Glossary → Lockout/tagout

Lockout/tagout.

loto, locking a machine's energy off and proving it before anyone reaches inside

29 CFR 1910.147 covers servicing and maintenance where unexpected start-up or the release of stored energy could injure someone, and it asks for written energy control procedures, trained authorised employees, and a periodic inspection at least annually carried out by someone other than the person who uses the procedure. On a press that means the air is off and bled, not just the motor. A conveyor dryer holds heat, a shaker holds a loaded hopper, and pulling a plug does nothing about either. The step shops skip is verification: paragraph (d)(6) requires the authorised employee to confirm isolation before work starts, which is a test, not a glance at a switch. Reaching into a jam with the lock still in somebody's pocket is how a two-minute clear becomes an amputation report.

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