Lockout/Tagout: Authorized Employee Knowledge — Learning reference

Lesson 1 of 8

Know the task and your authority

Objective: Distinguish the role and scope of a general-industry energy-control assignment.

A conveyor stops when its operator presses the stop button. A maintenance task still exposes the crew to a powered drive, an air cylinder and a raised component. A stopped machine is not necessarily isolated, and it may still contain hazardous stored energy.

The energy-control program protects against unexpected energization, startup or release of stored energy during covered servicing and maintenance. The employer’s program combines procedures, employee training and periodic inspections. Cleaning, unjamming, adjustments and tool changes can be servicing tasks when the defined exposure exists. Routine production work and servicing during production need the applicability review described in the standard.

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 track addresses general-industry machine servicing under 29 CFR 1910.147. It is not a construction, agriculture, maritime, electric-utility, or oil-and-gas-well servicing qualification. Electrical shock exposure from work on conductors or electric-utilization installations is addressed under Subpart S. Other standards and procedures may apply to the same job.

Online passing does not authorize a worker to apply energy controls. The employer must provide task- and equipment-specific instruction, verify acquired knowledge and skills, and make the role assignment. When the task or role is unclear, pause and resolve it with the responsible person.

Authority: 1910.147(a), (b), (c)(1), (c)(7)(i). Reviewed October 21, 2026.

Lesson 2 of 8

Identify every hazardous energy source

Objective: Recognize energy sources, their type and magnitude, and suitable control methods.

Start with the work and the machine, not with the nearest disconnect. Electrical energy is only one possible source. Mechanical motion, elevated loads, hydraulic and pneumatic pressure, springs, heat, chemical energy and other forms can expose people during servicing.

For each applicable source, the authorized employee needs to know its type and magnitude, what could happen if it is released, and the method that controls it. The actual procedure and equipment information must supply the values and methods. This course does not invent a pressure, voltage, cooling time or blocking arrangement for an unknown machine.

A machine may have several supplies or receive energy from another connected system. A raised component can move under gravity even after electrical power is disconnected. An accumulator can retain pressure. A warm surface can remain a thermal hazard.

If the equipment differs from the procedure or a source cannot be identified and controlled, do not proceed on a guess. Resolve the discrepancy with the employer’s responsible person. Use appropriate restraint, release or isolation methods from the approved procedure. Where reaccumulation is possible, continue verification until servicing is complete or the possibility no longer exists.

Authority: 1910.147(b), (c)(7)(i)(A), (d)(1), (d)(5). Reviewed October 21, 2026.

Lesson 3 of 8

Use the procedure and approved devices

Objective: Distinguish energy-isolating devices, control-circuit devices, locks and tags.

An energy-isolating device physically prevents energy transmission or release. Depending on the equipment, it can include a disconnect, manually operated circuit breaker, line valve or blocking device. Push buttons, selector switches and other control-circuit devices are not energy-isolating devices. An emergency stop or control-screen command does not, by itself, establish energy isolation.

The employer’s procedure must clearly define its intended use, shutdown/isolation/blocking steps, device placement, removal and transfer responsibilities, and the specific testing requirements that verify effectiveness. A generic sequence cannot identify the actual isolation points for an unknown machine.

Use the designated protective devices. Locks and tags must meet the employer’s system and applicable durability, standardization, substantiality and identification requirements. They identify the person applying them. These protective devices are not used for unrelated purposes. Missing hardware, an unrecognized isolation point or a procedure discrepancy must be corrected rather than improvised around.

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.

The documented-procedure exception in paragraph (c)(4)(i) has eight conditions that must all be satisfied. It is not an exception to energy control or training. Workers should not claim the exception because a task seems simple; the employer must establish that the actual conditions meet it.

Authority: 1910.147(b), (c)(2)-(5), (c)(7)(ii). Reviewed October 21, 2026.

Lesson 4 of 8

Apply and verify energy controls

Objective: Explain the required application sequence and why verification precedes servicing.

Energy control is a sequence tied to the actual machine and job. The employer or authorized employee notifies affected employees before controls are applied. Only authorized employees performing the covered servicing or maintenance apply lockout or tagout.

1. Prepare: identify the actual task, sources, magnitudes, hazards and methods of control.
2. Shut down: use the machine’s established orderly shutdown procedure.
3. Isolate: locate and operate every energy-isolating device needed for the task.
4. Apply devices: authorized employees affix the required locks or tags to the isolating devices under the procedure.
5. Control stored energy: relieve, disconnect, restrain or otherwise render hazardous stored or residual energy safe.
6. Verify: the authorized employee verifies isolation and deenergization before work begins. Continue the required verification when hazardous energy can reaccumulate.

The exact verification method depends on the energy and equipment. An attempt to operate a control may be part of an established method, but a failed start does not necessarily establish that pressure, gravity, heat, electrical hazards or other sources are safe. Do not expose anyone while verifying. Use qualified personnel and the applicable electrical procedures where electrical testing is involved; this course does not teach or authorize energized electrical work.

Return controls to their safe position as the equipment-specific procedure directs. Preserve protection throughout the job. If verification fails or an unexpected movement, pressure or other energy is observed, stop the affected work and have the isolation corrected and reverified before exposure.

Authority: 1910.147(c)(8)-(9), (d)(1)-(6). Reviewed October 21, 2026.

Lesson 5 of 8

Restore service and protect device removal

Objective: Explain release checks, notifications and the controlled exception for another person’s device.

