LOCKOUT TAGOUT
DETERMINING WHEN TO LOCKOUT
Having performed a hazard analysis on your company’s equipment, you can now
determine when machines must be locked out – i.e., when employees are exposed to injury from
each (or any) of a machine’s hazardous energy sources during servicing or maintenance
activities. To do this, use your Hazard Analysis Checklist and the “Four Key Questions for
Lockout Implementation.”
OSHA Requirements
OSHA rules state that equipment must be locked out during equipment servicing and
maintenance whenever employees are exposed to injury from unintentional machine movement
or startup. According to OSHA’s regulations, servicing or maintenance procedures that require
lockout include:
“Workplace activities such as construction, installing, setting up, inspecting, modifying,
and maintaining and/or servicing machines or equipment. These activities include lubrication,
cleaning, or un-jamming of machines or equipment and making adjustments or tool changes,
where the employee may be exposed to the unexpected energization or startup of the equipment
or release of hazardous energy.”
In addition, lockout is required during any machine service or maintenance that requires
an employee to:
Remove or bypass a safety device; or
Place any part of his or her body into a point of operation or similar danger zone during a
machine’s operating cycle.
Routine, Repetitive Activities
Routing and repetitive servicing procedures that take place during normal production
operations, such as minor tool changes and adjustments, do not require lockout tagout, as long
as the work is performed using “alternative measures which provide effective protection.” These
“alternative measures” include safeguarding methods approved by OSHA and ANSI (American
Standards Institute) to protect operators, such as:
Presence sensing devices
Interlocking barrier guards
Remember, the factor that determines whether these or any other safeguarding methods
eliminate the need for lockout tagout during routine, repetitive activities is whether the
employee is protected from injury.
If lockout is not required, you MUST have clearly written procedure that describe the
alternative safeguarding measures used and the tasks that may be performed. Refer to OSHA
and ANSI standards for approved safeguarding methods.
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