Here we sit, ending the year 2013, 20+ years after OSHA promulgated its Control of Hazardous Energy (e.g., Lockout/Tagout) standard. Yet, we still see so much confusion regarding this safety-critical standard. We get so much resistance on some of the most basic requirements of LOTO that I thought it would be helpful to dispel two of the most common errors/misunderstandings we encounter…
OSHA does NOT, nor have they ever, require a “tagout” tag be placed with each “lockout” lock. In fact, OSHA gives us the option of using locks or tags; however, they certainly prefer locks by placing several high hurdles one must clear before using tags instead of locks. Let’s look at what 1910.147 says about using locks and tags…
(emphasis by me)