OSHA Steps For Safe Lockout Procedure

It is estimated that safety lockout padlocks can help to avoid approximately 50,000 workplace injuries per year. Philadelphia Security Products carries a wide variety of Abus Lock, American Lock, and Master Locks for sale online with one thing in mind — safety. Using our safety lockout padlocks along with the OSHA-approved steps for a careful lockout procedure, you can ensure that the utmost caution is used with all potential hazards in your workplace.

Step One: Prepare For Shutdown

The first step for a safely-executed lockout procedure includes properly preparing for the machinery or energy source to be shut down. It is important that you inform anyone who may be working with the machine that it is being shut down for maintenance. By immediately communicating this fact, you will help to prevent accidental restarting of the machinery, which can cause injury or even death.

Step Two: Shut Down Machinery

Next, you will shut down the machinery using the ordinary stopping procedures that have been set in place by your employer or the guidelines of the machinery itself. Once you have verified that the machine is off, you can proceed with the third step in the OSHA lockout procedure. 

Step Three: Disconnect From Energy Source

Once the machine is properly shut off, you will need to isolate it from the energy source. This step will require different actions depending on the nature of the machine that you are working with, but it is vitally important to confirm that the machine has been fully disconnected from the energy source before performing any type of maintenance.

Step Four: Apply Lockout Device

After you have verified that the machinery is isolated from its energy source, you will be able to apply the safety lockout padlock to the machine. This ensures that it will not start unexpectedly while you are performing maintenance for the machine. 

Step Five: Release Stored Energy

It is possible that even once you have powered down the machine and disconnected it from the energy source, there will still be potentially hazardous stored energy within the machine. To ensure safety, you must confirm that this energy has been rendered inactive before proceeding. It is important to re-verify that this energy has not regenerated throughout the maintenance, preventing any unexpected surges of power while work is being done on the machinery.

Before you can properly shut down your machinery, it is important that you have the correct safety lockout padlocks. When you buy American Lock padlocks, Master Locks, or Abus Locks from Philadelphia Security Products, you receive the strongest and most trusted locks on the market. With a long list of OSHA-approved locks that vary in size, shape, and color, Philadelphia Security Products is working to provide a safe and cost-efficient way to lock your machinery.