If you work with heavy machinery, how do you protect yourself from serious harm? LOTO training, which is required by OSHA, is the best way to avoid injury involving machinery of any kind. This training ensures that dangerous equipment is safely shut off and cannot be restarted until maintenance or repair work is completed. Your equipment can be severely dangerous, from electrical circuitry to unsecured moving parts, and can create extreme risk. Most injuries involving heavy machinery are caused by human error.

In this article, we’ll uncover how you can protect yourself and others on the job for a safer work environment.

What Does LOTO Mean?

LOTO or lockout/tagout is a safety procedure used to ensure that dangerous equipment is safely shut off and cannot be restarted until maintenance or repair work is completed. This includes anything from shutting down electrical circuits and valves to neutralizing extreme temperatures and securing moving parts. LOTO protects workers against sudden equipment or machinery startups that could harm or kill them if not properly controlled.

Lockout and Tagout: Know the Difference

Lockout and tagout differ in the type of devices they use, though they work in tandem. While the tagout device alerts workers that the equipment should not be operated, the lockout device physically prevents workers from running the equipment. In essence, a tagout device is the first line of defense against harmful equipment usage, while a lockout device is the second. Machinery should be locked out before being tagged out to prevent harmful equipment usage.

To lock out equipment is to secure it with a lock that prohibits energy release. The lock prevents the activation or powering of machinery and equipment directly. In some scenarios, lockout is used to prevent dangerous equipment use by untrained workers. Doing so allows for trained workers to use equipment when it is safe to do so. During servicing and maintenance activities, locking out is used to prevent the unexpected activation or energizing of machinery and equipment. Faulty or inoperable equipment should always be locked out.

Tagout refers to warning tags that advise against turning on a switch or otherwise powering equipment. To tag out a piece of equipment is to attach a visible tag to a switch to warn people not to turn it on. Unless locking out the equipment is impractical, tagout should only be used in conjunction with lockout.

Why is Lockout/Tagout Important?

Hazardous energy discharge during maintenance or repair work is one of the top industrial risks. Employees who are working on or around machinery or equipment risk significant injuries or even death if lockout/tagout procedures are not followed.

Lockout/tagout (LOTO) protocols are a crucial safety precaution to avert such mishaps. LOTO decreases the likelihood of mistakes and injuries by locking, labeling, and disconnecting machinery or equipment from power sources. Not to mention it is also required by OSHA standards. Failure to comply could result in some pretty sizable fines. According to OSHA, this particular regulation is in the top 10 most cited violations. Additionally, it increases the equipment's longevity and lessens the need for pricey repairs or replacements.

What Can Happen if You Fail to LOTO?

During repairs, equipment should be locked and tagged out. If hazardous energy is not effectively regulated, workers who service machines or equipment risk suffering injuries such as amputations, fractures, electrocution, and even death. While repairing or adjusting machinery, it's crucial to lock out and tag the energy at the source to make sure that it doesn't get to the machinery.

Unfortunately, human error is most often the cause of LOTO accidents. It is important to use specific locks and tags for each energy source. However, a common problem is when some employees use duplicate or master keys because other workers may attempt to start the equipment while it is still locked out.

To avoid this, ensure each technician has their tagged lockout devices with a single key. Only authorized employees should remove the locks and tags. This reduces the risk of harm or death by preventing other workers from starting the equipment until all maintenance is completed.

The most devastating LOTO accidents happen as a result of improper communication. Clear communication is essential for LOTO procedures, including informing all personnel involved, turning off energy sources, and not starting the equipment until all workers are clear. Training should include clear communication techniques.

Establishing an OSHA-Compliant Lockout/Tagout Program

OSHA specifies what actions to take when creating a lockout/tagout program ( OSHA ). According to OSHA, the first step is to establish and standardize energy-control processes. These procedures explicitly outline the steps for disconnecting machines' energy supply and installing lockout/tagout devices on energy-isolating devices to prevent re-energization. The process must also address how to deal with stored or re-accumulated energy.

To stay OSHA-compliant, employers must train staff on the energy-control program, including safe application, usage of lockout/tagout devices, and energy-control removal. Employees must be able to  understand the following:

• Instructions on how to carry out the steps
• Steps to specifically turn off, isolate, block, and secure machines
• Specific instructions for the proper installation, handling, and transfer of lockout/tagout devices, including who is in charge of them
• Specific specifications for testing equipment to determine if lockout/tagout devices work as intended

Lastly, employers must inspect the lockout/tagout program on a regular basis (at least once a year) to ensure that the procedures are being carried out correctly and that they are still effective in limiting employee exposure to hazardous energy.

Lockout Sequence

1. Notify all affected employees: When it is time for servicing or maintenance, warn all employees that the machine must be shut down and locked out before the maintenance or servicing chores may be performed. Take down the names and job titles of all employees who are affected.
2. Know the machine's power source: The authorized employee in charge of the lockout/tagout procedure must be aware of potential energy threats and be able to control energy. OSHA emphasizes that the procedure must describe what employees must know and do to properly control hazardous energy.
3. Turn off the machine: If the machine is already running, stop it using the normal procedure; pressing the stop button, closing the valve, opening the switch, and so on.
4. Deactivate energy-isolating devices: Separate the equipment from its energy source.
5. Lockout: Use individually assigned locks or programmed lockout mechanisms to disable the energy-isolating device.
6. Release the stored energy: Stored energy must be discharged or restrained. This can be accomplished by grounding, blocking, bleeding down, repositioning, and so on.
7. Remove the device from the power source: This is done by first making sure no one is exposed and then by running the machine through its startup procedure and making sure it doesn't start to confirm the machine is isolated from the energy source. It is not locked out if the device is left turned off.

LOTO Safety

Lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedures are essential for the safety and well-being of workers. By instating a LOTO program, employers can prevent serious harm and even death. By providing adequate training and equipment, conducting frequent equipment inspections, upgrading LOTO policies, and regularly enforcing LOTO standards, workers are safe, and accidents are prevented.

Implementing lockout/tagout could mean the difference between life and death. When something so critical hangs in the balance, there's really no choice. LOTO saves lives. To learn more, check out our Lockout/Tagout Safety in the Workplace Training .