A. Develop your written energy control procedures
You must document energy control procedures for use by authorized
employees who lockout or tagout equipment to perform service and
maintenance. Well-written energy control procedures accurately instruct
employees to do all of the following:
n Inform all affected employees of equipment shutdown
n Shut down equipment in the proper order
n Identify and engage energy-isolating devices or
block hazardous energy
n Lockout or tagout the energy-isolating devices
n Remove, drain, neutralize, or block any potential (stored) energy
n Verify the equipment is isolated from hazardous energy and rendered
inoperative
Written energy control procedures must include the following:
n The intended use of the procedure
n Steps for shutting down, isolating, blocking, and securing equipment
n Steps for the placement, removal, and transfer of lockout devices
n Test methods to verify equipment has reached a safe, zero energy
state
Best Practice: Place “machine-specific” energy control procedures at the
location of the equipment. Include photographs of the energy-isolating
devices specific to the equipment.