Guide · 29 CFR 1910.147
If it can still move, you do not put your hands in it.
29 CFR 1910.147 says you shut the machine down, isolate every energy source that could start it or dump stored force, apply your lock, try to start it, and then do the work. The key stays with you. Nobody else removes that lock.
One authorized employee, one lock, exclusive control, until that person is clear of the danger zone.
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Energy is more than the disconnect
Electrical is the one everyone remembers. Hydraulic pressure, pneumatic pressure, gravity on a raised ram, springs, steam, and chemicals will also kill you after the “off” button looks convincing. Residual pressure in a line is still energy. A die that can drop is still energy.
Isolation means an energy-isolating device: a breaker, a valve, a blank, a block. A push-button or a selector switch is not isolation. If the isolator can take a lock, you lock it. Tag-only is a last resort with extra rules, not a shortcut because someone lost the hasp.
The sequence that actually protects you
Prepare. Notify affected employees. Shut down in the normal order. Isolate. Dissipate or restrain stored energy. Apply your lock and tag. Verify a zero-energy state — try the start, watch the gauge go to zero, test the circuit with the right meter if you are qualified to. Then work.
When you are done, inspect, notify, remove your lock, and only then restore energy. If you leave the job, your lock stays until you come back, or the employer follows a documented emergency-removal procedure with every attempt made to find you first.
Group jobs still need your personal lock
A crew on a line does not hide behind the supervisor’s padlock. Each authorized employee clips their own lock to the hasp, lockbox, or group device when they start, and takes it off when they stop. That is how you keep the same protection you would have working alone.
Shift change is where plants get sloppy. The incoming person applies their lock before the outgoing person removes theirs. Verbal handoff is not a lock.
What a decent lockout kit actually holds
You want gear that matches the isolators in your plant, not a mystery bundle of parts you will never use. A kit that works on most floors includes:
- Keyed-differently padlocks, so nobody else has your key. Spare keys stay in a controlled place, not on the millwright’s shared hook.
- Hasps so more than one lock can hold the same isolator.
- Durable tags with your name and the warning, in the language people on that floor read.
- Breaker lockouts that fit the panel brands you actually have.
- Ball-valve and gate-valve lockouts, plug lockouts, and a cable lockout for odd isolators.
- A way to block gravity: pin, clutch, or solid crib, not a piece of lumber you found.
We do not invent model numbers or prices. Buy devices listed for lockout use, inspect them, and throw out cracked plastic. The kit is useless if the only hasp is in a truck two buildings away.
Training is not a poster
Authorized employees (the people who lock) need training on the energy they face and the procedure for that equipment. Affected employees need to know they do not start a locked-out machine and do not remove a lock. When a procedure changes, train again.
The 10-hour general industry class may mention lockout as an elective. It does not replace 1910.147 training on your presses, your robots, or your conveyors. See OSHA 10 general industry.
Lockout kit
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