Lockout and Tagout Toolbox Talk
Lockout is not about the switch. It is about the person who walks past the switch twenty minutes later, sees it off, wonders why, and flips it.
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The talk, read this out
Whose lock is on what right now? If anybody is working on something that can be switched on by somebody else, we are stopping until there is a lock on it with a name on it.
The basic idea is simple. Anything that can start moving, energize, heat up or release pressure while you have your hands in it must be isolated, locked, tagged and verified dead before you start.
The lock is yours and the key is in your pocket. Not the foreman's lock, not a shared lock in the gang box, not a tag on its own. If three people are working on the same equipment, three locks go on, and the last one off is the last person out.
A tag without a lock only works where the isolating device cannot physically accept a lock, and then the tag has to be substantial, attached at the point of control and treated as if it were a lock. In practice, if it can take a lock, it takes a lock.
Stored energy is what catches people. The breaker is off but there is a capacitor still charged, air still in the line, a spring still loaded, a suspended part that drops when the hydraulics bleed off, or water still in a system at pressure. Release it, block it, bleed it or restrain it before you trust it.
Then verify. Try to start it. Put the meter on it. Bleed the line and watch the gauge go to zero. Verification is the step that separates lockout from hope, and it is the step people skip because they are already sure.
Getting it back on is the other half. Tools out, guards back on, everybody clear and told, then locks come off in order by the people who put them on. Nobody removes somebody else's lock. Not the foreman, not the owner, nobody, except under a documented procedure with the person accounted for.
Point at these before anybody starts
A talk delivered in a trailer is a meeting. Stand where the work is and put a hand on each of these.
- The disconnect or breaker for each piece of equipment being worked on today
- Whose lock and tag is on it, with a name that can be read from six feet away
- Any stored energy: air receivers, hydraulic rams, springs, capacitors, raised loads
- The verification step, done in front of everybody, not described
- Where the locks and tags are kept, and whether there are enough for everyone
- Who is responsible for the startup sequence when the work is finished
The rules that apply
- Every person working on the equipment applies their own lock and keeps their own key.
- Isolate every energy source, not just the obvious one. Electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, mechanical, thermal and gravity all count.
- Release or restrain stored energy before work begins, then verify zero energy by attempting to operate the controls or by testing.
- Tags without locks are only for isolating devices that cannot be locked, and they must be attached at the point of control.
- Nobody removes another person's lock. Restoring power follows a set sequence with everybody accounted for and clear.
- Tell anybody working nearby before you re energize, every time, out loud.
Ask the crew
Three questions, answered out loud by name. This is the part that tells you whether anybody was listening.
- Who is going to have their hands inside something today that can move or energize?
- What is the second energy source on that machine, the one that is not the breaker?
- When we put power back on this afternoon, who says it is clear and how do they know?
Close with this
Your lock, your key, your hands. Verify it is dead before you touch it, and tell everyone before it comes back on.
A talk nobody signed for is a talk that, as far as anybody can later prove, never happened. Use the free toolbox meeting sign in sheet in PDF, Word or Excel, or print the PDF above, which already has the signature lines on it.
Questions people ask
Does lockout tagout apply to construction?
Yes. 29 CFR 1926.417 covers lockout and tagging of circuits on construction sites, and 1910.147, the general industry hazardous energy standard, sets the model most written programs follow. Servicing equipment on a construction site without isolating it is a citation either way.
Can one lock cover a whole crew?
No. Each person exposed applies their own lock, or the crew uses a group lockout device such as a hasp or a lock box so that every individual has a lock on it. The protection belongs to the person, not the job.
Who can remove a lock?
Only the person who applied it, except under a documented procedure for the rare case where that person is unavailable, which requires verifying they are not on site and notifying them before they return to work.
More toolbox talks
TOOLBOX TALK: LOCKOUT AND TAGOUT
Attendance
Everybody who was present signs, including subcontractors and anybody visiting the site.