There are many ways to ensure safety and compliance, regarding your written lockout procedures. You can maintain a filing in-house, and become an expert on OSHA standard 1910.147. You can hire a specialist onto your payroll, and pay them to maintain this for you. Or you can hire a company, such as ours, to run this for you. It is, ultimately, your decision, but you must do something.

What these written lockout procedures must cover, is “the servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment in which the unexpected energization or start up of the machines or equipment, or release of stored energy, could harm employees.” (1917.147 (a)(1)(i)) So, this standard is serious in regards to employee safety. Unfortunately, the standard can be cumbersome, and it can be difficult to keep track of which machines require which written notices, which can often make it difficult to stay in compliance, and can open your facility up to potentially unsafe environments.

The key to creating a solid, compliant, and safe procedure is that it must: “clearly and specifically outline the scope, purpose, authorization, rules, and techniques to be utilized for the control of hazardous energy, and the means to enforce compliance.” (1917.147 (c)(4)(ii)) Further, it must specify steps for shutting down, isolating, blocking, and securing machines or equipment to control hazardous energy; specify steps for the placement, removal and transfer of lockout devices or tagout devices and the responsibility for them; and this must be tested at least annually.

This is but a brief overview of what is required, and how it should be maintained. We at PFSafety can walk you through the entire process, get you up to speed, and help you stay safe and cut costs with annual audits. Click here to learn more about the requirements and the process.