Lockout tagout 101:
How do you help ensure the safety of maintenance workers at your facility? Lockout tagout (LOTO) procedures spell out the steps teams need to take to ensure machinery is properly powered down for maintenance.
Imagine a vital piece of machinery in your facility breaks down near the end of a busy shift. Your team needs to work quickly to get the equipment back online and into production. Maintenance staff powers down the machine as the next shift of line workers clock in. Does your workplace have the right systems in place to help ensure the safety of your maintenance workers?
With a proper LOTO system in place, your workforce will be aware of the status of your machinery, and your maintenance team will have the confidence to complete the job safely.
What is lockout tagout?
Lockout tagout is the OSHA standard designed to protect machinery technicians from injury during maintenance work. These procedures ensure the equipment is completely powered down and others in the facility are notified, so machines aren’t turned on during service.
Oftentimes, best practice calls for control boxes or power switches to be physically locked up and tagged with clear warning signs to notify others that maintenance is in progress.
It is an employer’s responsibility to ensure LOTO devices are on hand and systems are in place to safely power down machinery, prevent accidental restarts and communicate that maintenance is underway.
OSHA estimates that LOTO procedures prevent an estimated 120 fatalities and 50,000 injuries each year.
Does your entire staff need lockout tagout training?
In broad strokes, yes. According to OSHA, any staff member who works in areas where energy control procedures may be utilized needs to undergo training regarding lockout tagout procedures.
Regardless of role, if an employee works near machinery that may need to be powered down for maintenance, they need some form of LOTO training. The type of training they need depends on whether they’re classified as an “authorized” employee or an “affected” employee.
Facilities that do not maintain compliance with LOTO training could face fines from OSHA of up to $16,000 per violation. Violations that are determined to be “willful” can result in fines of up to $100,000.
Authorized vs. affected employees: What’s the difference?
In short, anyone who does maintenance on machinery is an authorized employee. Any worker who works around machinery that may need maintenance is an affected employee.
Per OSHA, authorized employees are the workers that are tasked with performing work on equipment once it is powered down. These are the team members who physically apply lockout and tagout devices onto power sources and are therefore reliant on those tools for their safety and well-being. Training for authorized employees includes:
- Identifying and isolating sources of energy
- Applying and removing lockout tagout devices
- Safe startup procedures
Affected employees include anyone whose job requires use of a machine on which maintenance is being performed under lockout tagout or whose job requires work in the same area where maintenance is being performed. Training for affected employees includes learning:
- Sources of hazardous energy
- Types of employees recognized in a lockout or tagout program
- The differences between lockout and tagout
What are the benefits of LOTO training?
Instituting team-wide lockout tagout training offers more than just a checkmark on a compliance sheet. It’s a step toward building a safety-first culture in your workplace.
Hosting a team-wide training session helps reduce the risk of workplace injury while also providing your workforce with a clearer understanding of the hazards they face every shift. Plus, it strengthens trust and confidence between team members.
When you partner with Cintas for your lockout tagout training, you get an industry leader trusted by hundreds of thousands of businesses. Cintas provides:
- Hands-on, engaging instruction
- An up-to-date curriculum that covers the latest regulation changes
- Employee-level course attendance records
- Easy online scheduling and flexible on-site or online options
No LOTO procedures in place? Cintas can help connect you to resources that help you implement an effective lockout tagout program.
Want to learn more about how to get started with Cintas safety training? Click here to learn more.