Module 4: Periodic Inspections
4.1 Evaluating Written Energy-Control Procedures
An evaluation of lockout/tagout procedures is required annually and must be conducted by an
authorized employee other than the person who performs the procedures. If your authorized
employee(s) perform all of the lockout/tagout procedures, you might have to have a supervisor
designated as an authorized employee. The supervisor can then conduct the evaluation of
lockout/tagout procedures.
Either the employer or the inspector must document each inspection with the information listed below.
- equipment on which the procedure is used
- date of the inspection
- workers included in the inspection
- person who did the inspection
If an inspector finds that workers are not following an energy-control procedure or that the procedure
is not protecting them, those workers must be retrained, and the procedural deficiencies corrected.
The authorized employee who does the inspection must understand the procedure and must not be
among those following the procedure at the time of the inspection. Each procedure must be verified for
its accuracy, completeness and effectiveness in energy control.
- If your authorized employee(s) perform all the lockout/tagout procedures, who may
perform the lockout/tagout procedure inspections?
a. A supervisor who is also an authorized employee and does not perform the
procedures
b. Any supervisor in operations who is not performing lockout/tagout procedures
c. Only the lockout/tagout leader performing the specific procedures
d. Any member of the group of authorized employees performing the procedures