Wash. Admin. Code § 296-304-01001

Current through Register Vol. 24-21, November 1, 2024

Section 296-304-01001 - Definitions

(1)Additional safety measure. A component of the tags-plus system that provides an impediment (in addition to the energy-isolating device) to the release of energy or the generalization or start-up of the machinery, equipment, or system being serviced. Examples of additional safety measures include, but are not limited to, removing an isolating circuit element; blocking a controlling switch; blocking, blanking, or bleeding lines; removing a valve handle or wiring it in place; opening an extra disconnecting device.

(2)Affected employee. An employee who normally operates or uses the machinery, equipment, or system that is going to be serviced under lockout/tags-plus or who is working in the area where servicing is being performed under lockout/tags-plus. An affected employee becomes an authorized employee when the employer assigns the employee to service any machine, equipment, or system under a lockout/tags-plus application.

(3)Alarm. A signal or message from a person or device that indicates that there is a fire, medical emergency, or other situation that requires emergency response or evacuation. At some shipyards, this may be called an "incident" or a "call for service."

(4)Alarm system. A system that warns employees at the worksite of danger.

(5)Anchorage. A secure point of attachment for lifelines, lanyards, or deceleration devices which is capable of withstanding the forces specified in this chapter.

(6)Authorized employee:

(a) An employee who performs one or more of the following lockout/tags-plus responsibilities:

(i) Executes the lockout/tags-plus procedures;

(ii) Installs a lock or tags-plus system on machinery, equipment, or systems; or

(iii) Services any machine, equipment, or system under lockout/tags-plus application.

(b) An affected employee becomes an authorized employee when the employer assigns the employee to service any machine, equipment, or system under a lockout/tags-plus application.

(7)Auto-darkening helmet. A welding helmet which is equipped with a light sensor, ultra-violet filter/infra-red filter and a series of liquid crystal and aluminized or silver layers; which is capable of adjusting the lens to an appropriate shade automatically upon initiating welding arc, without input from the wearer.

(8)Body belt. A strap with means to both secure it around the waist and to attach it to a lanyard, lifeline, or deceleration device. Body belts may be used only in fall restraint or positioning device systems and may not be used for fall arrest. Body belts must be at least one and five-eighths inches (4.13 cm) wide.

(9)Body harness. Straps to secure around an employee so that fall arrest forces are distributed over at least the thighs, shoulders, chest and pelvis with means to attach it to other components of a personal fall arrest system.

(10)Capable of being locked out. An energy-isolating device is capable of being locked out if it has a locking mechanism built into it, or it has a hasp or other means of attachment to which, or through which, a lock can be affixed. Other energy-isolating devices are capable of being locked out if lockout can be achieved without the need to dismantle, rebuild, or replace the energy-isolating device or permanently alter its energy-control capability.

(11)Class II standpipe system. A one and one-half inch (3.8 cm) hose system which provides a means for the control or extinguishment of incipient stage fires.

(12)Cold work. Work that does not involve riveting, welding, burning, or other fire-producing or spark-producing operations.

(13)Contract employer. An employer, such as a painter, joiner, carpenter, or scaffolding subcontractor, who performs work under contract to the host employer or to another employer under contract to the host employer at the host employer's worksite. This excludes employers who provide incidental services that are not directly related to shipyard employment (such as mail delivery or office supply and food vending services).

(14)Competent person. A person who can recognize and evaluate employee exposure to hazardous substances or to other unsafe conditions and can specify the necessary protection and precautions necessary to ensure the safety of employees as required by these standards.

(15)Confined space. A small compartment with limited access such as a double bottom tank, cofferdam, or other small, confined space that can readily create or aggravate a hazardous exposure.

(16)Connector.A device used to connect parts of a personal fall arrest system or parts of a positioning device system together. It may be:

(a) An independent component of the system (such as a carabiner); or

(b) An integral component of part of the system (such as a buckle or D-ring sewn into a body belt or body harness or a snaphook spliced or sewn to a lanyard or self-retracting lanyard).

