Toolbox Talk: Lockout/Tagout

Before you start

Bring a lock, a tag and a lockout hasp. Point to a piece of equipment the crew services often.

Read this to your crew

Machines can start, move or release energy without warning. That energy can be electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, thermal or even gravity. Lockout/tagout is how we make sure equipment stays off while someone is working on it.

Today we will walk through the steps, and why your lock is your life.

Key points

Notify. Tell everyone affected that the equipment is being shut down.
Shut down and isolate. Use the normal stop, then open the disconnects and close valves for every energy source.
Lock and tag. Each worker puts on their own lock and tag. Only the person who put a lock on can take it off.
Release stored energy. Bleed pressure, block parts that could fall and let moving parts come to rest.
Verify. Try to start the equipment and test for voltage before you begin. Then return controls to off.

Ask the crew

Which machines here have more than one energy source?
What would you do if you found someone else's lock on a machine you need?
Have you ever seen a step skipped? What happened?

Picture this

A mechanic clears a jam on a conveyor after a coworker switches it off at the panel. No lock is applied. Another worker, not knowing about the repair, turns it back on. A personal lock on the disconnect would have made that impossible.

Print this page to use the sign-in sheet, or skip the paper and record attendance digitally in SafetyIQ.

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Talk leader: ______________ Date: ______________ Site: ______________