Lockout/Tagout (LOTO): The Complete Guide

A stopped machine is not a safe machine. The stop button is pressed and the motor is quiet, but a hydraulic system can still hold pressure, a capacitor can still hold a charge, and an elevated machine part can still drop ¹.

Lockout/tagout exists to close the gap between “off” and “safe.”

What is lockout/tagout?

LOTO prevents three things during servicing and maintenance ¹:

• unexpected energization
• unexpected start-up
• the release of stored energy

Servicing and maintenance cover more than repairs. Under OSHA’s definition, they include installing, setting up, adjusting, inspecting, modifying, lubricating, cleaning and unjamming machines, as well as tool changes, whenever a worker could be exposed to unexpected energization, start-up or release of hazardous energy ¹. Clearing a jammed conveyor is servicing. So is cleaning a mixer between batches.

In the United States, the federal standard is OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147, The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) ¹. In Canada, requirements come from provincial regulations, for example Part 10 of the WorkSafeBC Occupational Health and Safety Regulation in British Columbia ⁷, and from the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations for federally regulated workplaces ⁹. CSA Z460 is the national consensus standard ⁶. Other regions use other instruments and sometimes other words, such as “energy isolation” in the UK. Across these frameworks, the principle is the same: identify every energy source and control it before anyone is exposed ¹⁸. → Regulations

Lockout vs. tagout at a glance

• Lockout places a lockout device on an energy isolating device, such as a circuit breaker, a disconnect switch or a line valve, so that the equipment cannot be operated until the device is removed ¹.
• Tagout places a warning tag on the isolating device to indicate that the equipment may not be operated ¹. Tags do not provide the physical restraint that a lock provides ¹.

The difference drives how each one can be used. → Lockout vs. tagout

When does LOTO apply?

Under OSHA 1910.147, LOTO applies to servicing and maintenance wherever unexpected energization, start-up or release of stored energy could injure someone ¹. Normal production operations are not covered, except when a worker must ¹:

• remove or bypass a guard or other safety device, or
• place any part of the body in the point of operation, or in a danger zone during the machine cycle.

The standard also sets out a few narrow exclusions ¹:

• Minor servicing during production. Minor tool changes, adjustments and other minor servicing are excluded only if they are routine, repetitive and integral to production, and only if alternative measures provide effective protection.
• Cord-and-plug equipment. Excluded when unplugging removes the hazard and the plug stays under the exclusive control of the person doing the work.
• Hot tap operations on pressurized pipelines, when continuity of service is essential, shutdown is impractical, and documented procedures and special equipment provide proven protection.

Some work falls outside 1910.147 because other OSHA rules govern it: construction, agriculture, maritime work, electric utility generation, transmission and distribution installations, electrical work covered by Subpart S, and oil and gas well drilling and servicing ¹. Being excluded from the standard does not mean being excluded from the risk, so check which rules apply to that work.

Other jurisdictions draw these lines differently. → Regulations

Why LOTO matters

Worker safety comes first. Failing to control hazardous energy can cause electrocution, burns, crushing, cutting, amputation and fractures ⁴. OSHA estimates that compliance with its lockout/tagout standard prevents about 120 fatalities and 50,000 injuries each year ³. Workers injured by hazardous energy lose an average of 24 workdays to recover ³.

Operations depend on it too. A lockout that runs well is a maintenance job that starts on time. When the right procedure is hard to find, out of date or still waiting for approval, the equipment stays down while people search, ask and wait.

Compliance shows where programs break. Lockout/tagout ranked 4th on OSHA’s preliminary list of most frequently cited standards for fiscal year 2025, with 2,177 violations ⁵. The most cited requirement was not the lock or the tag. It was the energy control procedure itself (675 violations ), followed by training and communication (422) and periodic inspection (345) ⁵.

A program, not a padlock

The padlock is the visible part. What protects the worker is the program behind it. OSHA defines that program in three parts: energy control procedures, employee training and periodic inspections ¹. The program also has to follow change: OSHA requires retraining when equipment, processes or procedures change ¹, and information exchange when outside contractors are involved ¹.

That program runs across the organization:

• EHS defines the method and owns the program.
• Skilled trades know the machine and validate what each procedure says.
• Supervisors approve.
• Maintenance and operations apply it on the floor, often alongside contractors.

A lock placed exactly where the procedure says protects the worker only if the procedure is right. The risk sits in what nobody sees at the padlock: an energy source missing from the procedure, a valve replaced last year and never updated, a correction made on one shift and never passed to the next. The lock is the last step. Everything before it decides whether the lock goes on the right isolation point.

Sources

1. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.147, The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout), including paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (f) and Appendix A.
2. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.333(b)(2), Selection and use of work practices.
3. OSHA, Green Job Hazards, Solar Energy: Lockout/Tagout.
4. OSHA, Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout), Overview.
5. Safety+Health (National Safety Council), OSHA’s Top 10: The most frequently cited standards in FY 2025, preliminary data October 1, 2024 to August 12, 2025, published November 24, 2025.
6. CSA Group, CSA Z460:20 (R2025), Control of hazardous energy: Lockout and other methods.
7. WorkSafeBC, OHS Regulation Part 10: De-energization and Lockout.
8. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), Hazardous Energy Control Programs, revised November 23, 2021.
9. CCOHS, Lockout: legislative references by jurisdiction, updated August 2022.

What are the types of hazardous energy?

OSHA defines an energy source as “any source of electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal, or other energy” ¹. The Canadian standard CSA Z460 goes further and names gravitational and nuclear energy explicitly ³.

Electrical energy

Electrical energy is the most common form of energy in workplaces ³. It comes live through supply circuits, and it can also be stored in batteries and capacitors ³. Opening the main disconnect does not always remove it: parts can stay energized through induced voltage or backfeed from an unrelated source. That is why OSHA requires a test with test equipment before work begins ².

Mechanical energy

Mechanical energy is held in parts in motion or under tension. Rotating flywheels count as stored energy ¹, and so do springs that are compressed or coiled, which release it as movement when they expand ³. Shafts, fans and rolls can keep turning after the power is cut. An uncontrolled release can crush or strike a worker ³.