(17)Dangerous atmosphere. An atmosphere that may expose employees to the risk of death, incapacitation, injury, acute illness, or impairment of ability to self-rescue (i.e., escape unaided from a confined or enclosed space).

(18)Deceleration device. A mechanism, such as a rope grab, rip stitch lanyard, specially woven lanyard, tearing or deforming lanyard, or automatic self-retracting lifeline/lanyard, that serves to dissipate a substantial amount of energy during a fall arrest, or to limit the energy imposed on an employee during fall arrest.

(19)Deceleration distance. The additional vertical distance a falling employee travels, excluding lifeline elongation and free fall distance, before stopping, from the point at which the deceleration device begins to operate. It is measured from the location of an employee's body belt or body harness attachment point at the moment of activation (at the onset of fall arrest forces) of the deceleration device during a fall, to the location of that attachment point after the employee comes to a full stop.

(20)Designated area. An area established for hot work after an inspection that is free of fire hazards.

(21)Director. The director of the department of labor and industries or a designated representative.

(22)Drop test. A method utilizing gauges to ensure the integrity of an oxygen fuel gas burning system. The method requires that the burning torch is installed to one end of the oxygen and fuel gas lines and then the gauges are attached to the other end of the hoses. The manifold or cylinder supply valve is opened and the system is pressurized. The manifold or cylinder supply valve is then closed and the gauges are watched for at least 60 seconds. Any drop in pressure indicates a leak.

(23)Dummy load. A device used in place of an antenna to aid in the testing of a radio transmitter that converts transmitted energy into heat to minimize energy radiating outward or reflecting back to its source during testing.

(24)Emergency operations. Activities performed by fire response organizations that are related to: Rescue, fire suppression, emergency medical care, and special operations or activities that include responding to the scene of an incident and all activities performed at that scene.

(25)Employee. Any person engaged in ship repairing, ship building, or ship breaking or related employment as defined in these standards.

(26)Employer. An employer with employees who are employed, in whole or in part, in ship repair, ship building and ship breaking, or related employment as defined in these standards.

(27)Enclosed space. A space, other than a confined space, that is enclosed by bulkheads and overhead. It includes cargo holds, tanks, quarters, and machinery and boiler spaces.

(28)Energy-isolating device. A mechanical device that, when utilized or activated, physically prevents the release or transmission of energy. Energy-isolating devices include, but are not limited to, manually operated electrical circuit breakers; disconnect switches; line valves; blocks; and any similar device used to block or isolate energy. Control-circuit devices (for example, push buttons, selector switches) are not considered energy isolating devices.

(29)Equivalent. Alternative designs, materials, or methods to protect against a hazard which the employer can demonstrate and will provide an equal or greater degree of safety for employees than the methods, materials, or designs specified in this standard.

(30)Fire hazard. A condition or material that may start or contribute to the spread of fire.

(31)Fire protection. Methods of providing fire prevention, response, detection, control, extinguishment, and engineering.

(32)Fire response. The activity taken by the employer at the time of an emergency incident involving a fire at the worksite, including fire suppression activities carried out by internal or external resources or a combination of both, or total or partial employee evacuation of the area exposed to the fire.

(33)Fire response employee. A shipyard employee who carries out the duties and responsibilities of shipyard firefighting in accordance with the fire safety plan.

(34)Fire response organization. An organized group knowledgeable, trained, and skilled in shipyard firefighting operations that responds to shipyard fire emergencies, including: Fire brigades, shipyard fire departments, private or contractual fire departments, and municipal fire departments.

(35)Fire suppression. The activities involved in controlling and extinguishing fires.

(36)Fire watch. The activity of observing and responding to the fire hazards associated with hot work in shipyard employment and the employees designated to do so.

(37)Fixed extinguishing system. A permanently installed fire protection system that either extinguishes or controls fire occurring in the space it protects.

