LOTO Guide: Lockout and Tagout in 6 Steps

LOTO (Lockout/Tagout), known in Turkish as EKED – Energy Control Tagging and Lockout, is the safety procedure that ensures a machine's energy is cut off and locked out during maintenance and repair, and that this status is announced with a tag. In this guide we summarize the steps of the procedure and the equipment needed at each step.

Why is LOTO mandatory?

A significant share of serious accidents during maintenance occur when a machine believed to be shut down is restarted by someone else, or when energy remaining in the system (pressure, spring, gravity, capacitor) is unexpectedly released. In the US, the OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147 standard, and in Turkey the legislation on the use of work equipment, expect the employer to have a written energy control procedure that keeps these risks under control.

Energy sources

Electrical: panels, circuit breakers, switches, plugs.
Mechanical: rotating parts, springs, flywheels.
Hydraulic and pneumatic: pressurized oil and air lines.
Chemical and thermal: steam, hot fluid and gas lines.
Gravity: suspended loads, presses.

6-Step LOTO Procedure

Preparation: Identify all energy sources and isolation points of the equipment.
Notification: Inform operators and affected workers about the shutdown.
Shutdown: Shut down the equipment using the normal stopping procedure.
Isolation: Open the breakers, close the valves, pull the plugs; cut off energy at its source.
Lockout and tagout: Each worker fits their own personal padlock and a tag with their name on it to the isolation point.
Verification: Release any residual energy and confirm the zero-energy state by trying to start the equipment.

When the work is finished, locks are removed only by the person who applied them; the area is checked and energy is restored after workers are informed.

Which equipment for which step?

Personal padlock: Safety padlocks – a padlock with its own key for each worker.
Isolation device: circuit breaker lockouts, valve lockouts, plug and pneumatic lockouts, cable lockouts.
Group work: lockout hasps and group lock boxes.
Information: danger warning tags.
Organization: LOTO stations and ready-made kits.

Colour coding

Padlock colors should carry a meaning within the facility: for example, red for personal locks, yellow for the maintenance team, blue for electricians, green for production. What matters is that the color coding is defined in the written procedure and known by everyone. Our safety padlocks are available in 8 colors.

Common mistakes

Using only a tag without fitting a lock.
More than one person holding the key to the same lock.
Skipping the verification step.
Not every worker applying their own lock in group work.

If you have difficulty choosing the right equipment for your facility, contact us; we can also help from a photo of your circuit breaker or valve.

LOTO Guide