Hydraulic energy

Hydraulic energy is stored in pressurized liquid. Examples include car lifts, injection molding machines and power presses ³. Closing the valve isolates the system from its supply, but the liquid left inside still holds pressure until it is bled out ³. An uncontrolled release can crush or strike a worker, and pressurized liquid can cut the skin ³.

Pneumatic energy

Pneumatic energy is stored in pressurized air. Examples include spraying devices, power washers, rock drills and riveters ³. Closing the supply valve leaves air in the system, and that air must be vented before the system is de-energized ³. An uncontrolled release can move machinery or whip a hose ³.

Thermal energy

Thermal energy comes from flames, explosions and objects at high or low temperature, and can cause burns, scalds or frostbite ³. Steam and hot water under pressure also carry stored energy that has to be bled down ¹.

Chemical energy

Chemical energy is released when a substance reacts, usually as heat or pressure, and can lead to fire or explosion ³. When work involves opening lines or vessels, isolation means physical separation. OSHA counts blank flanges and bolted slip blinds as lockout devices ¹, and defines double block and bleed in its confined space standard ⁴.

Gravitational energy

Gravity acts on anything held above its rest position, and the heavier and higher the object, the more energy it holds ³. No switch isolates gravity. Elevated machine members have to be lowered or blocked ¹. A roll-up door is a good example: if the spring mechanism fails, the door can also fall, which is why blocking devices are used ³.

Radiation energy

Radiation energy covers ionizing, optical and radio-frequency radiation ³. Some process plants use fixed nuclear gauges, which operate with their shutter open. Before work in the beam path, the shutter has to be closed and locked out, following the manufacturer’s instructions and the license conditions ⁵.

One machine, several energies

Energy forms rarely come alone, and the stored energy may not be the same type as the supply ³. Equipment also receives energy from beyond its own footprint: dual power supplies, UPS systems, networked controls and remote starts ⁶. Each of these is an energy source for the procedure, even when it sits far from the machine.

Stored and residual energy: what the switch does not show

Opening a disconnect cuts the supply. It does not empty what the machine already holds. OSHA lists examples of stored energy to address: capacitors, springs, elevated machine members, rotating flywheels, hydraulic systems, and air, gas, steam or water pressure. It names the methods to control them: grounding, repositioning, blocking and bleeding down ¹. Until residual energy is removed, the system is not de-energized ³.

Stored energy can also come back. Where energy could build back up to a hazardous level, OSHA requires workers to keep verifying isolation until the work is complete or the possibility no longer exists ¹.

Hazardous energy at a glance: isolate, then release

Isolation stops new energy from reaching the equipment. Release or restraint deals with the energy it already holds. Both are needed ³.

A mature program starts by identifying every source of hazardous energy in the workplace, and reviews that inventory when new equipment arrives or a process changes ³. When the equipment changes, the list has to change with it.

Sources

1. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.147, The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout), paragraphs (b), (d) and Appendix A.
2. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.333(b)(2), Selection and use of work practices.
3. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), Hazardous Energy Control Programs, revised November 23, 2021, citing CSA Z460-20.
4. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.146(b), definition of “double block and bleed”.
5. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NUREG-1556, Vol. 4, Program-Specific Guidance About Fixed Gauge Licenses; 10 CFR 31.5(c)(2).
6. CONFORMiT, Beyond the Lock and Tag, Chapter 7.

What’s the difference between lockout and tagout?

Lockout: a physical barrier

A lockout device uses a positive means, such as a key or combination lock, to hold an energy isolating device in a safe position ¹. OSHA also counts blank flanges and bolted slip blinds as lockout devices ¹. The device must be substantial enough that it cannot be removed without excessive force or tools such as bolt cutters ¹.

Tagout: a warning, not a barrier

A tagout device is a prominent warning, such as a tag and its means of attachment, fastened to the isolating device ¹. It works only if everyone who sees it understands it and respects it. When tagout is used, OSHA requires workers to be trained on its limits ¹:

• Tags are warning devices. They do not provide the physical restraint of a lock.
• A tag must never be removed without authorization from the person responsible for it, and never bypassed, ignored or defeated.
• Tags must be legible and understood by everyone who works in the area.
• Tags may create a false sense of security.

The voluntary standard ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024 gives the practical reasons tagout is less preferred: it does not usually provide exclusive control, tags can be damaged, they are more exposed to tampering, and they are easier to defeat, since wire cutters are enough where a lock would need bolt cutters ⁵.

Lockout vs. tagout under OSHA

When tagout alone is acceptable

“Capable of being locked out” is broader than it sounds. Under OSHA, a device qualifies if it has a hasp or built-in locking mechanism, or if a lock can be applied without dismantling, rebuilding or replacing the device, or permanently altering how it controls energy ¹.

When tagout is used on a device that could be locked, OSHA sets three conditions ¹:

• The tag goes at the same location where the lock would have gone.
• The employer demonstrates that the tagout program provides a level of safety equivalent to lockout.
• Additional measures make up for the missing physical restraint, such as removing an isolating circuit element, blocking a controlling switch, opening an extra disconnecting device, or removing a valve handle.

Tagout programs also come with more training and more rigorous periodic inspections ¹.

Lock and tag together

In practice, the two are used together. The lock holds the device. The tag tells everyone who applied it and why. For electrical work, OSHA requires both on each disconnecting means, with limited exceptions ². In Canada, the CCOHS definition of lockout itself describes placing a lock and a tag on the energy isolating device ³.

Lock, tag, or another method?

The lockout-versus-tagout question has a second one behind it: should the energy be controlled by lockout at all, or by another method? The answer depends on which framework you read, and on whether it is law or a voluntary standard.

• OSHA 1910.147 (US law). Alternative measures appear only in a narrow exception, for minor servicing that is routine, repetitive and integral to production ¹.
• ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024 (US voluntary consensus standard). The 2024 edition makes alternative methods a co-equal choice with lockout/tagout, when they are based on a risk assessment and the hierarchy of controls ⁴. Lockout remains required when no risk assessment has been done or when the tasks or hazards are unknown ⁵.
• CCOHS (Canada). Lockout, which brings the system to a zero-energy state, is the preferred method. Other methods, such as blocks, pins, blanks or blinds, are selected after a risk assessment of each task ³.

