Lock-out - this is one way to do it...

but not my preferred:



This was a job I was at this week. They were changing a motor.

ROFLAO!!!!!!!!!

We just went thought a HUGE L.O.T.O. rewrite, which makes this just that much funnier!

Thanks for sharing!

Well, it's Tag-Out, isn't it ?

Somebody seems to understand the need to disconnect power, but is a little weak on understanding what "lock out" means.

But, here's another scenario. It's also possible that someone told the worker who affixed the tag that the rest of the equipment controlled by the components in that cabinet had to keep running while he changed the motor, that disconnecting the power feed to that enclosure was unacceptable. This may have been the only way he could figure out how to disconnect power from the motor he was working on, and to alert anyone who might look in the enclosure that the open fuseholders were intentional. He might have been afraid that if he raised a stink about it, his job was on the line.

Personally, I don't think that was the case, because if he was savvy enough to figure out which contactor controlled the motor and which fuses were in the line to the contactor, he should also have been savvy enough to put the fuses in his pocket, making it just a little harder for someone to restore power while he was working.

In any case, I would send that photo to the management of the facility. They should be made aware that somebody on their payroll is tolerating unsafe practices.

Mickey said:

Make sure you are wearing sun glasses though.

Click to expand...

And some arc-flash protection...

Everyone agrees that this not the way to do it. Putting the fuses in your pocket isn't any safer. So what do you do - when the machine has to stay running while you replace a single motor? How about some useful input.

joe_friday said:

How about some useful input.

Click to expand...

Lockable field disconnects for each motor. We favor the Hubbell HBL1389D for our little motors. Safely isolates the motor from the rest of the system.

http://www.hubbell-wiring.com/Press/PDFS/H5184_MotorController.pdf

Joe,

I think you totally misinterpreted my response. If you think I'm trying to make the case that putting fuses in your pocket is an acceptable lockout strategy, then your reading skills are on a par with the LOTO procedures at that plant.

So what do you do - when the machine has to stay running while you replace a single motor? How about some useful input.

Click to expand...

If the rest of the machine has to stay running while you change a single motor, you design the controls so that a single motor can be locked out.

No sense debating if fellas, I'll fill you in.

This was taken a couple of days ago by my co-worker and I at a job we were working at in Mexico.

There was no reason not to lock out the whole machine because it was a conveyor that feeds product into it. Without it, the machine doesn't run anyway. The main disconnect for that panel is just barely out of view in the picture (about 3 feet away) and the motor was about 10 feet away from the main disconnect.

We showed the management and they didn't care enough to say anything to them. The manager just said "that's dumb" and walked away.

I could write a book about the crazy stuff at this plant.

I would have typed more in the beginning, but I was getting ready to catch my flight.

Guess that's the downside to those silly fuse holders. Gotta love the European way.

We use cicruit breaker locks to work on a machine without powering it down.

I know that wouldn't work in this scenario, due to the fuse holder, but just want to let you know that circuit breaker locks work great.

We have some machines that have startups that take over an hour!

Really suck to shut it down just to do minor work. With the circuit breaker locks, I can swap out an HMI or I/O without kill main power... and still be safe.

I have been in the situation before. I simple disconnected the motor leads from below the motor starter, capped them with wirenuts, and locked the panel. It was not ideal, and would not have met the requirements at my current employer.

I think the fact that the tech tagged the fuse holder is better than working on it without tagging it.

Tagging it was better than nothing.

But then again, 10 minutes before that a guy had an e-stop tagged and someone else pulled it out so that he could move some stuff on the machine. The place is crazy I tell ya.

Earlier they had a hoist that they were leveling. One guy had his hand on the sprocket (the chain was off a tooth) and another guy started running it manually from an operator station.

I probably should have set the mood in my original post. They weren't running production at the time, so there was absolutely no reason not to just lock out the panel.

I worked for one week in a tool factory. I watched a guy change a drive belt for a tool cutting spindle (3000rpm motor output) without any lockout.

Even the limit switch on the guard door he climbed through was tied down. When he got done, he hopped down, and went to the touchscreen to test the motor.

When satisfied, he pushed the stop button on the HMI, and hopped back up there to put the guard on it, and released it to production. I think he closed the guard door after metal chips started to fly out of the machine.

I am so glad this company called me back to OkieLand before I has to work against that safety culture!

Paul