OSHA Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) Fact Sheet

The OSHA standard for The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout), (29 CFR §1910.147) addresses the practices and procedures for general industry necessary to disable machinery or equipment, thereby preventing the release of hazardous energy while employees perform servicing and maintenance activities.

The standard outlines measures for controlling hazardous energies, including electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal, and other energy sources.

In addition, Selection and use of work practices (29 CFR §1910.333) sets forth requirements to protect employees working on electric circuits and equipment. This section requires workers to use safe work practices, including lockout/tagout procedures.

These provisions apply when employees are exposed to electrical hazards while working on, near, or with conductors or systems that use electric energy.

Why is controlling hazardous energy sources important?

Employees servicing or maintaining machines or equipment may be exposed to serious physical harm or death if hazardous energy is not properly controlled.

Craft workers, machine operators, and laborers are among the three million workers who service equipment and face the greatest risk.

Compliance with the lockout/tagout standard prevents an estimated 120 fatalities and 50,000 injuries each year. Workers injured on the job from exposure to hazardous energy lose an average of 24 workdays for recuperation.

How can employers protect workers?

The lockout/tagout standard establishes the employer’s responsibility to protect employees from hazardous energy sources on machines and equipment during service and maintenance.

The standard gives each employer the flexibility to develop an energy control program suited to the needs of the particular workplace and the types of machines and equipment being maintained or serviced. This is generally done by affixing the appropriate lockout or tagout devices to energy-isolating devices and by de-energizing machines and equipment. The standard outlines the steps required to do this.

Additionally, Typical minimal lockout procedures (29 CFR §1910.147 Appendix A) may be used as a guide by the employer in order to develop the minimum requirements necessary, in which to develop procedures specific to the standard.

What do workers need to know?

Workers need to be trained to ensure that they know, understand, and follow the applicable provisions of the hazardous energy control procedures. The training must cover at least three areas

1. Aspects of the employer’s energy control program
2. Elements of the energy control procedure relevant to the employee’s duties or assignment
3. The various requirements of the OSHA standards related to lockout/tagout.

What must employers do to protect workers?

The standards establish requirements that employers must follow when workers are exposed to hazardous energy while servicing and maintaining equipment and machinery. Some of the most critical requirements from these standards include the following:

• Develop, implement, and enforce an energy control program.
• Use lockout devices for equipment that can be locked out. Tagout devices may be used in place of lockout devices only if the tagout program Workers’ Rights provides worker protection equivalent to that provided through a lockout program.
• Ensure that new or overhauled equipment is capable of being locked out.
• Develop, implement, and enforce an effective tagout program if machines or equipment are not capable of being locked out.
• Develop, document, implement and enforce energy control procedures. See the note to 29 CFR §1910.147(c)(4)(i) for an exception to the documentation requirements.
• Use only lockout/tagout devices authorized for the particular equipment or machinery and ensure that they are durable, standardized, and substantial.
• Ensure that lockout/tagout devices identify the individual users.
• Establish a policy that permits only the worker who applied a lockout/tagout device to remove it. See 29 CFR §1910.147(e)(3) for an exception.
• Inspect energy control procedures at least annually.
• Provide effective training as mandated for all workers covered by the standard.
• Comply with the additional energy control provisions in OSHA standards when machines or equipment must be tested or repositioned, when outside contractors work at the site, in group lockout situations, and during shift or personnel changes.