A voluntary standard does not change what the law requires. It shows where best practice is heading, and it can become binding when a regulator, a contract or a company policy adopts it. → Regulations → Special situations

A program shows its rigor in one list: every isolating device where tagout alone is used, why it cannot take a lock, and which additional measures make up the difference. OSHA expects that list to shrink over time. Whenever a machine is replaced, undergoes major repair or modification, or new equipment is installed, its energy isolating devices must be designed to accept a lockout device ¹.

Sources

1. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.147, The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout), paragraphs (a)(2), (b), (c)(2), (c)(3), (c)(5), (c)(6), (c)(7) and Appendix A.
2. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.333(b)(2)(iii), Selection and use of work practices.
3. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), Hazardous Energy Control Programs, revised November 23, 2021.
4. American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), Technical Brief for ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024, 2025.
5. ANSI Blog, ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024: Control of Hazardous Energy: Lockout, Tagout, January 9, 2025, updated March 13, 2026.

Lockout/tagout devices and hardware

Energy isolating devices: what the lock goes on

The lock goes on an energy isolating device: a mechanical device that physically prevents the transmission or release of energy, such as a manually operated circuit breaker, a disconnect switch, a line valve or a block ¹. Push buttons, selector switches and other control circuit devices are not energy isolating devices ¹. Pressing stop does not isolate anything. → The LOTO steps

Isolating devices should be conveniently located, clearly identified and capable of being locked ³.

Personal locks

OSHA sets the same baseline for every lockout device ¹:

• Singularly identified, used only for controlling energy, and never for any other purpose.
• Standardized within the facility by color, shape or size.
• Durable enough to withstand the environment for as long as the exposure lasts.
• Substantial enough that it cannot be removed without excessive force or tools such as bolt cutters.
• Identifiable: the device shows who applied it.

Each worker on the equipment attaches a personal lock ². Only that worker holds the key. In Quebec, the regulation defines lockout with a single-key lock, one that opens with only one key ⁵.

Tags

A tag has to carry its message clearly and stay in place. OSHA requires tags to:

• warn against the hazard with a legend such as Do Not Start, Do Not Open, Do Not Close, Do Not Energize or Do Not Operate ¹;
• identify the worker who applied them ¹;
• use a standardized print and format within the facility ¹;
• stay legible in weather, damp locations and corrosive environments ¹;
• be fastened with a non-reusable, self-locking attachment that can be applied by hand and holds at least 50 pounds, the equivalent of a one-piece, all-environment nylon cable tie ¹.

ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024 adds that the tag should show the contact information of the authorized person, a statement not to operate the equipment, and a statement not to remove the tag ³. Adding the date and the reason for the lockout helps the next person understand what they are looking at.

Hardware that makes isolation possible

Not every isolating device accepts a padlock as installed. OSHA lists the hardware the employer must provide to isolate, secure or block equipment: locks, tags, chains, wedges, key blocks, adapter pins and self-locking fasteners ¹. For piping, blank flanges and bolted slip blinds count as lockout devices ¹.

Group lockout hardware

When a crew works on the same equipment, each authorized worker attaches a personal lock to a group lockout device, a group lockbox or a comparable mechanism when they start work, and removes it when they stop ¹. The group procedure behind that hardware is covered in special situations. → Special situations

One name for every isolating device

A lock protects only if it lands on the right device, and that depends on identification. The label on the breaker in the field, the name in the procedure and the name on the drawing have to match. Ambiguous terms like “main breaker” or “primary valve,” naming that differs between procedures, labels and P&IDs, and physical labels that fade or were never installed all lead workers to lock out the wrong energy source ⁴. ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024 gives energy isolating device identification its own section ².

The simplest safeguard is a single reference list of isolating devices: one identifier per device, with its location, the energy it controls and the equipment it feeds. Every procedure points to that list instead of describing the device again. When a device is replaced or relabeled, the change is made once, and every procedure that uses it follows.

Sources

1. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.147, The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout), paragraphs (b), (c)(5) and (f)(3).
2. American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), Technical Brief for ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024, 2025, table of contents (section 8.5) and sample procedure (Appendix F).
3. ANSI Blog, ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024: Control of Hazardous Energy: Lockout, Tagout, January 9, 2025, updated March 13, 2026.
4. CONFORMiT, Beyond the Lock and Tag, Chapter 5.
5. Légis Québec, Règlement sur la santé et la sécurité du travail (RLRQ c. S-2.1, r. 13), section 195, in force since July 27, 2023.

What are the steps of lockout/tagout?

Every step assumes a written procedure specific to the equipment. OSHA requires procedures that clearly and specifically set out the steps to shut down, isolate, block and secure the equipment, to place and remove devices, and to verify that the controls work ¹. Generic procedures miss what makes each machine different: multiple energy sources, networked controls, backup power ⁵. → What a procedure includes

Step 1: Prepare for shutdown

Before anyone turns the equipment off, the authorized worker must know the type and magnitude of the energy, the hazards it presents, and the method to control it ¹. That knowledge comes from the equipment’s procedure ¹.

Affected employees are notified before the controls are applied ¹. These are the people who operate the equipment or work in the area.

Step 2: Shut down the equipment

The equipment is turned off using its established procedure, in an orderly way that does not create new hazards ¹: pressing the stop button, opening a switch, closing a valve ¹.

Stopping is not isolating. A stop button ends the motion, but the energy still reaches the machine. OSHA does not accept push buttons, selector switches or other control circuit devices as isolating devices ¹. For electrical equipment, it adds that control devices and interlocks cannot be the only means of de-energizing ². As long as the energy is connected, a control signal or a remote start can bring the equipment back to life ⁵.

Step 3: Isolate the equipment

Every energy isolating device needed to control the equipment is physically located and operated to cut it off from each energy source ¹. That means each source identified in the procedure, not only the main electrical disconnect. → Types of hazardous energy → Devices and hardware

Step 4: Apply locks and tags

Authorized workers affix a lockout or tagout device to each energy isolating device ¹. Only the authorized workers who perform the servicing apply them ¹. Each worker on the equipment attaches their own personal lock ⁴.

