Posted By Sean McIntyre One common way for isolating a number of pieces of plant by a large number of people is to have a group isolation procedure. This generally involves having a Graoup Isolation officer who will go and isolate all the necessary pieces of plant with a group isolation lock and tag. The keys from this locks are then placed in a lockable display case with the necessary paperwork stating what plant has been isolated, which key corresponds to which piece of plant/lock , who isolated the plant and who checked it etc. Maintenance employees are then able to place their tag and lock onto this display case locking and all the keys to the plant inside of it. This results in the workers only having to place one tag on the display case to isolate a number of pieces of plant. Plant cannot be re-instated until every worker has taken off their lock and tag to enable the case to be opened to get the keys to take off the group isolation lock and tags on the plant. Strict hand over is needed if shutdowns run over a number of shifts.

Posted By Frank Hallett Seans response is about the best of it Tom. It minimises the bureaucracy whilst maximising the effectiveness. But be aware of the growth of illicit keys!! They'll be far more common than is first apparent. Frank Hallett

Posted By Barry Cooper Tom Another method is to have an isolation permit where all the data regarding isolation point and lock numbers are recorded and the persons working on the equipment sign onto the permit. Locks cannot be removed until all persons have signed off the permit and the permit authorising person cancels the permit. It does require strict discipline to operate, but does work, as I have operated the system for 8 years. The permit issuer controls the lock keys and keeps them secure. Is a good system particularly where the isolation is complex and remote. Reduces the number of locks required.