Lockout/Tagout Toolbox Talk

Project: ____________ · Date: ____________ · Led by: ____________

Every year workers are killed by machines that were 'off' — off at the switch, but still connected, still pressurized, still holding a charged spring or a raised load. Lockout/tagout exists because OFF is not the same as SAFE.

Why it matters

The machine doesn't know you're inside it. The only thing standing between you and someone restoring power mid-task is your lock, on the isolation point, with your name on it. A tag asks; a lock stops.

Key points — cover all of these

1. Before service or repair: notify, shut down, isolate every energy source, lock it, tag it, then try to start it. Verification is the step that saves lives.
2. One worker, one lock, one key. If four people are exposed, four locks go on — nobody is protected by someone else's lock.
3. Think beyond electricity: hydraulic pressure, pneumatic lines, springs, gravity (raised beds, blades, loads), and heat are all stored energy that must be released or blocked.
4. Only the person who hung the lock removes it. Shift change means a formal hand-off, not cutting the lock.
5. A tag without a lock is a last resort with extra precautions — never the convenient option.
6. If you find equipment locked out: don't start it, don't 'test' it, don't remove anything. Find out whose lock it is.

Ask the crew

The answers are the point — this is where today's real hazards surface.

• What equipment on this site could someone service today, and where are its isolation points?
• Does everyone here have their own lock and tag — right now, in their box or bag?
• What stored energy — pressure, springs, gravity — is in the equipment we touch, beyond the plug?

The one thing today

If any part of your body goes where a machine can move today, your lock goes on first.

Reference: OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147 (control of hazardous energy); 1926.417

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