Were Lett and Medley Exposed to a Hazardous Condition?
G. A. West did not lockout the pulp machine while Lett and Medley modified it (Tr. 270). In order to be exposed to any hazardous condition created by G. A. West’s failure to lockout the pulp machine, Lett and Medley’s work must have required them to enter the machine or come within “close contact” with the machine. The Secretary contends the employees’ work activities brought them into close contact with the moving layboy table and the conveyors under the pulp machine. The standard nowhere defines “close contact.” The preamble to the lockout/ tagout standard provides some guidance (54 Fed. Reg. 36647): Performance of maintenance or servicing activities on a machine or equipment that is in operation has the potential of exposing employees not only to contact with moving machinery components at the point of operation, but also to contact with other moving components, such as power transmission apparatus, and also increases the risk of injury due to the position the employee must assume a