• A lock holds the isolating device in the “safe” or “off” position ¹.
• A tag clearly shows that moving the device from that position is prohibited. It goes where the lock would attach, or as close as safely possible, in a position that is immediately obvious ¹.

Step 5: Release or restrain stored energy

Once the devices are in place, all potentially hazardous stored or residual energy is relieved, disconnected, restrained or otherwise made safe ¹. Until that is done, the system is not de-energized ³. The method depends on the energy: discharging, bleeding, venting, blocking or repositioning. → Types of hazardous energy

If energy can build back up to a hazardous level, verification continues until the work is finished or the possibility no longer exists ¹.

Step 6: Verify isolation (tryout)

Before starting work, the authorized worker verifies that isolation and de-energization have been achieved ¹. In practice, that means:

• Checking first that no one is exposed ¹.
• Trying to start the equipment with its push buttons and other normal operating controls ¹⁴.
• Testing, not just trying. For electrical work, OSHA requires a qualified person to use test equipment on the parts workers will be exposed to, and to check for induced voltage and backfeed ². Above 600 volts, the tester itself is checked immediately before and after the test ². For pressure systems, the gauge should read zero.
• Returning the controls to neutral or “off” after the test ¹⁴.

Consider this scenario. A technician is assigned preventive maintenance on a motor. He follows the equipment-specific procedure, locks out the specified breaker and verifies the absence of voltage at the motor circuit. When he opens the junction box, an arc throws him backward: 480 volts. A circuit reconfiguration three years earlier had created an alternate feed, and the procedure was never updated ⁵.

The worker did everything the procedure asked. Verification catches what a procedure misses only when it tests the parts the worker will actually touch, which is exactly what OSHA requires for electrical work ². And a procedure protects only when it matches the equipment as it is today.

Return to service

Before the locks come off and energy is restored, the authorized workers make sure that ¹:

• The equipment is ready. The work area is inspected, nonessential items such as tools are removed, and components are operationally intact.
• Everyone is clear. All employees are safely positioned or out of the area.
• The controls are in neutral ¹.
• Each device is removed by the worker who applied it. OSHA allows an exception only under a specific documented procedure. → Special situations
• Affected employees are notified after the devices are removed and before the equipment starts.

Some blocking can only be removed safely after the equipment is re-energized. The procedure has to plan for it ¹.

The six steps and the return-to-service sequence are the same on every job. What changes is the equipment, and the procedure has to change with it.

Sources

1. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.147, The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout), paragraphs (b), (c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(9), (d), (e) and Appendix A.
2. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.333(b)(2), Selection and use of work practices.
3. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), Hazardous Energy Control Programs, revised November 23, 2021.
4. American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), Technical Brief for ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024, 2025, sample procedure (Appendix F).
5. CONFORMiT, Beyond the Lock and Tag, Chapters 5 and 7.

Who is responsible for lockout/tagout?

Roles in a LOTO program

In Canada, provincial regulations and CSA Z460 use their own terms. Check the ones that apply to your sites. → Regulations

What the employer must do

Under OSHA 1910.147, the employer must ¹:

• Establish a program made of energy control procedures, employee training and periodic inspections.
• Develop, document and use procedures for each piece of equipment. The only exception covers simple equipment that meets all eight conditions set by OSHA, including no stored energy, a single energy source that is easy to identify and isolate, a single lockout device under the exclusive control of the worker, and no past incidents of unexpected activation.
• Provide the hardware: locks, tags, chains, wedges, key blocks, adapter pins and self-locking fasteners.
• Train each group for its role: authorized employees to recognize and control hazardous energy, affected employees on the purpose and use of the procedure, and other employees on the prohibition against restarting.
• Retrain when a job assignment changes, when a change in equipment or processes creates a new hazard, when a procedure changes, or when an inspection reveals gaps.
• Certify that training has been done and is kept up to date, with each employee’s name and dates of training.
• Inspect each energy control procedure periodically and certify the inspection.
• Coordinate with outside contractors and set procedures for group lockout and shift changes. → Special situations

How often must LOTO procedures be inspected?

The inspection is done by an authorized employee other than the ones using the procedure being inspected, and any deviation or gap it reveals is corrected ¹. It includes a review of responsibilities with each authorized employee. When tagout is used, the review also includes each affected employee ¹.

The employer certifies each inspection with the equipment, the date, the employees included and the person who performed it ¹.

In Canada, CCOHS recommends reviewing the program regularly, and more often when new equipment arrives or when processes, standards or legislation change ⁴.

What workers must do

• Follow the procedure and the rules that apply to their own work ².
• Apply and remove only their own lock or tag ¹.
• Never attempt to start, energize or use equipment that is locked or tagged out ¹.
• Take part in training and speak up when a procedure does not match the equipment.

Contractors and shared sites

When outside personnel service equipment, the on-site employer and the outside employer must inform each other of their lockout or tagout procedures. The on-site employer must also make sure its own employees understand and follow the restrictions of the contractor’s program ¹. Contractors are informed of the procedures and required to follow them ⁶. → Special situations→ coordinating simultaneous work on the same equipment

The law sets the floor

OSHA 1910.147 establishes minimum performance requirements ¹. Voluntary consensus standards such as ANSI/ASSP Z244.1 describe what their committees consider best practice ⁵⁶. Company policies can go further than both, and on site, they are the rules people work to. Keep the three apart: what the law requires, what a standard recommends, and what your company has decided. → Regulations

Writing a procedure is not the same as validating it

Consider this scenario. The night before commissioning a new thickener, a startup engineer drafts the lockout procedure alone. There is no engineering review, no operational input and no safety sign-off. The procedure lists three isolation points, but the equipment has five energy sources. During the first maintenance job, a technician follows the procedure exactly as written, and residual pressure in a hydraulic accumulator releases violently ⁷.

The people who know the equipment are the ones who can catch those gaps. Operations teams understand how the process behaves and can spot hazards like backflow or residual pressure ⁷. A procedure is ready for the field when the trades and operations have validated its content and a representative of the employer has approved it.

