Diving on a live boat prop changed my whole view on lockout tags

I used to think lockout tagout was just paperwork BS until last month on a job in Port Fourchon. We were swapping out a thruster and the chief engineer left the hydraulic lines pressurized, only found out after I surfaced and saw the logbook had a note about it from two years prior. One old diver showed me a photo of a guy who lost his hand to a spinning shaft in the Gulf, and that image stuck with me harder than any safety meeting. Now I double check every valve myself even if the tag says clear, cost me an extra 20 minutes but it beats the alternative. Anyone else ever catch a near miss that made you paranoid about the deck crew's paperwork?

2 comments

2 Comments

dianahayes27d ago

Buddy of mine had the exact same wake up call on a crawler crane. Tag said all clear, but the swing brake was holding just barely. He stepped into the path to check a pin and that thing swung through where his head was a second before. Now he takes photos of the tags and the actual equipment before he touches anything.

uma_ellis27d ago

Hate that for your buddy. Glad he's still here to tell the story.