1. The Tag Out Instruction ref (a) is consistently being violated in the field. The Tag Out Instruction is too burdensome in its present form. This makes it difficult and very time consuming to properly tag out a piece of equipment. This instruction is not being followed due to convenience and/or time. This creates a dangerous work environment. Not following proper procedures set forth in ref (a) can also lead to the catastrophic failure of Coast Guard equipment, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars in repair. In addition maintenance personnel can become severely injured or killed. The Tag out instruction COMDINST 9077.1 needs to be updated.
2. This instruction was last updated on Aug 2002. Between 2008 and 2016 there were 42 Mishaps …show more content…
The first issue needing to be addressed is the time it takes to accomplish a safe tag out. It sometimes takes longer to tag out a piece of equipment then it would be to complete the job. The instruction should allow the use of pre filled laminated tags. The current instruction only allows the use of these tags for preventive maintenance (PMS). These laminated tags can be used only for unplanned troubleshooting and repair. For long term maintenance and repair work the standard tag out policy will be used. This will do three things. First, it will ensure the proper number of tags is used to totally isolate the system; second, save on time as most information will be pre-filled on the tags; and third, save money by being able to reuse the tags. Ref (a) section 8.a makes the use of laminated tags optional for PMS. This should be made mandatory. Every Maintenance Procedure Card (MPC) should have with it an associated set of laminated danger tags. It can take 15 to 20 minutes to properly fill out all required tags and properly hang all the tags. This will be reduced to about five minutes by having the tags already made up and ready to go. The use of these laminated tags would be most effective for short quick repairs. An example would be a slight fuel leak on main engine while the cutter is underway. The repair may be as simple as tightening a fitting. The “standard procedure” now is to shut the engine down, send some out there to tighten the fitting, and start it back up without any danger tags being hung. This goes against all Coast Guard procedures pertaining to equipment and maintenance. A quick and easy way to tag out the engine will ensure proper safety precautions are
2. This instruction was last updated on Aug 2002. Between 2008 and 2016 there were 42 Mishaps …show more content…
The first issue needing to be addressed is the time it takes to accomplish a safe tag out. It sometimes takes longer to tag out a piece of equipment then it would be to complete the job. The instruction should allow the use of pre filled laminated tags. The current instruction only allows the use of these tags for preventive maintenance (PMS). These laminated tags can be used only for unplanned troubleshooting and repair. For long term maintenance and repair work the standard tag out policy will be used. This will do three things. First, it will ensure the proper number of tags is used to totally isolate the system; second, save on time as most information will be pre-filled on the tags; and third, save money by being able to reuse the tags. Ref (a) section 8.a makes the use of laminated tags optional for PMS. This should be made mandatory. Every Maintenance Procedure Card (MPC) should have with it an associated set of laminated danger tags. It can take 15 to 20 minutes to properly fill out all required tags and properly hang all the tags. This will be reduced to about five minutes by having the tags already made up and ready to go. The use of these laminated tags would be most effective for short quick repairs. An example would be a slight fuel leak on main engine while the cutter is underway. The repair may be as simple as tightening a fitting. The “standard procedure” now is to shut the engine down, send some out there to tighten the fitting, and start it back up without any danger tags being hung. This goes against all Coast Guard procedures pertaining to equipment and maintenance. A quick and easy way to tag out the engine will ensure proper safety precautions are