Lockout/Tagout (Hazardous Energy) practice questions for the ASP exam

A plant's packaging line is modified so that a new pneumatic press is added to the line, creating a compressed-air hazard that the existing lockout procedure does not address. The plant's maintenance technicians (authorized employees) and the line operators (affected employees) were all trained on the old procedure last year, and the training records are current. The safety manager revises the energy control procedure to cover the new press. What must the employer do regarding training?

1. A.Retrain only the authorized maintenance technicians, because affected operators do not perform lockout and are covered by last year's training
2. B.No retraining is needed, because the training records are current and the technicians already know how to apply lockout devices
3. C.Retrain both the authorized and the affected employees, because a change in equipment that presents a new hazard and a change in the energy control procedure each trigger retraining
4. D.Wait until the next periodic inspection reveals deviations in employee knowledge, then retrain those employees found deficient

During an audit of a chemical plant's lockout/tagout program, a safety professional finds that the facility's tagout devices are uniform in print and format, identify the employee who applied them, and are attached with non-reusable, self-locking nylon straps. In the acid and alkali storage room, however, the paper-based tags have been seen curling, with the ink bleeding until the handwriting is unreadable after only a few weeks of exposure to chemical vapors and splashes. Which conclusion is consistent with the standard?

1. A.The tags are noncompliant only because the standard requires tags to be replaced on a fixed schedule in corrosive areas.
2. B.The tags are noncompliant because tags must not deteriorate in corrosive environments such as areas where acid and alkali chemicals are handled and stored.
3. C.The tags are compliant as long as a lock is also applied, because locks make tag durability irrelevant in corrosive areas.
4. D.The tags are compliant because the standardization, identification, and attachment criteria are met, and legibility is a housekeeping matter.

A plant has hired an outside millwright contractor to rebuild a hydraulic press, which is servicing covered by the lockout/tagout standard. On the morning of the job, the contractor's supervisor hands the plant's maintenance supervisor a copy of the contractor's written lockout procedure and says, "We use our own locks and will follow this." The plant supervisor files it without comment and gives the contractor the press location. Which required step has NOT yet been met?

1. A.The contractor has not yet trained the plant's employees to perform the lockout on the press for the duration of the job
2. B.The plant has not informed the contractor of the plant's own lockout or tagout procedures, so the two employers have not informed each other of their respective procedures
3. C.The plant has not yet adopted the contractor's procedure in place of its own, which is required for work by outside personnel
4. D.The contractor has not yet replaced its locks with plant-owned locks, which is required whenever outside personnel service plant equipment