mind personally.
Does OSHA exist over there?I'm sure they would something to say as well as a fine for the individual that cuts the tagout off.Did you use a lock as well as a tag?

It was dark,maybe he couldn't read the tag.

There is an article at EC&M that says who can remove a lock or a tag. http://www.ecmweb.com/ar/electric_energize_lockouttagout_plan/

[This message has been edited by txsparky (edited 01-17-2003).]

txsparky...your right there...a real good a** kicking. there was a tag on it.

If the educational system in NZ is falling apart as rapidly as it seems to be here, maybe the guy just couldn't read at all!

I don't work on anything bigger than very light commercial normally. Much of the equipment used in small retail shops here is the same as domestic, and has no lock-out facility on it. If I feel there's a danger that somebody might re-energize a circuit, then I remove the cover and disconnect the wire(s) from the MCB/fuse.

In the U.K. in a commerical environment, this would come under the auspices of the Health & Safety Executive.

Trumpy,
Did you make a written, formal report on the incident to the plant manager?

Lucky for that guy he doesn't live here in Ireland that would almost immediately result in a MASSIVE law suit against the company and / or the guy himself. He'd almost certainly end up getting fired over it.

There's much more of a Californian style sue the pants off everyone culture here than elsewhere in Europe.

You could expect at the very minimum tens if not hundreds of thousands of euro!

Might explain our sky high insurance costs though!

Everyone,
Thanks for your input on this one!.
Lighthouse- No, I did not have a lock on it, all the switches in this installation are able to be locked OFF, with a padlock.
In this case, I had a Tyrap (nylon cable tie),through the switch locking aperture, and I made sure that the switch could not be moved at all(this is a Rotary type switch), unless the cable tie and Tag are intentionally cut and removed, unfortunately, this is what happened in this case.
Just as a note, these cable ties are a lot stronger than your average Nylon tie, and they cannot be cut with scissors or a knife, they have a steel core, running through them.
txsparky-Over here we have OSH(Occupational Safety and Health, I doubt that they would even look at an incident like this one, as no-one lost thier life(Thank God!).
Paul-A full written report was forwarded to the Management of the company, who instantly dismissed the Employee and also a copy was sent to the Electrical Safety Service(they investigate any breach of the Electricity Regulations), and, man!, are they thorough.

Good to hear that the person responsible lost his job. His actions could well have killed somebody.

Glad you were all right!

Paul,
I think that next time, I will be using a
Padlock, on these switches.
Hey, I'm glad that I actually got a second chance, in this respect!.
But with respect to most MCB's, these days, there is a wee(1mm, if I'm not wrong)hole that you can insert a piece of wire through.
In my way of thinking, a piece of wire is not enough, why do they not provide enough room to get a pad-lock through the body of the MCB, sure, you can get what is called a lock-dog, but I have had these fall off, sometimes switching the MCB back on in the process!
What are your(or anyone else, who cares to) comments on this?

What I was meaning to say,
is the fact that no-one has invented(patented), a locking mechanism, that fits all types of CB's, Isolators and other such equipment, that will "LOCK", the mechanism
"OFF" and keep it that way until it has been removed.

To all concerned,
Do you use a Personal Lock-Out system, yourselves?.
Being made of plastics, over here does not help things, but just recently, I ruined a really good set of Klien side-cutters, by cutting a 3 phase Air Con cable, only because some stupid person in the Un-employment Office, pulled my tag off and started the A/Con again, I was not happy.
They complained that they where HOT!.
They will however, be buying the next pair!.
What is the cost of a pair of Klein angle head sidey's, these days, I have had these for 10 years+?.

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 03-22-2003).]