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This material is for training purposes only. Its purpose is to inform employers and workers and workers of best practices in occupational safety and health and general OSHA compliance requirements. This material is not a substitute for any provision of the Occupational Safety and Health Act or any standards issued by OSHA.
COURSE INTRODUCTION

Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout)

This course presents OSHA's general requirements for controlling hazardous energy during service or maintenance of machines or equipment as detailed in 29 CFR 1910.147, Control of Hazardous Energy. It is not intended to replace or to supplement OSHA standards regarding the control of hazardous energy.

After completing this course, you should also review the OSHA standards on the control of hazardous energy to gain a complete understanding of the requirements regarding the control of hazardous energy. These standards, as well as other relevant resources, are identified throughout this course.

Why do I need to be concerned about lockout/tagout?

It's important that you be familiar with OSHA's Lockout/Tagout standards to help save lives and avoid OSHA citations. Take a look at OSHA’s top 10 most cited violations for 2009 and you will see that hazard communication ranks as the fifth most commonly cited violation!
  1. Scaffolding, General – 9,093 violations
  2. Fall Protection – 6,771 violations
  3. Hazard Communication – 6,378 violations
  4. Respiratory Protection – 3,803 violations
  5. Lockout/Tagout – 3,321 violations
  6. Electrical, Wiring – 3,079 violations
  7. Ladders – 3,072 violations
  8. Powered Industrial Trucks – 2,993 violations
  9. Electrical, General – 2,556 violations
  10. Machine Guarding – 2,364 violations
Employees can be seriously or fatally injured if machinery they service or maintain unexpectedly energizes, starts up, or releases stored energy. OSHA's standard on the Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout), found in Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 1910.147, spells out the steps employers must take to prevent accidents associated with hazardous energy. The standard addresses practices and procedures necessary to disable machinery and prevent the release of potentially hazardous energy while maintenance or servicing activities are performed.

Two other OSHA standards also contain energy control provisions: 29 CFR 1910.269 and 1910.333. In addition, some standards relating to specific types of machinery contain de-energization requirements—such as 29 CFR 1910.179(l)(2)(i)(c) (requiring the switches to be "open and locked in the open position" before performing preventive maintenance on overhead and gantry cranes). The provisions of Part 1910.147 apply in conjunction with these machine-specific standards to assure that employees will be adequately protected against hazardous energy.

Lockout/Tagout will most likely be required where you work because, after all, just about every workplace includes hazardous energy sources that could injure or kill workers.

So, let's find out more about LOTO!

GO TO MODULE ONE Remember to take each module quiz! The final exam questions are derived directly from the module quizzes.
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