The annual lockout inspection

What the standard asks

1910.147(c)(6) requires a periodic inspection of each energy control procedure at least annually, to make sure the procedure and the standard are being followed.

• It is done by an authorized employee other than the ones using the procedure being inspected.
• It corrects any deviations or problems it finds.
• For lockout, it includes a review between the inspector and each authorized employee of that employee's responsibilities under the procedure.
• Where tags are used instead of locks, the review also covers the affected employees and the limits of tags.

What gets recorded

The employer certifies that the inspection was done. The certification identifies the machine on which the procedure was used, the date, the employees included and the person who did the inspection.

A practical way to do it

1. Pick a planned maintenance job on the machine, so the inspection watches a real lockout.
2. Compare the machine to its placard: every source still there, no new one added, every isolation point where it says and able to take a lock.
3. Watch the steps, especially stored energy and the zero-energy check, and ask the employee what they are responsible for.
4. Record the date, the employees, what was found and what was corrected, and sign.
5. If the machine changed, update the procedure and the placard.