Redbusbar IsolationPoint lockout procedure and management program

The IsolationPoint lockout procedure and management program uses a PDA to execute energy isolation procedures to provide accurate and efficient equipment lockout.

Maintenance workers in mining and industrial sites typically address the risk of inaccurate isolations by having two people execute isolation procedures and crosscheck equipment identification, thereby avoiding mistakes. However, mistakes can still occur, as the approach is exposed to common-cause, trust or distraction-related failures. A difficulty is that modular plant design methods yield multiple process trains within the plant that appear identical. In addition, the use of long equipment identifiers can facilitate errors.

IsolationPoint comprises an isolation procedure library located on a PC and a handheld PDA as the means to execute isolation procedures. When required, an isolation procedure is scheduled for execution onto the PDA. The isolation officer then follows the isolation steps specified in the procedure and uses the PDA’s barcode or RFID scanner to verify isolation point identity. When the procedure is complete, time-stamped progress information is archived to the PC. Using this approach, the program enhances safety, uses fewer people and requires less administration.