(38)Flammable liquid. Means any liquid having a flashpoint at or below 199.4°F (93°C). Flammable liquids are divided into four categories as follows:

(a) Category 1 shall include liquids having flashpoints below 73.4°F (23°C) and having a boiling point at or below 95°F (35°C).

(b) Category 2 shall include liquids having flashpoints below 73.4°F (23°C) and having a boiling point above 95°F (35°C).

(c) Category 3 shall include liquids having flashpoints at or above 73.4°F (23°C) and at or below 140°F (60°C). When a Category 3 liquid with a flashpoint at or above 100°F (37.8°C) is heated for use to within 30°F (16.7°C) of its flashpoint, it shall be handled in accordance with the requirements for a Category 3 liquid with a flashpoint below 100°F (37.8°C).

(d) Category 4 shall include liquids having flashpoints above 140°F (60°C) and at or below 199.4°F (93°C). When a Category 4 flammable liquid is heated for use to within 30°F (16.7°C) of its flashpoint, it shall be handled in accordance with the requirements for a Category 3 liquid with a flashpoint at or above 100°F (37.8°C).

(e) When liquid with a flashpoint greater than 199.4°F (93°C) is heated for use to within 30°F (16.7°C) of its flashpoint, it shall be handled in accordance with the requirements for a Category 4 flammable liquid.

(39)Free fall. To fall before a personal fall arrest system begins to apply force to arrest the fall.

(40)Free fall distance. The vertical displacement of the fall arrest attachment point on the employee's body harness between onset of the fall and just before the system begins to apply force to arrest the fall. This distance excludes deceleration distance, and lifeline/lanyard elongation, but includes any deceleration device slide distance or self-retracting lifeline/lanyard extension before the device operates and fall arrest forces occur.

(41)Gangway. A ramp-like or stair-like means to board or leave a vessel including accommodation ladders, gangplanks and brows.

(42)Hazardous energy. Any energy source, including mechanical (for example, power transmission apparatus, counterbalances, springs, pressure, gravity), pneumatic, hydraulic, electrical, chemical, and thermal (for example, high or low temperature) energies, that could cause injury to employees.

(43)Hazardous substance. A substance likely to cause injury, illness or disease, or otherwise harm an employee because it is explosive, flammable, poisonous, corrosive, oxidizing, irritating, or otherwise harmful.

(44)Health care professional. A physician or any other health care professional whose legally permitted scope of practice allows the provider to independently provide, or be delegated the responsibility to provide, some or all of the advice or consultation this subpart requires.

(45)Hose systems. Fire protection systems consisting of a water supply, approved fire hose, and a means to control the flow of water at the output end of the hose.

(46)Host employer. An employer who is in charge of coordinating work or who hires other employers to perform work at a multiemployer workplace.

(47)Hot work. Riveting, welding, burning or other fire or spark producing operations.

(48)Incident management system. A system that defines the roles and responsibilities to be assumed by personnel and the operating procedures to be used in the management and direction of emergency operations; the system is also referred to as an "incident command system (ICS)."

(49)Incipient stage fire. A fire, in the initial or beginning stage, which can be controlled or extinguished by portable fire extinguishers, Class II standpipe or small hose systems without the need for protective clothing or breathing apparatus.

(50)Inerting. The displacement of the atmosphere in a permit space by noncombustible gas (such as nitrogen) to such an extent that the resulting atmosphere is noncombustible. This procedure produces an IDLH oxygen-deficient atmosphere.

(51)Interior structural firefighting operations. The physical activity of fire response, rescue, or both involving a fire beyond the incipient stage inside of buildings, enclosed structures, vessels, and vessel sections.

(52)Isolated location. An area in which employees are working alone or with little assistance from others due to the type, time, or location of their work. Such locations include remote locations or other work areas where employees are not in close proximity to others.

(53)Lanyard. A flexible line of webbing, rope, or cable used to secure a positioning harness or full body harness to a lifeline or an anchorage point usually two, four, or six feet long.

