6. The absence of a tag or label may not be taken as  permission  for  unauthorized  operation  of  equipment. 7.  Whenever  a  tag  or  label  is  issued,  correct  the situation requiring the tag or label so it can be removed as soon as possible. 8.  The  tag-out  procedure  is  for  use  by  the  ship’s personnel  on  the  equipment  and  systems  for  which  they are   responsible.   However,   repair   activity   personnel should  use  the  procedure  to  the  maximum  extent practicable  with  systems  and  equipment  that  are  still under   construction. 9.  Standard  Organization  and  Regulations  of  the U.S.  Navy,  OPNAV  Instruction  3120.32B,  is  also required when work is being done by an intermediate level  maintenance  activity  on  equipment  or  systems  that are the responsibility of the ship’s force. Sometimes a ship is under construction or assigned to a repair activity not under the control of the type commander. When that happens,  the  ship’s  force  and  the  repair  activity  may have to agree on the use of tags and labels. In this case, the  tag-out  system  should  be  formal  in  nature  and familiar to both the repair activity and the ship’s force. 10.   Any person who knows of a situation requiring tags  or  labels  should  request  that  they  be  issued  and applied. 11.   When using labels, you should list on the log any associated   requirements   specified   for   installation procedures,  test  procedures,  work  permits  (ripouts  or reentries), or system turnover agreements. 12. Make each decision on a case-by-case basis as to  whether  an  OUT-OF-COMMISSION  or  an OUT-OF-CALIBRATION   instrument   label   is   to   be used.  In  general,  if  the  instrument  error  is  small  and consistent,  you  can  use  an  OUT-OF-CALIBRATION label  and  the  operator  may  continue  to  use  the instrument. When you use an OUT-OF-CALIBRATION label, mark on the label the magnitude  and  units  of  the  required  correction. However,  when  you  use  an  OUT-OF-COMMISSION label, the instrument should not be used. 13. Use enough tags to completely isolate a section of piping or circuit being worked on, or to prevent the operation of a system or component from all stations that could exercise control. Use system diagrams or circuit schematics  to  determine  the  adequacy  of  all  tag-out actions. 14. Careful planning of tag-outs can significantly reduce the number of record sheets and tags. Planning can  also  reduce  the  effort  required  to  perform  audits, particularly  during  periods  of  overhaul  or  repair.  For example, a system and the equipment serviced by the system can be isolated and tagged-out at its boundaries with other systems. Then several different actions can be  performed  within  the  boundaries.  Also,  only  one tag-out record sheet with associated tags will be required for the work within the boundaries. When you initiate the   tag-out,   include   all   known   work   items   in   the Operations/Work Items Included in Tag-out section. If you add work items to a tag-out record sheet after initial issue, take the following action: a.   If no additional tags are required for the new work, have the authorizing officer and, if required, the repair  activity  representative  make  sure  the  work  is consistent with the purpose of the tag-out. New work must be fully described in the Operations/Work Items Included  in  Tag-out  section  of  the  record  sheet.  The authorizing officer should make a thorough review to ensure  the  completeness  and  accuracy  of  the  existing tag-out. This is the same procedure used to initiate a new tag-out record sheet for the added work The authorizing officer (and repair activity representative) should sign the appropriate blocks next to the added item. b.  Additional  tags  may  be  needed  to  provide enough isolation for work that is to be added. If so, you must   follow   the   procedures   described   later   in   this chapter for adding tags to an existing record sheet. PROCEDURES Assume  that  a  requirement  for  tags  has  been identified, and that the affected system will be out of commission  as  a  result  of  the  tag-out  action.  The authorizing  officer  must  ask  the  commanding  officer and the responsible department head for permission to begin  the  tag-out.  The  authorizing  officer  must  also notify the responsible division officer of the requirement for  tag-out.  On  ships  having  damage  control  central (DCC), the authorizing officer must notify DCC if the affected   system   or   component   will   be   out   of commission.   The   authorizing   officer   should   have approval  from  either  the  OOD  or  the  EOOW  if  the tag-out  will  affect  systems  under  their  responsibility. After   obtaining   permission,   the   authorizing   officer should direct the preparation of the tag-out record sheet and  tags  according  to  the  following  procedures.  The procedures  may  be  modified  during  overhaul  periods  at the discretion of the commanding officer. 1.   PREPARING   TAGS   AND   THE   RECORD SHEET.  DANGER  and  CAUTION  tags  and  the associated tag-out record should be prepared as follows: 1-15