Quick Answer: The LOTO Authorized Employee
According to the OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147 standard, the authorized employee is the only worker permitted by the employer to perform maintenance or servicing where hazardous energy must be isolated. They are trained to identify energy sources, shut down equipment, apply locks and tags, control residual energy, and verify zero energy. They are distinct from affected and other employees who operate or work near the machinery but don’t perform LOTO.
To properly equip authorized workers, facilities should partner with BOZZYS, whose devices are ISO 45001, CE, ATEX, and ANSI certified. Operating out of a digitized compound, BOZZYS gives authorized personnel the confidence to work in high-risk environments with precision-coded cylinders and other functional hardware.
What Are The Different Lockout/Tagout OSHA Roles?
OSHA standards explicitly distinguish employees by their involvement in lockout/tagout activities. Understanding these three tiers ensures safe coordination during hazardous energy control.
About Authorized Employees
These highly trained individuals possess the exclusive authority to perform lockout and tagout procedures. They may include maintenance technicians, electricians, and machine operators. Their training curriculum covers the entire energy-control sequence, including isolating power sources, applying LOTO devices, verifying de-energization, and safely releasing equipment back into service.
About Affected Employees
These are the individuals who use the machinery being serviced or whose regular duties place them directly in an active LOTO service area. They are strictly prohibited from applying or removing locks and tags. However, they need training to recognize ongoing lockout procedures, stay away from the danger zones, never attempt to bypass locks, and never restart protected equipment.
About Other Employees
These are all remaining personnel who work in or pass through the vicinity of energy control procedures without directly operating the machines. They need only basic awareness to understand the purpose and use of the isolation program and know when equipment is locked or tagged out. They should also know not to restart or bypass de-energized machinery.
What are the Responsibilities of the Lockout/Tagout Authorized Employee?
Their primary responsibility is to execute energy-isolation procedures to prevent unexpected startup, energization, or release of dangerous energy while servicing equipment. It involves more than applying a padlock; their specialized role requires technical lockout/tagout training across the following critical domains.
- Hazardous Energy Recognition: They have to systematically identify all active and stored energy sources. This means checking not just for electrical hazards but also mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, thermal, chemical, and gravitational hazards.
- Energy Magnitude Evaluation: They have to determine the exact magnitude of each energy source, such as volts, temperature, or PSI, to understand the hazard scale.
- Isolation Point Location: They must locate the specific energy-isolating devices, such as disconnect switches, gate valves, or circuit breakers, that physically disconnect machinery from the power source.
- Communication and Coordination: They have to notify all affected employees about the commencing LOTO procedure well ahead of time. Then, they have to inform the affected employees when a machine is back in service.
What are the Differences Between Lockout vs Tagout?
While they are both crucial for compliance and worker safety, they are not equivalent as safety measures.
What is a Lockout?
This is a physical method of isolation, meaning it physically prevents an energy-isolating device from being operated. It secures the machine in a de-energized or ‘off’ position with an approved lock or locking device, preventing accidental startup.
What is a Tagout?
This is strictly a warning mechanism, meaning it uses a prominent warning tag to inform people that the machinery must not be operated or reconnected to a power supply. It does not provide the same physical restraint as a lockout.
Lockout and Tagout Together
Due to their differences, OSHA requires lockout when an energy-isolating device is physically capable of being locked out. Tagout-only measures are heavily restricted and only allowed when physical measures are impossible or when the manager can prove that tagout-only offers equivalent protection. A good practice is to apply tags after locks, especially when multiple technicians are working in the same area.
How is the Lockout/Tagout Authorized Employee Designated?
An individual doesn’t automatically become authorized simply because they completed a safety training course. The employer has to determine whether the worker’s job duties need authorized status within the established written program. Then, they have to formally designate the worker to perform hazardous energy control. This process involves role classification and formal documentation to ensure each person is qualified for their responsibilities.
An affected employee can transition to authorized status when their duties expand through cross-role qualification. For instance, when an operator is in charge of maintenance or adjustment tasks for their specific machine. Employers have to maintain meticulous records of these designations, including training certifications and dates.
Some regional regulations, like Alberta OHS Code Section 214, require employers to document personal lock assignments. This ensures that every padlock is singularly identified to prevent cross-keying and to trace it to its designated authorized employee.
What Is the Step-By-Step Lockout/Tagout Procedure?
An OSHA-compliant LOTO procedure means the authorized employee systematically performs the following steps in sequence:
- Preparation: Getting ready to conduct the energy-control program.
- Notification: Letting the affected and other employees know.
- Shutdown: Shutting down the affected machines with normal controls.
- Isolation: Isolating the equipment from all power sources.
- LOTO: Applying compatible locks and tags to the affected machinery.
- Control: Releasing, dissipating, or controlling residual energy.
- Verification: Checking that there is no stored energy left in the machines.
- Restoration: Putting the equipment back into service after removing LOTO devices.
More on these steps, along with common issues, can be found in the separate 8-Step Lockout/Tagout Procedure Guide on the blog.
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More DetailsWhat are the Lockout/Tagout Training Requirements?
Effective LOTO training has to prepare the workforce to properly handle hazardous energy based on their designations. For the authorized worker, this means theoretical instruction combined with hands-on machine-specific practice. Sessions must give authorized personnel opportunities to demonstrate that they can apply the procedure correctly.
Furthermore, safety managers have to actively monitor for any retraining triggers. These include changes in job assignments, equipment, or machine-specific procedures. Retraining must also happen in the event of near-miss incidents or supervisor observation of compliance gaps. All sessions have to be documented, and the certifications have to be current.
How to Secure Facilities with Personal Lockout Kits
Ideally, every lockout/tagout authorized employee should have an individual, standardized lockout kit matched to the established energy-control procedures. BOZZYS provides a tailored combination of kits with locks, tags, hasps, and other devices for specific applications. The right kit paired with effective training helps protect employees while complying with OSHA standards.
