| From databases of several European countries, it is estimated that 10-15% of workplace fatalities and 15-20% of all accidents are related to maintenance. In Quebec, the mandatory method for controlling hazardous energy during maintenance, repair or unjamming works on machines is lockout in accordance with Article 185 of the Quebec's Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. Lockout procedures involve shutting down the equipment, isolating it, applying individual locks, applying tags, releasing residual energies, and verifying the absence of energies. Despite this legal requirement, according to the Association Paritaire pour la sante et la securite du travail, Secteur " Affaires Municipales " (APSAM), lockout doesn't seem to be introduced as much as it should in the municipal sector. One hypothesis to partly explain this phenomenon is that the constraints concerning the organization and the practice of lockout in municipalities are specific. Therefore, this exploratory study aims to delineate the organisation and the characteristics of lockout in the municipal sector in Quebec.;This study has led to results such as: (1) The moving machinery used during winter activities (truck, spreader, grooming, etc.) is the main equipment involved in serious accidents linked with our subject. (2) Seven potential areas for application of lockout in a municipality were identified with the literature review: (i) water treatment plants, (ii) public works, (iii) workshops, (iv) public buildings, (v) public parks and green areas, (vi) waste treatment plants, and (vii) public transport network. Some of these areas are outside and vast which is a feature of the municipal sector. (3) Lockout in a municipality impacts blue collar for the application, white-collar for management, firefighters for some interventions and confined spaces, and finally sub-contractors that must be supervised during lockout activities. (4) The visits cover most lockout situations in a municipality. They allowed to describe the practice of lockout for each type of site, and to notice that: (1) Implementation of lockout begins in many municipalities. Lockout program and/or procedures don't exist or aren't usable in 8 of 12 municipalities. (2) Lockout programs were comprehensive and individualized. However, in practice, failures were observed in terms of conducting audit, supervision of subcontractors, practical training, and continuity in lockout management. (3) Municipalities have questions regarding resistance to change, use of external assistance, equipment inventory in all sites, harmonization of the coding facilities, and management of documentary system. (4) Involvement of internal resources during the identification and codification of equipments allow them to gain a better understanding of the facilities and the benefits linked (e.g., facilitate troubleshooting, support to sub-contractors, etc.). (5) Structures of municipalities seem to create problems on the harmonization of practices between departments, localisation of lockout procedures, working alone, and working outdoors. (6) Little emphasis on lockout was put on moving machinery by the municipalities which tend to focus mainly on fixed equipment even if such equipment was involved in serious accidents. (7) Lockout activities in municipalities are oven related to confined space. (8) Many types of equipment are remote controlled, especially in water treatment and ventilation systems, which is an incentive to apply lockout procedures. (9) Technical difficulties were encountered for the application of lockout on street valves.;Finally, based on the municipalities which have a head start in lockout, solutions on some of the issues mentioned above are given. Moreover, since most municipalities are in the implementation phase, a lockout implementation model specific to the municipal sector is proposed.;These results on lockout should equip municipalities in the implementation phase, and help those most advanced to improve the application of lockout.;To meet this objective, (i) accidents in the municipal sector related to the problem of hazardous energy control were identified and analyzed, (ii) a literature review on lockout in the municipal sector has been achieved, and (iii) 12 municipalities in Quebec and 23 municipal sites were visited with a questionnaire and an observation checklist based on documents such as the Canadian standard CSA Z460-05 (2005). |
