The tag-out bill is a system of documents used to save lives and to prevent unnecessary damage to equipment. It uses caution tags, danger tags, out-of-calibration labels, and out-of-commission labels to let you know when a specific switch, circuit breaker, piece of equipment, electronic system, or plumbing valve should be either operated with extra care or left alone.

It is impossible in this section to identify all situations requiring tag-out procedures. However, we can mention a few situations that require you to tag out certain equipment:

Working Aloft or Over the Side: When you are working aloft or over the side, be sure that any equipment that could give you radiation burns or that could asphyxiate you is turned off and tagged out.

Corrective Maintenance: When you are working on equipment that must have its power secured and there is a chance that someone else could inadvertently reapply power while you are still working on the equipment, the equipment should be tagged out.

Preventive Maintenance: When the PMS MRCs or equipment technical manuals direct you to secure electrical power, those power switches should be tagged out.

TAG-OUT RESPONSIBILITIES

Commanding officers are responsible for the safety of their personnel and the operational readiness of their ship. They are ultimately responsible for ensuring that their personnel follow appropriate tag-out procedures. To help do this, they assign authorizing officers who have the authority to sign, issue, and clear tags and labels. There is usually one authorizing officer for each department, who may be a commissioned officer, a chief petty officer, or a petty officer.

Your department's authorizing officer normally has the following responsibilities:

Ensure that personnel are qualified to do the work they are about to do,

Maintain tag-out logs,

Sign and issue tags and tag-out record sheets, and

Clear the record sheets from the tag-out logs and destroy the tags when the work is completed.

TAG-OUT DOCUMENTS

There are five tag-out documents that you may use in your job as a Fire Controlman:

Tag-outlogs

CAUTION Tags (NAVSHIPS 9890/5)

DANGER Tags (NAVSHIPS 9890/8)

OUT-OF-CALIBRATION Labels (NAVSEA 9210/6)

OUT-OF-COMMISSION Labels (NAVSHIPS 9890/7)

This subsection discusses the first three documents in depth. The last two documents are labels that are only used to identify test equipment that is either out of calibration or out of commission, and, therefore, need no further explanation.

Tag-Out Log

A tag-out log is a permanent log of the authorizations given for all tag-out actions. Preferably kept in a three-ring binder, it has the following five sections:

SECTION 1. Section 1 contains a copy of the Equipment Tag-Out Bill, found in Standard Organization and Regulations of the U.S. Navy, OPNAVINST 3120.32; and a copy of the command's amplifying instruction on equipment tag-out procedures.

SECTION 2. Section 2 contains the DANGER/CAUTION Tag-Out Index and Record of Audits (OPNAV 3120/4). The authorizing officer uses this form to assign and track all of the issued DANGER/CAUTION tags. Table 3-7 describes blocks 1 through 5 on figure 3-3.

SECTION 3. Section 3 contains the DANGER/CAUTION Tag-Out Record Sheets (NAVSEA 9210/9) that are still in effect. Figures 3-4 and 3-5 show the front and back sides of this form.

SECTION 4. Section 4 contains the Instrument Log (NAVSHIPS 9890/10). Keep a record of all the OUT-OF-COMMISSION and OUT-OF-CALIBRATION labels issued in this log.

SECTION 5. Section 5 contains the DANGER/CAUTION Tag-Out Record Sheet (NAVSEA 9210/9). Keep the record sheets that have been cleared and are no longer in effect in this section.

Figure 3-3.-DANGER/CAUTION Tag-Out Index and Record of Audits (OPNAV 3120/4).