(54)Lifeline. A vertical line from a fixed anchorage or between two horizontal anchorages, independent of walking or working surfaces, to which a lanyard or device is secured. Lifeline as referred to in this text is one which is part of a fall protection system used as back-up safety for an elevated worker or as a restraint for workers on a flat or sloped surface.

(55)Lock. A device that utilizes a positive means, either a key or combination lock, to hold an energy isolating device in a "safe" position that prevents the release of energy and the start-up or energization of the machinery, equipment, or system to be serviced.

(56)Lockout. The placement of a lock on an energy-isolating device in accordance with an established procedure, thereby ensuring that the energy-isolating device and the equipment being controlled cannot be operated until the lock is removed.

(57)Lockout/tags-plus coordinator. An employee whom the employer designates to coordinate and oversee all lockout and tags-plus applications on vessels or vessel sections and at landside work areas when employees are performing multiple servicing operations on the same machinery, equipment, or systems at the same time, and when employees are servicing multiple machinery, equipment, or systems on the same vessel or vessel section at the same time. The lockout/tags-plus coordinator also maintains the lockout/tags-plus log.

(58)Lockout/tags-plus materials and hardware. Locks, chains, wedges, blanks, key blocks, adapter pins, self-locking fasteners, or other hardware used for isolating, blocking, or securing machinery, equipment, or systems to prevent the release of energy or the start-up or energization of machinery, equipment, or systems to be serviced.

(59)Lower levels. Those areas or surfaces to which an employee can fall. Such areas or surfaces include but are not limited to ground levels, floors, ramps, tanks, materials, water, excavations, pits, vessels, structures, or portions thereof.

(60)Motor vehicle. Any motor-driven vehicle operated by an employee that is used to transport employees, material, or property. For the purposes of this subpart, motor vehicles include passenger cars, light trucks, vans, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, small utility trucks, powered industrial trucks, and other similar vehicles. Motor vehicles do not include boats, or vehicles operated exclusively on a rail or rails.

(61)Motor vehicle safety equipment. Systems and devices integral to or installed on a motor vehicle for the purpose of effecting the safe operation of the vehicle, and consisting of such systems or devices as safety belts, airbags, headlights, tail lights, emergency/hazard lights, windshield wipers, defogging or defrosting devices, brakes, horns, mirrors, windshields and other windows, and locks.

(62)Multiemployer workplace. A workplace where there is a host employer and at least one contract employer.

(63)Normal production operations. The use of machinery or equipment, including, but not limited to, punch presses, bending presses, shears, lathes, keel press rollers, and automated burning machines, to perform a shipyard-employment production process.

(64)Personal alert safety system (PASS). A device that sounds a loud signal if the wearer becomes immobilized or is motionless for 30 seconds or more.

(65)Personal fall arrest system. A system used to arrest an employee in a fall from a working level. It consists of an anchorage, connectors, body harness and may include a lanyard, a deceleration device, a lifeline, or a suitable combination.

(66)Physical isolation. The elimination of a fire hazard by removing the hazard from the work area (at least 35 feet for combustibles), by covering or shielding the hazard with a fire-resistant material, or physically preventing the hazard from entering the work area.

(67)Physically isolated. Positive isolation of the supply from the distribution piping of a fixed extinguishing system. Examples of ways to physically isolate include: Removing a spool piece and installing a blank flange; providing a double block and bleed valve system; or completely disconnecting valves and piping from all cylinders or other pressure vessels containing extinguishing agents.

(68)Portable toilet. A nonsewered portable facility for collecting and containing urine and feces. A portable toilet may be either flushable or nonflushable. For purposes of this section, portable toilets do not include privies.

(69)Portable unfired pressure vessel. A pressure container or vessel used aboard ship, other than the ship's equipment, containing liquids or gases under pressure. This does not include pressure vessels built to Department of Transportation regulations under 49 C.F.R. Part 178, Subparts C and H.

