Resource Guide to Hazardous Energy Control (Lockout and Other Means)

It is a matter of life and death. Hazardous energy control is more than Lockout. It encompasses Machine Guarding, Alternative Measures (alternative guarding arrangement that prevents exposure to hazardous energy), Lockout, and other methods of ensuring worker safety from contact with hazardous energy. Here you will find information on regulatory requirements, general guidance and procedures that your company can use to implement an effective Hazardous Energy Control (Lockout/Tagout) Program and prevent unexpected energizing, start-up or release of stored energy which could cause serious injury or death to workers. Injuries related to Lockout often occur when an employee services or repairs a machine or tries to clear a jam but fails to de-energize the machine and lockout sources of energy. Problems can also occur during the process of re-energizing.

Sources of energy are not only electrical; they can also include mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal, or other sources of energy. The failure to develop and use hazardous energy control (Lockout) procedures is one of OSHA’s annual top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety violations. Injuries and fatalities that happen for failure to implement a Lockout Program are much more costly than the citations (not only in economic terms). A comprehensive, written, diligently planned and executed Hazardous Energy Control (Lockout) Program protects the life, and the safety and health of workers; it is a very important part of machine maintenance and production servicing operations.