Sources

1. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.147, The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout), paragraphs (a)(1), (b), (c), (e)(3) and (f).
2. Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Section 5(b).
3. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.333(b)(2), Selection and use of work practices.
4. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), Hazardous Energy Control Programs, revised November 23, 2021.
5. ANSI Blog, ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024: Control of Hazardous Energy: Lockout, Tagout, January 9, 2025, updated March 13, 2026.
6. American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), Technical Brief for ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024, 2025, sample procedure (Appendix F).
7. CONFORMiT, Beyond the Lock and Tag, Chapter 2.

Lockout/tagout regulations: what applies where

What these frameworks share

Across OSHA 1910.147 and the CCOHS guidance, the core elements of a hazardous energy control program are the same ¹¹⁰:

• identify every source of hazardous energy;
• write procedures for the equipment;
• train people for their role;
• control residual and stored energy, not just the supply;
• verify isolation before work begins;
• inspect or audit the program periodically;
• prefer lockout to tagout alone.

The European and UK rules on work equipment start from the same place: equipment must have clearly identifiable means to isolate it from all its energy sources ¹³¹⁵.

United States

Law (mandatory)

• OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147, The Control of Hazardous Energy, for general industry ¹.
• OSHA 29 CFR 1910.333, electrical safety-related work practices ².
• OSHA 29 CFR 1926.417 for electrical circuits in construction ³.
• MSHA 30 CFR 56.12016 and 56.14105 (and their Part 57 equivalents) for mines: electrically powered equipment must be de-energized and its power switches locked out before mechanical work, and machinery must be powered off and blocked against hazardous motion before repairs or maintenance ⁴⁵.
• OSHA-approved State Plans. 22 State Plans cover private-sector and public-sector workplaces. They must be at least as effective as federal OSHA and can set their own standards ⁶.

Voluntary consensus standards

• ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024, The Control of Hazardous Energy: Lockout, Tagout and Alternative Methods ¹¹.
• NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, 2027 edition⁷.

Does LOTO apply to construction?

Canada

There is no single national lockout law. Each province and territory has its own regulations ⁸. Some examples:

• British Columbia: OHS Regulation, Part 10, De-energization and Lockout ⁸.
• Alberta: OHS Code, Part 15, Managing the Control of Hazardous Energy ⁸.
• Ontario: Regulation 851 (Industrial Establishments), section 76 ⁸.
• Quebec: Regulation respecting occupational health and safety (RSST), from section 195. These are the former sections 188.1 and following, renumbered on July 27, 2023. The regulation defines lockout as installing a single-key lock, one that opens with only one key, on an energy isolating device or on a device such as a lockout box ¹².

Federally regulated workplaces follow the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/86-304), under Part II of the Canada Labour Code. The relevant provisions include isolation of electrical equipment (s. 8.13), switches and control devices (s. 8.23), and use, repair and maintenance of machine guards (s. 13.16). Sector-specific federal regulations also apply, for example in oil and gas, maritime and aviation ⁸.

Voluntary standard: CSA Z460:20 (R2025), Control of hazardous energy: Lockout and other methods ⁹. Mines also have their own provincial regulations, such as Ontario Regulation 854 ⁸.

European Union

• Use of work equipment: Directive 2009/104/EC requires all work equipment to be fitted with clearly identifiable means to isolate it from all its energy sources. It is transposed into each member state’s national law ¹³.
• Machine design: Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 on machinery replaces Directive 2006/42/EC and applies from January 20, 2027 ¹⁴.
• Standard: ISO 14118:2017 (adopted in Europe as EN ISO 14118:2018), Safety of machinery: Prevention of unexpected start-up. It covers the means built in at design to prevent unexpected start-up ¹⁶.

In France, the practice is called consignation, and national law sets the requirements.

United Kingdom

The UK uses the term “isolation.” The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER), regulation 19, requires employers to ensure that work equipment has suitable means to isolate it from all its sources of energy. Those means must be clearly identifiable and readily accessible, and reconnecting an energy source must not put anyone at risk ¹⁵. The regulator is the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Australia

Work health and safety (WHS) laws follow a national model developed by Safe Work Australia and adopted by the states and territories. The WHS Regulations include requirements for isolating plant, and the Australian standards include AS/NZS 4836 for electrical work and the AS 4024 series for machinery. Check the requirements of the state or territory where you operate.

Gulf countries (GCC)

Each country sets its own requirements. Check the national authority and any site or operator requirements that apply.

Lockout/tagout regulations at a glance

Where the requirements differ

• Exceptions to written procedures. OSHA lets employers skip the written procedure for simple equipment that meets eight strict conditions. → Who is responsible Check whether your jurisdiction allows any exception at all.
• Methods other than lockout. ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024 treats alternative methods as a co-equal choice when they are based on a risk assessment ¹¹. CCOHS names lockout as the preferred method ¹⁰. Quebec’s regulation defines both lockout and “energy control methods” ¹². → Lockout vs. tagout
• Locks. OSHA requires lockout devices to be singularly identified ¹. Quebec specifies single-key locks ¹².
• Construction. Excluded from 1910.147 and covered by other rules ¹³.
• Inspection frequency. OSHA requires an inspection of each procedure at least once a year ¹. CCOHS recommends regular reviews, and more frequent ones when equipment, processes, standards or legislation change ¹⁰.

References in this section are current as of november 10th 2026. Regulations change, and some sections have been renumbered recently. Always check the official text for your jurisdiction. This guide provides general information and is not legal advice.

Sources

1. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.147, The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout).
2. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.333, Selection and use of work practices.
3. OSHA, 29 CFR 1926.417, Lockout and tagging of circuits.
4. MSHA, 30 CFR 56.12016, Work on electrically-powered equipment.
5. MSHA, 30 CFR 56.14105, Procedures during repairs or maintenance.
6. OSHA, State Plans: Frequently Asked Questions.
7. NFPA, NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace. nfpa.org
8. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), Lockout: legislative references by jurisdiction, updated August 2022.
9. CSA Group, CSA Z460:20 (R2025), Control of hazardous energy: Lockout and other methods.
10. CCOHS, Hazardous Energy Control Programs, revised November 23, 2021.
11. American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), Technical Brief for ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024, 2025.
12. Légis Québec, Règlement sur la santé et la sécurité du travail (RLRQ c. S-2.1, r. 13), section 195, in force since July 27, 2023.
13. European Union, Directive 2009/104/EC, Annex I, point 2.14.
14. EU-OSHA, Regulation 2023/1230/EU: machinery.
15. UK legislation, Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 19.
16. ISO, ISO 14118:2017, Safety of machinery: Prevention of unexpected start-up.