(70)Positioning device system. A full body harness or positioning harness that is worn by an employee, and is rigged to allow an employee to be supported on an elevated vertical or inclined surface, such as a wall, pole or column, and work with both hands free from the body support.

(71)Potable water. Water that meets the standards for drinking purposes of the state or local authority having jurisdiction, or water that meets the quality standards prescribed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Primary Water Regulations (40 C.F.R. Part 141).

(72)Powder actuated fastening tool. A tool or machine that drives a stud, pin, or fastener by means of an explosive charge.

(73)Protected space. Any space into which a fixed extinguishing system can discharge.

(74)Proximity firefighting. Specialized firefighting operations that require specialized thermal protection and may include the activities of rescue, fire suppression, and property conservation at incidents involving fires producing very high levels of conductive, con-vective, and radiant heat such as aircraft fires, bulk flammable gas fires, and bulk flammable liquid fires. Proximity firefighting operations usually are exterior operations but may be combined with structural firefighting operations. Proximity firefighting is not entry firefighting.

(75)Qualified instructor. A person with specific knowledge, training, and experience in fire response or fire watch activities to cover the material found in WAC 296-304-01019(2) or (3).

(76)Qualified person. One who, by possession of a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing, or who by extensive knowledge, training, and experience, has successfully demonstrated his/her ability to solve or resolve problems related to the subject matter, the work, or the project.

(77)Readily accessible/available. Capable of being reached quickly enough to ensure, for example, that emergency medical services and first-aid intervention are appropriate or that employees can reach sanitation facilities in time to meet their health and personal needs.

(78)Related employment. Any employment related to or performed in conjunction with ship repairing, ship building or ship breaking work, including, but not limited to, inspecting, testing, and serving as a watchman.

(79)Rescue. Locating endangered persons at an emergency incident, removing those persons from danger, treating the injured, and transporting the injured to an appropriate health care facility.

(80)Restraint line. A line from a fixed anchorage or between two anchorages to which an employee is secured in such a way as to prevent the employee from falling to a lower level.

Note:

A restraint line is not necessarily designed to withstand forces resulting from a fall.

(81)Rope grab. A fall arrester that is designed to move up or down a lifeline suspended from a fixed overhead or horizontal anchorage point, or lifeline, to which the full body harness is attached. In the event of a fall, the rope grab locks onto the lifeline rope through compression to arrest the fall. The use of a rope grab device is restricted for all restraint applications. See WAC 296-880-40025.

(82)Sanitation facilities. Facilities, including supplies, maintained for employee personal and health needs such as potable drinking water, toilet facilities, hand-washing and hand-drying facilities, showers (including quick-drenching or flushing) and changing rooms, eating and drinking areas, first-aid stations, and on-site medical-service areas. Sanitation supplies include soap, waterless cleaning agents, single-use drinking cups, drinking water containers, toilet paper, and towels.

(83)Serviceable condition. The state or ability of supplies or goods, or of a tool, machine, vehicle, or other device, to be used or to operate in the manner prescribed by the manufacturer.

(84)Servicing. Workplace activities that involve the construction, installation, adjustment, inspection, modification, testing, or repair of machinery, equipment, or systems. Servicing also includes maintaining machines, equipment, or systems when performing these activities would expose the employee to harm from the start-up or energization of the system being serviced, or the release of hazardous energy.

(85)Sewered toilet. A fixture maintained for the purpose of urination and defecation that is connected to a sanitary sewer, septic tank, holding tank (bilge), or on-site sewage-disposal treatment facility, and that is flushed with water.

(86)Shall or must. Mandatory.

(87)Shield. To install a covering, protective layer, or other effective measure on or around steam hoses or temporary steam-piping systems, including metal fittings and couplings, to protect employees from contacting hot surfaces or elements.

(88)Ship breaking. Breaking down a vessel's structure to scrap the vessel, including the removal of gear, equipment or any component part of a vessel.

