An effective marking strategy for pipes goes above and beyond merely labeling the pipes, but also includes using valve tags. One of the most overlooked efficiencies and safety aspects of the facility is using valve tags, as many people believe that valves and pipes are a simple system that runs in the background without requiring much thought.
However, valves that are inappropriately labeled serve as a dangerous safety hazard. Whether your facility is interested in learning how to use valve tags properly or you’re looking to improve how your facility is using valve tags, you must understand why valve tags are essential to pipe identification.
What Are Valve Tags?
A valve tag is a type of tag that you attach to a valve, which is typically located at the end of a pipe. These tags can be made of Brass, Anodized Aluminum, Stainless Steel or Plastic but the type of material that the tags are made out of depends on the unique needs of your facility.
Valve tags can range in size to be big enough to hold a small handful of numbers, all the way up to a large square that holds essential information.
Valve Tag Regulations
The most important reason for using valve tags is to keep your employees safe. However, there are some situations were OSHA and ANSI have guidelines that require facilities to use specific tags. Make sure that you’re aware of all of the current OSHA and ANSI regulations to keep your company updated on the latest safety requirements.
The Importance of Valve Tags
Using valve tags provide your maintenance staff and operators with crucial information about valve systems and the piping that goes around it. This helps to maintain the safe operation of your facility, as well as the safety of your staff.
By adequately identifying valves, you’re providing employees with a visual tool that can help to reduce the risks of accidents, workplace injuries, and spills that are caused by the improper usage or care of valves.
For example, using colored valve tags can identify the types of materials that are being contained in the pipes. A red valve tag is commonly used to designate the presence of a hot liquid in the pipes, while a black and yellow striped tag identifies that the pipes and valves contain a hazardous substance.
Before applying valve tags to your pipes, you should audit your facility. This means that you’ll need to take a walk around your plant and identify all the valves that need to be tagged. As for doing this, you can assign numbers to the valves that need to be labeled into a valve tag chart or on a digital table.
By auditing your valves and identifying information that you want to put on your tags, having a log that your employees have access to, you’ll be providing a tool that your maintenance staff can use when they’re being asked to assist in emergencies.
Understanding Why Valve Tags Are Central to Pipe Identification
Developing a consistent pipe labeling strategy, along with using valve tags, is essential to keeping your employees safe. Using valve tags is the easiest way that you can effectively communicate information to the employees that are using the valves and that are working around the pipes.