What should a lockout procedure include?

What goes into a lockout procedure

For complex systems, OSHA notes that more comprehensive procedures may be needed ¹. Diagrams, photos and detailed verification steps make them usable ⁴.

Where the content comes from

A procedure is only as accurate as the information behind it. Three sources matter:

• The manufacturer’s documentation, covering where the isolating devices are, how to service the equipment, how to handle jams and malfunctions, and how to install, move or remove parts safely ².
• The equipment as it stands today. Walk through the procedure on the actual equipment before it goes into use ⁴.
• The people who know the machine. The trades and operations validate the content before an employer representative approves it. → Who is responsible

Keeping procedures current

A procedure describes the equipment on the day it was written. After that, every change to the equipment is a chance for the two to drift apart.

Consider this scenario. An investigation asks for the lockout procedure for a crusher. The procedure, dated eight years earlier, shows four isolation points. The equipment now has seven: three modifications added systems, and none of them triggered an update. At the same facility, maintenance supervisors had been keeping their own “updated” versions on personal drives. Three versions of the same procedure were in circulation, and the contractors who arrived for a shutdown used the official one, which was obsolete ⁴.

Four practices keep a procedure library current:

• Define what triggers a review. Typical triggers include equipment modifications, replacements and capital projects; serious incidents; regulatory changes; and deviations found during periodic inspection ¹⁴. OSHA’s annual inspection checks that the procedure is being followed and requires any deviations or inadequacies it reveals to be corrected ¹. When a procedure changes, the authorized and affected employees must be retrained ¹.
• Keep one current version. Over the years, a procedure library can accumulate duplicates, several formats, inconsistent names, and files spread across shared drives, printed copies and binders. Multiple “sources of truth” create confusion ⁴. Retire obsolete versions, including printed copies, and print only from the official version.
• Record every change. Log who changed what, when and why. ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024 dedicates a section to management of change and includes a sample management of change form ³.
• Check after major work. After a major shutdown or upgrade, physically verify the procedures against the equipment. Beyond the Lock and Tag recommends doing it within 30 days of startup, and making updated procedures part of every project’s scope, timeline and budget ⁴.

Making the procedure usable where the work happens

• Available at the equipment: posted, printed from the official version, or on a device. Printing is fine, as long as the print comes from the current version.
• Visual: diagrams and photos of each isolation point ⁴.
• In a language the workers understand. OSHA requires tags to be legible and understandable by everyone in the area ¹. The same logic applies to the procedure.
• Consistent names: every isolating device is named the same way as on its label and in the device list. → Devices and hardware

A simple test tells you where your library stands: pick a procedure at random, walk to the equipment, and check that every energy source and isolating device matches.

Sources

1. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.147, The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout), paragraphs (c)(4), (c)(6), (c)(7), (d)(1) and Appendix A.
2. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), Hazardous Energy Control Programs, revised November 23, 2021.
3. American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), Technical Brief for ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024, 2025, table of contents (section 6.10, Appendix E).
4. CONFORMiT, Beyond the Lock and Tag, Chapters 1, 3 and 7.

Special situations: group lockout, shift changes, contractors and more

The six steps cover a single worker on a single machine. Real work is often more complicated: crews, shifts, contractors, jobs that need power, and equipment that moves. OSHA sets specific rules for several of these situations ¹.

Group lockout

When a crew, craft or department services equipment together, the group procedure must protect each worker as well as a personal lock would ¹. OSHA requires four things ¹:

• One authorized employee has primary responsibility for the workers under the group lockout device, such as an operations lock.
• That person can check the exposure status of each member of the group.
• When several crews or departments are involved, one authorized employee coordinates the whole job and keeps protection continuous.
• Each worker attaches a personal lock to the group lockout device, group lockbox or comparable mechanism when they start work, and removes it when they stop.

The logic is the same everywhere. Quebec’s regulation describes energy control as keeping a machine inoperative so that its state cannot change “without the voluntary action of all persons having access to the danger zone” ⁴. No one’s protection depends on someone else remembering them.

Shift and personnel changes

When a job runs past the end of a shift, protection must not lapse. OSHA requires specific procedures for the orderly transfer of lockout or tagout protection between off-going and oncoming workers ¹.

The ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024 sample procedure spells out the transfer ³:

• The relieving worker or the supervisor attaches their lock before the off-going worker removes theirs.
• If the supervisor’s lock takes over, the oncoming worker attaches their own lock before starting work.
• A worker reassigned from an unfinished job notifies the supervisor. The supervisor locks out the equipment, or arranges for it, before the first worker removes their lock.
• When equipment will stay out of service for an extended period, for example more than eight hours, a supervisor locks it out.

Who can remove a lockout device?

That procedure must include at least ¹:

• verification by the employer that the worker who applied the device is not at the facility;
• all reasonable efforts to contact the worker and tell them the device has been removed;
• making sure the worker knows before they resume work at the facility.

For electrical work, the lock or tag may be removed by a qualified person designated for the task, under the same conditions ².

Knowing which locks are still on

A lock forgotten on a finished job is not a safety hazard in itself, but it is a signal that no one is tracking lockout status. Consider this scenario. During a site tour, a VP of Operations asks which equipment is locked out. The Operations Manager needs 20 minutes on the radio to piece together an answer, and no one can say how long the locks have been on. Later, equipment stays locked out for 72 hours after maintenance is finished: a technician left the site without removing his lock, and nothing flagged it for three days ⁵.

A mature program can answer three questions at any time: which equipment is locked out, by whom, and since when. It also has a way to flag locks that stay on longer than expected, so they are dealt with through the removal procedure above, not with bolt cutters.

Work that needs energy: testing, positioning, troubleshooting

Some tasks cannot be done with the equipment fully de-energized. When a machine must be energized temporarily to test or position it, OSHA sets the sequence ¹:

• Clear the equipment of tools and materials.
• Remove workers from the equipment area.
• Remove the lockout or tagout devices, following the removal rules.
• Energize and proceed with the testing or positioning.
• De-energize and reapply the energy controls before continuing the servicing.