(89)Ship building. Construction of a vessel, including the installation of machinery and equipment.

(90)Ship repairing. Repair of a vessel including, but not limited to, alterations, conversions, installations, cleaning, painting, and maintenance.

(91)Shipyard firefighting. The activity of rescue, fire suppression, and property conservation involving buildings, enclosed structures, vehicles, vessels, aircraft, or similar properties involved in a fire or emergency situation.

(92)Short bight. A loop created in a line or rope that is used to tie back or fasten objects such as hoses, wiring, and fittings.

(93)Small hose system. A system of hoses ranging in diameter from 5/8" (1.6 cm) up to 1 1/2" (3.8 cm) which is for the use of employees and which provides a means for the control and extinguishment of incipient stage fires.

(94)Standpipe. A fixed fire protection system consisting of piping and hose connections used to supply water to approved hose lines or sprinkler systems. The hose may or may not be connected to the system.

(95)Tag. A prominent warning device that includes a means of attachment that can be securely fastened to an energy-isolating device in accordance with an established procedure to indicate that the energy-isolating device and the equipment being controlled must not be operated until the tag is removed by an authorized employee.

(96)Tags-plus system. A system to control hazardous energy that consists of an energy-isolating device with a tag affixed to it, and at least one additional safety measure.

(97)Verification of isolation. The means necessary to detect the presence of hazardous energy, which may involve the use of a test instrument (for example, a voltmeter), and, for other than electric shock protection, a visual inspection, or a deliberate attempt to start-up the machinery, equipment, or system.

(98)Vermin. Insects, birds, and other animals, such as rodents, that may create safety and health hazards for employees.

(99)Vessel. Every watercraft for use as a means of transportation on water, including special purpose floating structures not primarily designed for or used as a means of transportation on water.

(100)Vessel section. A subassembly, module, or other component of a vessel being built or repaired.

(101)Walkway. Any surface, whether vertical, slanted, or horizontal, on which employees walk, including areas that employees pass through, to perform their job tasks. Walkways include, but are not limited to, access ways, designated walkways, aisles, exits, gangways, ladders, ramps, stairs, steps, passageways, and scaffolding. If an area is, or could be, used to gain access to other locations, it is to be considered a walkway.

(102)Work area. A specific area, such as a machine shop, engineering space, or fabrication area, where one or more employees are performing job tasks.

(103)Working surface. Any surface where work is occurring, or areas where tools, materials, and equipment are being staged for performing work.

(104)Worksite. A general work location where one or more employees are performing work, such as a shipyard, pier, barge, vessel, or vessel section.

Wash. Admin. Code § 296-304-01001

Amended by WSR 14-07-086, filed 3/18/14, effective 5/1/2014

Amended by WSR 17-18-075, Filed 9/5/2017, effective 10/6/2017

Amended by WSR 20-12-091, Filed 6/2/2020, effective 10/1/2020

Amended by WSR 22-23-144, Filed 11/22/2022, effective 12/26/2022

Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.010, 49.17.040, 49.17.050, 49.17.060, and chapter 49.17 RCW. 12-12-060, § 296-304-01001, filed 6/5/12, effective 8/1/12. Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.010, 49.17.040, 49.17.050, 49.17.060. 07-03-163, § 296-304-01001, filed 1/24/07, effective 4/1/07; 05-19-086, § 296-304-01001, filed 9/20/05, effective 12/1/05; 03-04-099, § 296-304-01001, filed 2/4/03, effective 8/1/03. Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.040, [49.17].050 and [49.17].060. 98-02-006, § 296-304-01001, filed 12/26/97, effective 3/1/98. Statutory Authority: Chapter 49.17 RCW. 95-04-006, § 296-304-01001, filed 1/18/95, effective 3/10/95; Order 76-7, § 296-304-01001, filed 3/1/76; Order 74-25, § 296-304-01001, filed 5/7/74.