How Lockout/Tagout Training Prevents Workplace Injuries

If you have employees who work around machinery or with electricity, you have a responsibility to keep them safe. One of the most effective ways to keep them safe is through ways to protect your employees is through proper Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) training. Whether it’s electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, or something else, stored energy in machines can cause severe injuries or even death if not properly controlled. That’s where Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) comes in.

LOTO is a safety procedure designed to protect workers during maintenance or servicing of machines and equipment. When done right, it ensures that dangerous equipment can’t suddenly turn on or release energy while someone is working on it, which keeps the worker from being accidentally harmed.

In this post, we’ll explain what Lockout/Tagout is, why it’s so important, and how LOTO training can prevent injuries and protect lives in your workplace. As an employer, your commitment to LOTO can be the difference between a safe shift and a tragic accident.

Lockout/Tagout is a control of hazardous energy procedure. It’s used when employees need to service or maintain machines. The idea is simple: before someone works on a machine, it must be turned off, isolated from its energy sources, and locked in a safe state. Then, a tag is placed to warn others not to restart the machine. These locks and tags stay in place until the work is done and it’s safe to restore power, ensuring power is not turned back on while work is being performed.

Common sources of hazardous energy include:

● Electrical Energy: Live wires, energized panels.

● Mechanical Energy: Moving parts, belts, gears.

● Hydraulic Energy: Pressurized oil or fluid.

● Pneumatic Energy: Compressed air.

● Chemical Energy: Stored gases or liquids that can react.

● Thermal Energy: Heat from equipment or steam.

In the U.S., the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforces Lockout/Tagout through 29 CFR 1910.147. This standard applies to nearly all industries where employees service or maintain machines and could be injured by the unexpected release of energy.

To truly protect your workers, your Lockout/Tagout training must be thorough, specific, and always up-to-date. Here are the essential pieces that every employer should include:

● Identifying Energy Sources: Workers must be able to spot every type of energy a machine uses, including hidden or secondary sources.

● Machine-specific Procedures: LOTO is not one-size-fits-all. Each piece of equipment needs a written procedure that explains exactly how to lock it out. These procedures must be easy to find and easy to understand.

● Use of Locks and Tags: Train employees on when to use locks, where to place them, how to tag them, and how to prevent someone from removing them too soon.

● Verification of Isolation: Workers must know how to test that all energy has been removed. This might include trying to start the machine, checking pressure gauges, or using a voltmeter.

● Periodic Retraining and Inspections: Over time, people tend to forget things, which is why OSHA requires annual inspections of each LOTO procedure. Employees should get retrained if you notice unsafe behavior, if they switch jobs, or if your procedures change.

● Keeping Procedures Up to Date: Equipment, machines, and cables often get upgraded or replaced. Your LOTO procedures and training need to change with them. Don’t let your program get outdated. To help with this, it’s a good idea to invest in online safety training, as online platforms can be easily updated with the latest information and best practices.

The dangers of skipping Lockout/Tagout can be deadly. When a machine starts up unexpectedly, or energy is released while a worker is inside or near it, the results can be catastrophic. Workers could be burned, crushed, or electrocuted, being seriously injured or even dying because a machine wasn’t properly shut down and locked out.

Incidents like this are not rare. Every year, thousands of workers suffer serious harm from incidents involving uncontrolled energy. According to OSHA, failure to control hazardous energy accounts for nearly 10% of serious industrial accidents. It’s one of the top five most frequently cited violations every year.

To further illustrate this danger, let’s look at a real-world example: CLEVELAND, OH, 2025

This incident involves a bakeware manufacturer—G&S Metal Products Co.—that failed to prevent two workers from suffering injuries that resulted in amputations. The first incident occurred on June 25, 2024, when an employee was injured while servicing a power press that unexpectedly cycled, exposing the employee to hazardous moving parts. Then, on July 11, 2024, another worker suffered an amputation while clearing scrap from a power press when the die on the machine suddenly closed.

Investigators found that both of these cases were a result of, among other things, a lack of proper lockout/tagout procedures being established before work was done. Had lockout/tagout procedures been in place, the machines would not have been able to power back on while work was being performed, and the workers would not have sustained these terrible injuries. Aside from the injuries to the workers, OSHA cited G&S Metal Products Co. and proposed over $180,000 in penalties.

This is just one out of countless examples where lockout/tagout could have prevented harm that occurred and fines a company was faced with, which hopefully highlights the vital importance of providing lockout/tagout training to employees.

As an employer, you have a legal and moral responsibility to protect your team. If there are any hazardous energy sources in your workplace, providing your team with LOTO training is essential. Here’s what you should do next:

● Review your current Lockout/Tagout program (or put a program in place if you don’t have one already).

● Make sure each piece of equipment has a written, machine-specific procedure.

● Train (or retrain) all employees who work with or near hazardous equipment or energy sources.

● Conduct regular audits and refresher sessions to keep safety fresh in everyone’s mind.

Workplace injuries from uncontrolled energy are 100% preventable. With the right training, procedures, and leadership, you can stop these accidents before people get hurt/

Take Lockout/Tagout seriously. Your workers are counting on you.

Safety Instruct’s online safety training courses help to educate employees on workplace safety and health regulations, policies, and best practices. These courses cover a wide range of topics—including Lockout/Tagout—all designed to fit the needs of various industries. To find the courses you need for your business today, click the link below! https://www.safetyinstruct.com/