Other tasks, such as diagnostics, need power throughout. ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024 accepts that isolation is not required when energy is necessary to perform the task and other risk reduction measures bring the risk to an acceptable level ³. It also warns against scope creep: diagnostics that need power should not expand into repairs that could be done without it ³. For electrical work on energized parts, OSHA allows only qualified persons to do the work ². → Lockout vs. tagout

Contractors and coactivity

Contractors bring their own procedures, and both employers must inform each other of them ¹. → Who is responsible On the floor, two practices keep everyone protected:

• Each person who is exposed applies their own lock, whatever company they work for ³.
• Before isolating equipment, check what else is happening on it. Two crews, or a crew and a contractor, may be planning work on the same equipment or on connected systems. When several crews are involved, OSHA requires one authorized employee to coordinate the whole job and keep protection continuous ¹. Knowing which jobs are active on each piece of equipment makes that coordination possible.

→ coordinating simultaneous work on the same equipment

Mobile equipment

Loaders, haul trucks, dozers and other mobile equipment carry their own energy: engines, batteries, hydraulics and raised parts. Several frameworks cover them explicitly. Alberta’s OHS Code Part 15 applies to powered mobile equipment ⁶. In mines, MSHA requires machinery and equipment to be powered off and blocked against hazardous motion before repairs or maintenance ⁷.

The same principles apply. Remove the ignition key, and lock the battery disconnect where one is fitted. Then lower or block any raised part, such as blades, buckets, dump bodies or booms, because elevated parts hold gravitational energy even with the engine off ⁸.

Sources

1. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.147, The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout), paragraphs (e)(3) and (f).
2. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.333(b)(2)(v)(C) and (c)(2), Selection and use of work practices.
3. American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), Technical Brief for ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024, 2025, section 1.3 and sample procedure (Appendix F).
4. Légis Québec, Règlement sur la santé et la sécurité du travail (RLRQ c. S-2.1, r. 13), section 195.
5. CONFORMiT, Beyond the Lock and Tag, Chapter 6.
6. Government of Alberta, OHS Code Explanation Guide, Part 15: Managing the Control of Hazardous Energy.
7. MSHA, 30 CFR 56.14105, Procedures during repairs or maintenance.
8. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.147, Appendix A; CCOHS, Hazardous Energy Control Programs.

Common lockout/tagout mistakes, and how to avoid them

What the citation data shows

OSHA’s preliminary data for fiscal year 2025 shows where lockout/tagout programs get cited ¹:

• energy control procedures, (c)(4): 675 violations;
• training and communication, (c)(7): 422;
• periodic inspection, (c)(6): 345;
• the energy control program itself, (c)(1): 208;
• the application of energy controls on the floor, (d): 152.

Together, the four program elements account for 1,650 violations , against 152 for the application of energy controls on the floor ¹.

Mistakes when building the program

Mistakes when applying lockout

The three that cause the most harm on the floor are covered step by step in the procedure section: confusing stopping with isolating, leaving stored energy in the system, and skipping or shortcutting verification. → The LOTO steps

Mistakes when managing the program

Most of these corrections have nothing to do with the lock. They are about keeping information accurate, current and shared, and about making sure a change on the floor reaches the procedure before the next job.

Sources

1. Safety+Health (National Safety Council), OSHA’s Top 10: The most frequently cited standards in FY 2025, preliminary data October 1, 2024 to August 12, 2025, published November 24, 2025.
2. CONFORMiT, Beyond the Lock and Tag, Chapters 1 to 7.
3. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.147, The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout), paragraphs (c)(2), (c)(3), (c)(4), (c)(6), (c)(7) and (f).
4. American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), Technical Brief for ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024, 2025, foreword and section 1.2.

From a documented program to a controlled one

A plant never stops changing. Equipment is modified, replaced and rewired. Experienced people retire, contractors come and go, standards are revised. Each change can open a gap between a procedure and the equipment it describes ¹.

Procedural drift

Procedural drift is the gradual gap that grows between procedures and the equipment, as the site changes and the procedures do not follow. Without a single authoritative source, procedures drift, diverge and lose relevance ¹. The usual causes are well known ¹:

• several “sources of truth”: personal drives, printed copies, outdated documents;
• edits made without authorization;
• equipment modifications that never trigger a procedure review;
• retirements that take knowledge with them;
• standards that evolve while procedures stay the same.

Drift is hard to see because the procedure still looks right. In every scenario described in Beyond the Lock and Tag, the incident happened inside a procedure that technically existed ¹.

Why scale changes the problem

With a handful of procedures, one careful person can keep them aligned with the equipment. As the library grows to cover every machine on several sites, manual alignment becomes the bottleneck. Every device change has to be found and repeated in each procedure that uses it. Every review has to be tracked, and every version reconciled.

Documented or controlled

Management of change sits at the center. Beyond the Lock and Tag puts it plainly: every equipment modification must trigger a lockout review before it is approved ¹. ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024 gives management of change and program review their own sections ². ISO 45001:2018 requires a process to implement and control planned changes that affect health and safety, including changes to equipment ³.

Measuring maturity

OSHA describes leading indicators as proactive and preventive measures that show whether safety activities are working, and lagging indicators as measures of events that already happened, such as the number or rate of injuries. A good program uses leading indicators to drive change and lagging indicators to measure effectiveness ⁴. OSHA also recommends expressing leading indicators as a number, rate or percentage, so trends can be tracked over time ⁴.

Applied to lockout, OSHA’s examples translate into a short list:

• Periodic inspections completed on schedule. OSHA’s guidance lists the percentage of inspections completed as a leading indicator ⁴, and 1910.147 requires an inspection of each procedure at least once a year ⁵.
• Training that is current. OSHA’s guidance cites the percentage of workers attending refresher training ⁴. For lockout, that means the share of authorized and affected employees whose training certification is up to date ⁵.
• Field corrections that are still open. OSHA suggests tracking how quickly worker-reported hazards lead to corrective action ⁴. For lockout, that means the number of reported procedure gaps not yet corrected, and how long they have been open.
• Time from a change request to an approved procedure. This measure belongs to the same family as the response time to a reported hazard ⁴.
• The share of procedures that are current: approved, and not past their review date.
• The execution-on-approved-procedure rate: the share of lockout jobs carried out on an approved procedure. It shows whether the program on the floor matches the program on file.

