Common Occupational Skills: Safety, Tools, Communication and Documentation
Safety is a system, not a habit
Hazard assessment comes first: identify the task, the energy sources and the people affected, then control risk in the correct order - eliminate, substitute, engineer, administrate - and only then rely on PPE, which is the last line of defence, never the first.
Lockout and stored energy
The lockout/tagout sequence is: notify, shut down, isolate, apply locks and tags, release stored energy (springs, capacitors, elevated loads, trapped hydraulic pressure, gravity), then verify. The try-out step is what questions test most often. A lock without verification is not a zero-energy state, and group lockout requires every worker to own a personal lock.
Tools and measurement
Hand and power tools are inspected before use; damaged cords, cracked handles and missing guards remove a tool from service. Precision tools - micrometers, verniers, dial indicators, torque wrenches - must be within their calibration interval and used at a sensible temperature. A metric micrometer reads to 0.01 mm; an imperial one to 0.001 in., which is 0.0254 mm.
Communication and documentation
Work orders, permits, SDS/GHS labels, first-angle versus third-angle drawings, clearance and torque specifications, and accurate shift handover notes are all fair game.
Worked example
A bolt calls for 90 ft·lb but your wrench is scaled in N·m. Multiply by 1.356: 90 × 1.356 = 122 N·m, then round to the tool's smallest graduation.
Traps
Assuming a closed valve means isolated; treating a tag as a lock; ignoring calibration dates; confusing first- and third-angle projection; converting torque in the wrong direction.