Program Purpose
The UC Merced Energy Isolation — Lockout/Tagout (EI-LOTO) Program requires campus and field station personnel and contractors to implement safe procedures when working on UC Merced equipment or utility systems with one or more energy sources. Because of the potential for injury from energy sources that operate equipment/utility systems, this program guides safe installation, set-up, adjustment and maintenance work on equipment by isolating energy sources before commencing work. Implementation of the program is required by Cal/OSHA safety regulations.
Program Applicability and Scope
The EI-LOTO Program Manual is applied to all forms of potentially hazardous energy and is applied to every individual piece of equipment that has potentially hazardous energy through a series of safety checks and sequential steps outlined in the EI-LOTO permit form.
The types of energy needing to be isolated include the potential energy (mechanical springs in tension or compression, compressed gas cylinder, counter weights, etc.), kinetic energy (rotating flywheel, moving parts, rolling components, parked vehicles, etc.) and utility energy (electricity, compressed air, steam, domestic water, hydraulics, etc.) that may be part of a particular machine or utility system. The EI-LOTO manual specifies the roles and responsibilities of all personnel on campus, and provides guidelines for departmental maintenance of an equipment inventory list, as well as training records of "authorized persons."
Additional Resources
- Lockout Tagout: Methods and Sample Procedures (Cal/OSHA)
- Guide to Electrical Safety (Cal/OSHA)
