Field Guide
How to Write a Lockout/Tagout Procedure
The Short Answer
The Rule Asks for a Document
29 CFR 1910.147 requires an employer to establish an energy control program made of three parts: energy control procedures, employee training, and periodic inspections. Paragraph (c)(4)(i) says the procedures "shall be developed, documented and utilized" for the control of potentially hazardous energy when employees do servicing or maintenance the standard covers.
Most search results for this topic are blank templates. The rule is more particular than a template: it says what the procedure has to state, and it expects the written procedure to match the machine, the people trained on it, and the inspection that checks it. This page is about the writing and the document control. It is not legal or safety advice; follow the standard and your safety program.
What Must Be In It
The Four Items in (c)(4)(ii)
The procedures must "clearly and specifically outline the scope, purpose, authorization, rules, and techniques" to be used to control hazardous energy, and the means to enforce compliance, including at least these four items.
- A specific statement of the intended use
- (c)(4)(ii)(A). Which machine or equipment, and which servicing or maintenance, the procedure covers. A procedure that says "all equipment" does not state a specific use.
- Steps for shutting down, isolating, blocking, and securing
- (c)(4)(ii)(B). The actual sequence for this machine: how to stop it, which energy isolating devices to operate, and what to block or restrain.
- Placement, removal, and transfer of devices, and who is responsible
- (c)(4)(ii)(C). Where each lock or tag goes, who may remove it, and how protection passes between people.
- Testing to verify the controls work
- (c)(4)(ii)(D). The specific check that confirms the lockout devices, tagout devices, and other measures actually hold the machine in a safe state.
Paragraph (d) then sets the sequence the application steps must follow: preparation for shutdown, shutdown, isolation, application of lockout or tagout devices, relief of stored energy, and verification of isolation. Paragraph (e) covers release: inspect the work area, check that employees are clear, notify affected employees, and remove each device. A procedure that follows the rule's own order is easier to inspect against.
Per Machine
Why It Is Machine-Specific
The (c)(4)(ii) items all speak of "specific" steps and requirements, and the rule's exception works the same way. An employer need not document the procedure for a particular machine only if all eight conditions in the note to (c)(4)(i) exist: no potential for stored or residual energy, a single readily identified energy source, a single lockout device under the exclusive control of the person doing the work, no accidents from unexpected re-energization, and the rest. Where one fails, the machine needs a documented procedure.
The standard also names situations a procedure has to handle in writing. Group lockout when a crew works on one machine, (f)(3). Shift or personnel changes, with an orderly transfer of protection, (f)(4). Outside contractors, where the on-site and outside employers inform each other of their procedures, (f)(2). And removal of a device when its owner is not available, (e)(3), which the rule allows only under a specific documented procedure.
Source Content
Where the Machine Facts Come From
Before shutdown, the authorized employee must know the type and magnitude of the energy, its hazards, and how to control it, (d)(1). That knowledge starts with the machine's maker. The manufacturer's maintenance instructions are usually where the energy sources, the isolation points, the stored-energy warnings, and the shutdown order are first written down. The procedure should use that information rather than re-derive it from memory, and it should point back to the source revision.
Two practical consequences follow. First, the wording of hazard messages in the procedure should match the machine's own manual and your warning conventions; our guide to warnings, cautions, and notes covers how those message types differ between systems. Second, when the maker revises the instructions, the procedure is a downstream document that needs checking. The same discipline applies to the facility documents described in building operation and maintenance manuals, and to the machine instructions themselves, including the digital delivery rules in the EU Machinery Regulation briefing.
Writing It
Treat It as a Controlled Document
- Give each procedure an identifier tied to the machine or equipment, not to the department. One machine, one procedure, or one clearly named group of identical machines.
- List every energy source for that machine: electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical, thermal, chemical, and any stored or residual energy. Name each isolating device and its location.
- Write the steps in the order the rule's application sequence follows: preparation, shutdown, isolation, device application, stored energy, verification, and then release.
- Say how verification is done in terms a technician can perform, and what a good result looks like.
- Give the procedure an owner, a revision number, and a date, and record the change whenever the machine, its controls, or its isolation points change.
- Keep the procedure where the authorized employee works on the machine, in the same form as the one that was inspected and trained against.
The general craft of clear procedural writing, one action per step and consistent terms, is in how to write a technical manual.
Keeping It Current
Inspection, Training, and Change
Paragraph (c)(6) requires a periodic inspection of the procedure at least annually. An authorized employee other than the person using the procedure performs it, corrects any deviation or inadequacy, and reviews each authorized employee's responsibilities under the procedure with them. Under tagout, affected employees are included too. The employer certifies the inspection, and the certification identifies the machine, the date, the employees included, and the inspector.
That certification is a record of the procedure as it stood, so the revision matters. Retraining under (c)(7)(iii) is triggered by a change in job assignments, a change in machines, equipment or processes that present a new hazard, a change in the energy control procedures, or an inspection that reveals deviations. Paragraph (c)(2)(iii) adds that energy isolating devices on replaced, majorly repaired, renovated, modified, or newly installed equipment must be designed to accept a lockout device. Each of those events is a reason to open the procedure, so a revision log tied to machine changes does real work.
The rule does not set a document format, revision scheme, or approval workflow; those are yours to define. For the underlying idea of writing a procedure once and reusing it where it is true, see single-source publishing.
FAQ
Questions We Hear
Does every machine need a written procedure?
The general rule is yes. A note to paragraph (c)(4)(i) lets an employer skip documenting the procedure for a particular machine only when all eight listed conditions exist, among them a single readily identified energy source, no stored or residual energy, a single lockout device under the exclusive control of the person doing the work, and no accidents from unexpected re-energization. If any one condition fails, the procedure has to be documented. Read the note itself before relying on it.
Can one procedure cover many machines?
The rule asks for procedures that are specific, and the (c)(4)(ii) items refer to the machine or equipment. A single procedure can serve identical machines when the isolation points and steps really are the same. Where they differ, the steps differ, so the procedure has to as well. Your safety program and, if in doubt, your regulator decide the line.
How often must the procedure be reviewed?
Paragraph (c)(6) requires a periodic inspection of the energy control procedure at least annually, performed by an authorized employee other than the one using the procedure. The employer must certify it, recording the machine, the date, the employees included, and the person who did it. Retraining is also triggered by a change in the procedures or the machines, and by inspection findings.
Who does the standard apply to?
It is the general industry standard. Paragraph (a)(1)(ii) lists what it does not cover, including construction and agriculture, shipyard, marine terminal and longshoring work, certain electric utility installations, and oil and gas well drilling and servicing. Those sectors fall under other rules. Check which applies to your work.
Is the sample procedure in the appendix mandatory?
No. A note in the standard says its appendix is a non-mandatory guideline that adds nothing to and takes nothing from the requirements. Treat any template, including the appendix, as a starting layout and fit it to the machine.
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If your maintenance documents are scattered across formats and revisions, talk to us about how they are controlled today.