Lockout/Tagout: Affected Employee Instruction — Learning reference

Lesson 1 of 4

Know the purpose and your role

Objective: Explain why energy controls are used and when affected-employee duties become authorized work.

Your production machine is taken out of service for maintenance. The energy-control procedure protects people from unexpected startup, energization or release of stored energy during the job. An operator can expose the servicing crew by trying to restart the machine or by interfering with its controls.

The employer assigns roles from the work being done. Authorized employees apply energy controls for covered servicing or maintenance. Affected employees operate or use equipment being serviced under energy control, or work in that servicing area. Other employees in areas where energy control may be used need instruction about the procedure and the prohibition on restart or reenergization attempts. A production worker who is assigned covered servicing duties needs authorized-employee training and the associated knowledge and skills.

This affected-employee track explains the purpose and use of the procedure and the actions expected of workers operating or working around the equipment. It does not train or authorize you to apply energy controls for servicing. If you are asked to clear a jam, open a guarded area or perform maintenance, the employer must review the task and the role and training it requires.

The employer must connect this course to the actual equipment, notifications, restrictions and contacts in your work area. This course’s general-industry scope does not transfer automatically to construction, agriculture, maritime or other excluded operations. Ask your trainer if the assigned course does not match your work.

Authority: 1910.147(b), (c)(7)(i)(B). Reviewed October 21, 2026.

Lesson 2 of 4

Respect the procedure and notifications

Objective: Explain what affected employees do before, during and after energy control.

The employer or authorized employee notifies affected employees before energy controls are applied and after removal. Learn how those notifications are given at your workplace. Follow the instructions for orderly shutdown, staying clear and returning equipment to normal use.

While equipment is locked or tagged out, do not attempt to start, restart or reenergize it. Do not operate an isolating device, remove or bypass a lock or tag, or ask a coworker to try a remote start. A stopped machine, blank control display or quiet motor is not a reason to ignore the protection.

The authorized employee uses the machine-specific procedure to isolate supply energy, control stored energy and verify the result. Your role is not to test that protection by operating the machine. Follow the area restrictions and keep others from being exposed through your actions.

After devices are removed and before startup, affected employees are notified. The removal of one visible lock, the end of the shift, or a worker leaving the area does not establish that the job is released. Follow the actual notification and restart arrangements. If instructions conflict or you are unsure, keep clear and ask the designated person before operating.

Authority: 1910.147(c)(7)(i)(B), (c)(9), (d), (e)(2). Reviewed October 21, 2026.

Lesson 3 of 4

Understand locks and tags

Objective: Recognize tag limitations and respond to missing, damaged or unclear protection.

Understand the limits of tags

A tag warns; it does not provide the physical restraint of a lock. Never bypass, ignore or defeat it, and do not remove it without the authorization required by the energy-control program. Tags must be legible and understandable to the employees who encounter them. The tag and attachment must withstand the workplace environment. The attachment must keep the tag from becoming accidentally detached. A tag can create false confidence if people assume the warning physically prevents energy release.

Use the employer’s approved system. If an isolating device is not capable of being locked out, the employer’s program uses a tagout system. When the device can be locked out, lockout is required unless the employer demonstrates that its tagout arrangement provides the full protection specified by the standard. An employee cannot make that demonstration simply by hanging a tag. If a tag is damaged, unclear or missing, keep out of the hazard, report the condition and have the protection resolved before the affected work proceeds.

A tag attached to an energy-isolating device means the device and protected equipment must not be operated until removal under the procedure. You do not need to know how to defeat it to report a problem. Identify the equipment and condition from a safe place and contact the responsible authorized employee or supervisor.

A coworker may say that a tag is “only paper” or that a damaged tag can be replaced later. The warning remains part of an energy-control system, and its limitations make correct procedures and behavior essential. Never treat the lack of a physical lock as permission to use the equipment. The employer decides and demonstrates the permitted tagout arrangement.

Authority: 1910.147(c)(2)-(3), (c)(7)(ii). Reviewed October 21, 2026.

Lesson 4 of 4

Apply the workplace rules when conditions change

Objective: Explain contractor/shift interfaces, retraining triggers and the employer verification still needed.

A contractor’s crew may use a different energy-control procedure. The host and outside employer exchange procedure information; the host ensures employees understand the outside employer’s restrictions and prohibitions. Ask which instructions apply rather than assuming that familiar tags, colors or work schedules tell the whole story.

At a shift change, protection must continue under the employer’s transfer procedure. An outgoing operator should communicate equipment status and restrictions as instructed. Do not restart because the servicing crew is no longer visible or because a new shift has arrived.

For authorized and affected employees, changed assignments, equipment, processes or procedures can require retraining. Deficient knowledge or use also triggers it. The employer’s annual procedure inspection is a separate requirement; it is not a universal annual refresher rule.

Complete the employer walkthrough for this role: identify protected equipment, explain why the procedure is used, recognize the actual devices/tags, demonstrate the notification and escalation process and explain prohibited restart attempts. This verification does not require you to apply locks or enter a servicing hazard.

Use understandable instruction and timely access to a qualified trainer. A passed online quiz records only knowledge taught here. The employer supplies equipment-specific instruction, confirms role understanding and keeps the training certification with employee names and dates current.

Authority: 1910.147(c)(6)-(7), (f)(2), (f)(4). Reviewed October 21, 2026.