read chapter 22 of the  Navy  Occupational  Safety  and Health  (NAVOSH)  Program  Manual,  (OPNAVINST 5100.23) for shore operations, and chapter B9 of the NAVOSH   Program   Manual   for   Forces   Afloat (OPNAVINST 5100.19). TAG-OUT BILL The tag-out bill is a system of documents used to save   lives   and   to   prevent   unnecessary   damage   to equipment. It uses CAUTION tags and 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 completely left alone. As an ET, you won’t be securing many plumbing valves. But, you will be securing a lot of power switches and  circuit  breakers  to  do  preventive  and  corrective maintenance on electronic systems and equipments. It’s not  possible  in  this  topic  to  identify  all  situations requiring tag-out. However, here are a few situations that do require  you  to  tag  out  the  equipment: Working  Aloft  or  Over  the  Side:  Since   many areas  on  the  exterior  of  a  ship  are  inaccessible  from decks  or  built-in  work  platforms,  it  becomes  necessary to go aloft or over the side to reach these areas. The greatest hazard associated with working aloft or over the side is the danger of a fall. Other hazards include the dropping of objects on (or by) personnel, radiation  burns,  and  asphyxiation.  When  working  aloft, the  following  must  be  observed:    Do not go aloft on masts, maces, stacks, or king posts or be suspended over the side by a crane without first obtaining written permission from the O.O.D. in the form of a working aloft checklist.    Wear supplied air respirators when working near stacks or exhaust which are actively discharging gases. Use  a  climber  sleeve  assembly  in  conjunction with  the  safety  harness  when  going  aloft  where  a climber  safety  rail  is  installed. Before  commencement  of  work  and  every  15 minutes  thereafter,  pass  a  verbal  warning  over  the  1 MC,  DO  NOT  ROTATE  ANTENNAS,  ENERGIZE OR  RADIATE  ANY  ELECTRICAL  OR  ELEC- TRONIC  EQUIPMENT  WHILE  PERSONNEL  ARE WORKING ALOFT. If personnel aloft are in the vicin- ity of the stacks add,  DO NOT  BLOW  TUBES  OR LIFT   SAFETY   VALVES   WHILE   PERSONNEL ARE  WORKING  ALOFT.      Inform ships in the vicinity that personnel will be working aloft to ensure they take appropriate action on operation of electrical or electronic equipment. Departments  concerned  shall  ensure  that  all  ra- dio transmitters and radars that pose radiation hazards are placed in the STANDBY position and a sign placed on  the  equipment  that  reads: SECURED PERSONNEL ALOFT DATE TIME INITIALS    Position a safety observer on deck near the work being  performed.  Outfit  the  safety  observer  with  a safety harness, lanyards, and climber safety sleeve to permit  rapid  emergency  assistance  aloft  if  required.  The safety  observer  shall  keep  the  deck  area  beneath  the work aloft free of unnecessary personnel. Now, refer to Navy Occupational Safety and Health (NAVOSH)   Program   Manual   for   Forces   Afloat, (OPNAVINST  5100.19),  and  read  Chapter  C8.  Then return  to  this  manual. Corrective  Maintenance:  When  you’re  working on  equipment  that  must  have  its  power  secured,  and there’s  a  chance  someone  else  could  inadvertently reapply power while you are still working on it. Preventive   Maintenance:   When   planned maintenance  system  (PMS)  maintenance  requirement cards  (MRCs)  or  equipment  technical  manuals  direct you to secure electrical power. Danger   Exists:   When   you   are   operating   an equipment  that  could  endanger  someone’s  life.  This could apply to both mechanical and electrical faults. TAG-OUT RESPONSIBILITIES Commanding officers are responsible for the well- being of their people and the operational readiness of their equipments. They are ultimately responsible for making  sure  their  personnel  follow  the  appropriate  tag- out procedures. To help do this, they assign  authorizing officers  who have authority to sign, issue, and clear tags and labels. There is usually one authorizing officer for each   department.   The   authorizing   officer   can   be   a commissioned   officer,   chief   petty   officer,   or   petty officer.  When  the  affected  system  will  be  rendered  out- of-commission  as  a  result  of  the  tag  out  action,  the Authorizing Officer shall obtain permission of the CO when appropriate and the cognizant Department Head 3 -7