About this course
Servicing or maintaining machinery in a food manufacturing plant often means working on equipment that could unexpectedly start up, release stored energy, or move while someone's hands are inside it. This course trains authorized employees on the lockout/tagout procedures that isolate hazardous energy before that work begins, so the equipment stays de-energized for the full duration of the job.
The applicable standard is OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147, The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout). Under the standard, an authorized employee is specifically defined as a person who locks out or tags out machines or equipment to perform servicing or maintenance on them — this is a distinct category from an affected employee, whose job requires operating the equipment or working in the area but who does not apply the lockout devices. Only authorized employees may apply and remove locks and tags, and the standard requires them to follow a documented energy-control procedure: notify affected employees, shut down the equipment, isolate all energy sources, apply individual locks and tags, relieve or restrain any stored energy, and verify isolation before starting work.
This course is written specifically for authorized employees — typically maintenance technicians, mechanics, and electricians — who perform the actual lockout/tagout steps, rather than for affected employees who simply work near locked-out equipment (a separate awareness-level course covers that audience). It also addresses group lockout procedures used when multiple crafts or shifts work on the same equipment.
After completing this course, learners will be able to identify all energy sources on a piece of equipment (electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, thermal, and gravitational), correctly apply and verify a lockout/tagout device using their facility's written procedure, explain the additional steps required for group lockout, and describe the sequence for safely restoring equipment to service.
Topics covered
- Authorized vs. affected employee roles under 1910.147
- Identifying and isolating all forms of hazardous energy
- Applying locks and tags and verifying zero energy state
- Group lockout and shift-change procedures
- Removing lockout devices and safely restoring equipment
- When an energy-isolating device requires a written procedure
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