Safety first is not an abstract call, but a very specific action plan for enterprises with industrial safety risks. Data centers are among such facilities, which means they must have well-developed labor protection rules. Today I will tell you how the LOTO system works at the Linxdatacenter site in St. Petersburg, which improves the safety of data center operation.
An analysis of industrial accidents, injuries, accidents and occupational diseases shows that their main cause is non-compliance with safety requirements, ignorance of the nature of man-made threats and methods of protection against them. According to Rostrud, from 30 to 40% of occupational injuries with serious health consequences in Russia are caused by the human factor.
At the same time, 15-20% of all accidents are associated with incomplete disconnection of equipment from energy sources during repair and maintenance of equipment. Workers are most often injured due to the release of residual energy, as well as due to erroneous switching on or improper shutdown of equipment.
There is only one way out: follow the safety rules. Including choosing the safest technological processes, organizational and technical measures and rules of personal conduct.
Why is the DPC here?
Even taking into account the fundamental difference between a data center and a plant or a nuclear power plant, there is, of course, a potential danger in the operation of the engineering systems of a data center. Still, a data center is a few MW of electrical power, diesel generators, cooling systems, ventilation. No reinsurance in the direction of industrial safety can be superfluous here.
In preparation for Linxdatacenter's performance appraisal against the , we decided to put this direction in order as part of the work processes in the data center.
The task was as follows: to develop and implement a unified procedure for reliable blocking of sections of the engineering networks of the data center and create an understandable system for designating the types of work and performers. We have studied the available solutions and made a choice in favor of the ready-made LOTO system, as the most adequate and simple. Let's take a look at how this system works.
Block, mark!
The name of the system "Lockout/Tagout" is literally translated from English as "Lockout / Posting warning tags". The names “protective blocking systems” and “blocking systems” have been fixed in Russian. The common English abbreviation "LOTO" is also used. Its main purpose is to protect a person from interacting with energy sources at industrial facilities, where electrical, gravitational (gravity), hydraulic, pneumatic, thermal and other types of energy with uncontrolled release can lead to the danger of human injury.
- lockout. The first part of LOTO consists of Lockout procedures, which consist in installing special interlocks and locks on a section of the utility network - potentially dangerous due to the possible release of energy. However, it is not enough just to block the site, it is necessary to inform people about the potential danger and about what kind of work and for how long led to the withdrawal of this section of the network from normal operation.
- Tag Out. For this, there is the second part of LOTO - TagOut. A potentially dangerous section of the network, where work is being carried out and in connection with which it is disabled or blocked, is indicated by a special warning tag. The tag informs the rest of the employees about the reason for the disconnection, from what moment, for how long, and by whom. All information is confirmed by the signature of the responsible person.
Let's take a look at an example.
In the data center in St. Petersburg, we use the following elements of the LOTO system:
- Electric locks to securely fix the energy source in a certain position:
- Mechanical risk blockers:
- Warning tags "Do not turn on", "Do not open" with information about the type of work, start and end time of work, responsible person, etc.:
- padlocks for security lock:
In addition to the blockers themselves, procedures for their use have been developed:
- Blockers are divided by type of equipment:
- for mechanical systems, blockers with the letter index "M" are used,
- for electric - "E".
This is done for ease of indicating them in the instructions and finding them on the stand.
- Algorithms for installing blockers have been developed for work and removal in case of emergency:
Equipment shutdown algorithm.
Equipment activation algorithm. - In instructions for repair and service work types of blockersto be used:
As you can see, everything is very clear. A set of blockers for a specific task is prescribed, and at least one of them is always available at the stand. The stand itself is executed as clearly as possible. Combined with detailed instructions, LOTO leaves no room for error.
Thus, a stand for storing LOTO locking devices was organized in the data center.
What has changed with LOTO
Speaking formally, using LOTO allows you to:
- reduce the number of accidents
- reduce the cost of compensation for harm caused to health,
- reduce downtime and increase productivity.
In sum, this reduces the indirect costs of operating the engineering systems of the data center.
In more informal terms, after the implementation of the system, the heads of data center operations increased confidence in the safe nature of all ongoing work. Of course, everything worked in the usual way with home-made signs “Do not turn on!”, Signs “Caution!” and oral announcements.
With LOTO, there was much more confidence in the safety of the operation of each engineering network of the data center in each of its sections. In addition, the management of operation and maintenance tasks has been greatly simplified: it is enough to specify the site, node, bollard model and shutdown dates.
The transparency of duty rounds has also increased: if the machine, which should always be on, is in the “off” position, and there is no LOTO tag, everything is clear, an emergency shutdown must be acted upon. If there is a tag, everything is also clear, a planned shutdown, you don’t need to touch anything, we continue bypassing.
Situations with “forgotten” tags and announcements are also excluded: in all cases, you can always tell who, when and for what reason installed the block and lock, who can remove it, etc. No secrets about “what is this disabled machine on this shield for the second week already?”.
We look at the tag, and we immediately know what is happening and who to ask.
To summarize
- LOTO at the Linxdatacenter data center in St. Petersburg has become one of the factors for the successful completion of the Uptime Institute M&O certification platform. The auditors admitted that they rarely see the implementation of such a system in a data center.
- Definitely a positive impact on the quality of the data center as a whole: it has become almost impossible to make mistakes in the work of maintenance services.
- Long-term safety assurance for the company and its employees: According to OSHA statistics, in the US alone, compliance with LOTO regulations prevents 50 serious injuries and 000 deaths per year.
- Small investment - big impact. The main costs are for prescribing regulations, rules, classifying situations and training employees. The total time for implementation is 4 months, it was carried out by the company's employees.
Highly recommended!
If you have any questions, ask in the comments.
Source: habr.com