Don’t Let Your Lockout/Tagout Training Lapse

The purpose of this article is to provide a brief overview of Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) training, and to provide tips to make this training effective and efficient.

Let’s begin by noting precisely what is at stake when implementing a LOTO training program. The stakes are extremely high—the physical safety of employees, the psychological comfort of employees (fostering a safety-focused culture which realizes the importance of well-being), and even the efficiency of a workplace are all directly influenced by the quality of a business’s LOTO program. LOTO training requires close consideration, and the resulting program should be subject to evaluation and frequent re-evaluation. A brief overview of LOTO training follows, with the aim of serving as a valuable aid to your training program.

Authorized vs. affected employees

Next, let’s categorize the types of workers involved in LOTO into two groups: authorized and affected. An authorized employee is directly involved in locking out equipment. In order to be an authorized employee, a worker must be thoroughly trained in lockout procedure. An affected employee refers to any employee whose work is affected by a lockout; generally, this means an employee who is working on locked out equipment. An authorized employee can also be an affected employee and vice-versa, but only an employee who has been through detailed lockout training can be an authorized employee.

Authorized and affected employees need to be in close communication with each other. All employees must clearly know their roles—even a slight deviation from the prescribed roles can have serious, even fatal consequences. Authorized employees must alert all affected employees when a lockout is placed or removed. Authorized employees can only remove devices that they have placed; this prevents accidental removal of lockout devices.

Group lockout

Small group discussions and exercises are highly recommended, so workers know precisely how to perform their jobs safely. In some cases, working crews will operate under a single group lockout device, in contrast to personal devices for each worker. In order to be implemented, the group lockout method must provide demonstrably equivalent protection to individual lockout devices. When using a group lockout device, an authorized employee has primary responsibility over a set number of workers—only the authorized employee can set or remove the group lockout device. Again, a strong emphasis should be placed on clearly defined roles in order for a LOTO training program to be effective. 

Conducting inspections

Inspection requirements and guidelines are provided by OSHA. The inspection must be performed by an authorized employee not using the procedure being inspected. This serves to establish a fresh and more objective review of the procedure in question. As one might expect, any deviations from lockout safety requirements must be corrected. However, merely fixing the problems uncovered by the inspection may not be enough.

A problem with the lockout process could have a deeper root cause, such as ignorance or poor execution of the requirements. If deviations are evident, then essential training exercises should be also revisited. Even if the inspection shows a well-functioning lockout program, revisiting training exercises may well serve to ensure continued success and safety. During inspections, employee responsibilities should be reviewed with each authorized employee.

Previously featured on the ISHN site.