Lockout/Tagout in nuclear environments
Case Study
Nuclear power plants are regularly audited internally, and externally by governmental agencies to make sure employees and inhabitants in the wider region remain safe. Nuclear power plant owners leave no stone unturned to avoid even minor incidents in the plant. Every single piece of equipment is subject to rules and specifications, and every action is guided by procedure.
Challenges
A large nuclear power plant needed to be able to lock out electrical circuits. The plant’s stringent safety requirements included non-conductiveness, electrical arc resistance, solidness and lightness. The plant also needed a flexible lockout solution that could fit any piece of equipment as is.
Solutions
Nylon padlock
Brady’s nylon padlock proved to be the only one that did not spark in any of the extensive competitive tests done by the nuclear plant’s specialists. With Brady’s nylon padlock delivering as it promised, the specific Lockout/Tagout challenges of the nuclear plant were almost solved.
Plastic mounting rails
Together with the nylon padlock, Brady also offered plastic mounting rails and blocking bars that can easily and temporarily be applied in order to lock out electrical equipment without the need for any permanent changes. The nuclear plant ordered the full solution because it will help to increase safety for it employees, and because it does not pose any risk to nuclear and other operations on-site.
Brady provided the nylon padlocks in 7 colours, all engraved with team names so employees and management can easily identify who locked out which circuits for safe interventions.