Lagging indicators close the loop: incidents and injuries involving hazardous energy ⁴, and findings from citations and audits.

Connecting lockout to the rest of the safety system

Lockout rarely stands alone:

• Confined spaces. OSHA lists lockout or tagout of all energy sources among the means of isolating a permit-required confined space ⁶.
• Work permits. On many sites, lockout is one step in a larger permit or work control process. When several jobs touch the same equipment, coordination matters. → Special situations
• Risk assessment. Identifying hazardous energy and assessing its risks is part of the program itself ⁷, and a risk assessment is the basis for any method other than lockout ².
• Management systems. In an organization that runs ISO 45001, lockout procedures fall under its management of change process ³.

Capturing knowledge before it leaves

Consider this scenario. A senior millwright is the person everyone calls when a crusher isolation gets complicated. He knows which secondary feeds exist, which valves work and which gauges cannot be trusted. He retires after 28 years. Five months later, his replacement faces a complex isolation. The procedure says “isolate hydraulic supply,” but it leaves out the backup accumulator, which can hold pressure for hours. The millwright had reported the gap on a form, and the correction was still sitting in the change backlog. The backup system engages during the isolation, and the new worker narrowly avoids serious injury ¹.

What experienced workers know has to end up in the procedure. Beyond the Lock and Tag recommends three practices ¹:

• interview experienced staff before they retire;
• record videos of complex isolations, with the reasoning behind each step;
• add photos, diagrams and notes such as common mistakes and verification tips to the procedures.

Where AI fits

When a library holds years of procedures in different formats, the obstacle to bringing it under control is volume. Every procedure has to be read, restructured and checked.

Software tools, including AI, can now help with the first part. They can read existing procedures, extract the equipment, energy sources, isolating devices and steps, and put them into a consistent structure. The second part does not change: the people who know the equipment review and validate every procedure before it is used. AI speeds up the work. It does not decide what is safe. For a closer look at how that works, see How AI migrates your lockout procedures in hours.

When procedures, isolating devices and equipment are linked in one system, a change to one shows up in the others, and the program can show that it is current. That is the practical difference between a program that is documented and one that is controlled.

Sources

1. CONFORMiT, Beyond the Lock and Tag, Chapters 1 to 4 and Conclusion.
2. American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), Technical Brief for ANSI/ASSP Z244.1-2024, 2025, table of contents (sections 6.9 and 6.10) and section 1.2.
3. ISO 45001:2018, Occupational health and safety management systems, clause 8.1.3, Management of change.
4. OSHA, Using Leading Indicators to Improve Safety and Health Outcomes (OSHA 3970), June 2019; OSHA, Leading Indicators.
5. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.147, paragraphs (c)(6) and (c)(7)(iv).
6. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.146(b), definition of “isolation”.
7. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), Hazardous Energy Control Programs, revised November 23, 2021.

Lockout/tagout: key takeaways

• A stopped machine is not a safe machine. Isolate every energy source, release stored energy, and verify before anyone reaches in. → The LOTO steps
• A lock restrains. A tag only warns. Use lockout wherever the device can take a lock. Use tagout alone only with the additional measures that make up for the missing restraint. → Lockout vs. tagout
• Every procedure is specific to its equipment, built from the manufacturer’s information, checked on the actual equipment, and validated by the people who know it. → What a procedure includes
• The law sets the floor. Know what is mandatory where you operate, what voluntary standards recommend, and what your company has decided. → Regulations
• Programs are cited far more often for how they are built and managed than for how controls are applied on the floor. → Common mistakes
• A program stays safe only if its procedures follow the equipment. Management of change, one current version and a complete history are what keep them aligned. → Documented vs. controlled

LOTO self-assessment checklist

Take 30 minutes to answer these questions for your site. If three or more raise concerns, you have found your starting point ¹.

• Is there one authoritative source for all your lockout procedures? ¹
• Are procedures validated and approved before they are used? ¹
• Does every equipment modification trigger a procedure review? ¹
• Are isolation points clearly labeled with unique identifiers and diagrams? ¹
• Can you see, at any time, which equipment is locked out, by whom and since when? ¹
• Does every machine, including new equipment, have an equipment-specific procedure and training? ¹
• Is each procedure inspected at least once a year, by an authorized employee other than the ones who use it? ²

Resources by jurisdiction

• United States: OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147 ².
• Canada: CSA Z460, and each province’s regulation, listed by CCOHS ³.
• Quebec: RSST, from section 195 ⁴.
• Europe: Directive 2009/104/EC and Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 ⁵⁶.
• United Kingdom: PUWER 1998, regulation 19 ⁷.
• Australia: WHS laws of your state or territory.
• Gulf countries: national requirements.

Bringing the program into one system

CONFORMiT’s Lockout module brings the whole program into one system:

• lockout procedures tied to a central equipment registry;
• isolating devices managed in one shared list, so a change to a device updates every procedure that uses it;
• configurable validation and approval workflows;
• a complete history of every change;
• field execution on the CONFORMiT Ops mobile app, which works offline and gives workers access only to approved, active procedures;
• a Command Center that shows active work in real time.

Procedures can still be printed from the official version when that is how a site works. To see how it fits together, explore CONFORMiT’s Lockout module or watch the on-demand demo.

For organizations with an existing library, Johnny, CONFORMiT’s multi-agent AI platform for EHS, migrates procedures from Word, PDF, Excel or another platform into a consistent structure. The experts who know the equipment then review and validate them. See How AI migrates your lockout procedures in hours.

Sources

1. CONFORMiT, Beyond the Lock and Tag, Conclusion.
2. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.147, The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout), paragraph (c)(6).
3. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), Lockout: legislative references by jurisdiction, updated August 2022.
4. Légis Québec, Règlement sur la santé et la sécurité du travail (RLRQ c. S-2.1, r. 13), section 195.
5. European Union, Directive 2009/104/EC.
6. EU-OSHA, Regulation 2023/1230/EU: machinery.
7. UK legislation, Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 19.