General • Inspections

Safety LOTO Procedures

This checklist policy is used for protecting employees who must do service or maintenance on machines or equipment and who could be injured by an unexpected start-up or release of hazardous energy. This policy will ensure that machinery or equipment is stopped, isolated from all hazardous energy sources, and properly locked or tagged out.

MaintainX

07/26/2022

Safety LOTO Procedures

Lockout/Tagout procedures will vary from company to company, but when any instances of hazardous energy are present, workers can then go through the following six steps of the basic LOTO procedure:

Preparation

An authorized employee must identify any sources of hazardous energy.

Shutdown

Turn off the machine and alert all those who will be affected.

Isolation

Go to the source of power for the machine and shut it off. This could be a breaker or closing a valve.

Lockout/Tagout

The employee must attach a tag to the energy-isolating device and physically lock the switch in the off position to prevent others from turning it on.

Stored Energy Check

Simply turning off the source of energy may not relieve the dangers associated with hazardous energy. The worker must check to see if there is any residual energy left and eliminate it.

Isolation Verification

It’s always good to double check your work, people’s lives depend on it.

Where to Use LOTO Protocol

The unexpected energization of machines can seriously injure or even kill someone – it's critical that LOTO procedures are closely followed when dealing with hazardous energy. The following are some of the more common situations where LOTO is used.

Entering areas with moving machine parts

Robotic arms, welding heads that move around to complete tasks, or grinding equipment are all great examples of moving machine parts that pose a dangerous energy source to maintenance crews.

Fixing machines that are clogged, damaged, or missing parts

If a part becomes damaged within a machine, it may become necessary for someone to reach in to remove it. Putting your hand into a machine that cuts, welds, or crushes objects has some obvious associated dangers.

Performing electrical work

Those who work at all with electrical components know that LOTO is necessary for their safety. Scheduled repair and inspections, whether it be in the construction industry or anywhere else, requires energy sources to be contained while necessary work is being done.

Employees that adhere to the business’ established Lockout/Tagout training and protocol will dramatically reduce their risk of energy release, and any subsequent injuries.

Source: MaintainX (Community Member)

Lockout/Tagout procedures will vary from company to company, but when any instances of hazardous energy are present, workers can then go through the following six steps of the basic LOTO procedure:

Preparation

An authorized employee must identify any sources of hazardous energy.

Shutdown

Turn off the machine and alert all those who will be affected.

Isolation

Go to the source of power for the machine and shut it off. This could be a breaker or closing a valve.

Lockout/Tagout

The employee must attach a tag to the energy-isolating device and physically lock the switch in the off position to prevent others from turning it on.

Stored Energy Check

Simply turning off the source of energy may not relieve the dangers associated with hazardous energy. The worker must check to see if there is any residual energy left and eliminate it.

Isolation Verification

It’s always good to double check your work, people’s lives depend on it.

Where to Use LOTO Protocol

The unexpected energization of machines can seriously injure or even kill someone – it's critical that LOTO procedures are closely followed when dealing with hazardous energy. The following are some of the more common situations where LOTO is used.

Entering areas with moving machine parts

Robotic arms, welding heads that move around to complete tasks, or grinding equipment are all great examples of moving machine parts that pose a dangerous energy source to maintenance crews.

Fixing machines that are clogged, damaged, or missing parts

If a part becomes damaged within a machine, it may become necessary for someone to reach in to remove it. Putting your hand into a machine that cuts, welds, or crushes objects has some obvious associated dangers.

Performing electrical work

Those who work at all with electrical components know that LOTO is necessary for their safety. Scheduled repair and inspections, whether it be in the construction industry or anywhere else, requires energy sources to be contained while necessary work is being done.

Employees that adhere to the business’ established Lockout/Tagout training and protocol will dramatically reduce their risk of energy release, and any subsequent injuries.