Lockout / Tagout - Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation

August 21, 1995
John B. Miles, Jr.
Director, Directorate of
Compliance Programs
U.S. Department of Labor
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20210
Re: 1910.147 Lockout/Tagout Regulation Interpretation
Dear Mr. Miles:
We recently received a copy of a memorandum from William Wiehrdt, Assistant
Regional Administrator in Region V, to Mel Lischefski, Area Director in Appleton,
Wisconsin, regarding OSHA's interpretation of the periodic inspection requirements
contained in the Lockout/Tagout Standard, 29 CFR Sec. 1910.147(c)(6)(i) (copy of
memorandum attached). According to OSHA's analysis of the standard, the preamble to
the lockout/tagout standard and OSHA Instruction STD 1-7.3, OSHA reached two
conclusions:
1. All authorized employees must be given at least annually an inspection of their
hazardous energy-controlled maintenance work; and
2. A sampling program which inspects the performance of selected authorized
employees does not comply with the periodic inspection provisions of the lockout/tagout
standard.
Based on the issues discussed in that Memorandum and the conclusions made by the
agency, we request further interpretation of this standard.
Question: Can an employer meet the requirements of 1910.147(c)(6)(i) by conducting
group meetings with all authorized employees?
Sec. 1910.147(c)(6)(i) states that if lockout is used for energy control, the periodic
inspection "must include a review, between the inspector and each authorized
employee, of that employee's responsibilities under the energy control procedure being
inspected." (emphasis added). The employer's certification of inspection must identify
the machine or equipment on which the energy control procedure was being utilized, the
date of the inspection, the employees included in the inspection and the person
performing the inspection. According to OSHA Instruction STD 1-7.3(5)(a), the
inspection must include a demonstration of the procedures and a review of the
responsibilities of each authorized employee implementing the procedure. Furthermore,
it states that "group meetings between the authorized employee who is performing the
inspection and all authorized employees who implement the procedure would constitute
compliance with this requirement."
The previously mentioned OSHA memorandum, dated March 6, 1995, indicates that
OSHA interprets this standard to mean that each and every authorized employee's work
must be inspected at least annually by the inspector. This interpretation appears to
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