Completion of the repair does not, by itself, make equipment ready to start. Before devices are removed and energy restored, the authorized employee follows the release procedure. Inspect the work area for nonessential items and check that machine components are operationally intact. Check that all people are safely positioned or removed.

Each device is normally removed by the employee who applied it. After devices have been removed and before startup, affected employees are notified. Coordinate the machine-specific return-to-service steps and any related safeguards under the employer’s procedure. Do not infer permission to start merely because the machine looks finished.

If the person who applied a device is unavailable

Another person cannot simply cut the lock off to meet a production deadline. The standard permits employer-directed removal only when specific procedures and training have been developed, documented and incorporated into the energy-control program, and the employer demonstrates equivalent safety.

That procedure must at least verify that the person who applied the device is not at the facility, make all reasonable efforts to contact that person about the removal, and ensure that the person knows about it before resuming work at the facility. An unanswered phone call alone does not establish all of these conditions.

This course explains the boundary. It does not appoint a worker to perform exceptional removal. If a lock owner cannot be found, maintain protection and involve the employer’s designated responsible person.

Authority: 1910.147(e); (c)(9). Reviewed October 21, 2026.

Lesson 6 of 8

Maintain protection across people and shifts

Objective: Explain group lockout, contractor coordination and continuity during handoff.

More people or a shift change should not create a gap in energy control. The employer’s procedure must provide protection equivalent to personal lockout/tagout when a group performs servicing. Primary responsibility rests with an authorized employee for the covered group, with a method to determine individual workers’ exposure status.

Where several crews, crafts or departments are involved, an authorized employee coordinates overall job-associated control and continuity. Each authorized employee affixes a personal lockout or tagout device to the group device, group lockbox or comparable mechanism when beginning work, and removes it when stopping work on the equipment. Another employee’s lock is not a substitute for that personal protection requirement.

Specific procedures maintain continuity across shift or personnel changes. The outgoing and incoming workers use the established transfer arrangement so that protection remains effective. Do not remove the last effective protection and assume the next shift will reapply it later.

Outside servicing personnel

The host and outside employer inform one another of their respective procedures. The host ensures its employees understand and comply with the restrictions and prohibitions of the outside employer’s energy-control program. A contractor’s separate lock does not eliminate the need for coordinated procedures, communication and personal protection for each exposed authorized employee.

Before work or handoff, know who coordinates, which procedure applies, how each worker is protected, and what conditions must be verified. If the arrangement is unclear or a protection gap appears, pause the affected work and resolve it.

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

Lesson 7 of 8

Handle testing and exceptional task conditions

Objective: Explain controlled temporary energization and the limits of common exceptions.

Some equipment must be energized temporarily for testing or positioning. That change is a controlled transition, not permission to bypass protection while people remain exposed. The employer’s procedure must address the actual task and the standard’s sequence.

1. Clear tools and materials as required by the release provisions.
2. Remove employees from the machine or equipment area as required.
3. Remove devices under the device-removal provisions.
4. Energize and perform the testing or positioning.
5. Deenergize all systems and reapply energy-control measures under paragraph (d) before continuing servicing.

Returning to servicing includes the required control of stored energy and verification. Do not resume the repair simply because the brief test is over.

Do not turn an exception into a shortcut

The cord-and-plug exclusion applies only when unplugging controls the unexpected-startup/energization hazard and the servicing employee has exclusive control of the plug. It does not establish protection against a different hazardous energy source.

The minor-servicing exception during normal production has specific conditions: the activity is routine, repetitive and integral to production, and alternative measures provide effective protection. A task is not exempt merely because it takes a minute or involves clearing a jam. The employer must establish applicability and the effective protections. Hot tapping and other special operations need their own strict applicability review and procedures.

If a procedure does not cover the condition, do not improvise. Involve the responsible person and establish the safe arrangement before proceeding.

Authority: 1910.147(a)(2), (f)(1). Reviewed October 21, 2026.

Lesson 8 of 8

Demonstrate the skill and keep training current

Objective: Distinguish knowledge passing, workplace proficiency, retraining and annual inspection records.

Your employer must ensure that the program is understood and the required knowledge and skills are acquired. The online assessment checks this course’s knowledge. Equipment-specific practice and evaluation must address the actual energy sources, magnitudes, isolation methods, stored energy, verification and role responsibilities.

Use the employer worksheet with a trainer/evaluator who understands the equipment and procedure. Demonstrate the assigned work only in a safe, approved training arrangement. If a control, method or instruction is unclear, resolve it and reassess the relevant skill. A signature, elapsed course time or overall quiz score alone cannot establish that an employee can perform energy control safely.

Retraining and periodic inspection

Authorized and affected employees need retraining when relevant job assignments, machines, equipment, processes or energy-control procedures change, or when inspection or other evidence identifies deficient knowledge or use. Retraining restores proficiency and introduces the needed revised methods.

The energy-control procedure must be inspected at least annually by an authorized employee other than the employees using the procedure being inspected. Lockout inspections review responsibilities with each authorized employee. Tagout inspections review responsibilities and tag limitations with each authorized and affected employee. Correct deficiencies. The inspection certification identifies the machine/equipment, date, included employees and inspector.

The annual procedure inspection is separate from retraining. The training certification contains each employee’s name and training dates and is kept up to date. The online knowledge record is only one input. The employer must complete its record of the actual instruction and role-specific knowledge and skills.

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