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OSHA's 8 criteria that a piece of equipment
must meet in order to not need a machine
specific lockout-tagout procedure:

Below is directly from OSHA's website: www.osha.gov

Energy control procedure.

1910.147(c)(4)(i)

Procedures shall be developed, documented and utilized for the control of potentially
hazardous energy when employees are engaged in the activities covered by this section.
Note: Exception: The employer need not document the required procedure for a
particular machine or equipment, when all of the following elements exist:

(1) The machine or equipment has no potential for stored or residual energy or
reaccumulation of stored energy after shut down which could endanger employees;

(2) the machine or equipment has a single energy source which can be readily
identified and isolated;

(3) the isolation and locking out of that energy source will completely deenergize and
deactivate the machine or equipment;

(4) the machine or equipment is isolated from that energy source and locked out during
servicing or maintenance;

(5) a single lockout device will achieve a locker-out condition;

(6) the lockout device is under the exclusive control of the authorized employee
performing the servicing or maintenance;

(7) the servicing or maintenance does not create hazards for other employees; and

(8) the employer, in utilizing this exception, has had no accidents involving the
unexpected activation or reenergization of the machine or equipment during servicing
or maintenance.




Remember, it has to meet all eight criteria, not just a few in order to be
exempt from requiring a machine specific procedure.  
      Equipment Types:

  • Exhaust Fans
  • Air Handler Units
  • Unit Heaters

Reason/Logic:  This style of equipment
requires a procedure because it has electrical
and kinetic.  This particular equipment also set-
up also does not have a local electrical
disconnect (criteria 2) that can be readily
identified and isolated.

This equipment type typically does not meet
criteria number: 1, 2, 3, 5 and possibly 4, 6 & 7.  
    Equipment Types:

  • Clothing Washer
  • Dishwasher


Reason/Logic:  This style of equipment
requires a procedure because it has electrical
and water.   Because of these two sources, it
does not meet criteria number: 1, 2, 3, 5 and
possibly 4, 6 & 7.  

In this example pictured, the washer has
electricity, hot water, and two cold water inlets in
addition to thermal energy.  It has five sources
total, but it only needs 2 sources in order to
require a machine specific procedure.
Equipment Types:

  • Grinders
  • Mills
  • Lathes
  • Drill Press


Reason/Logic:  This style of equipment
requires a procedure because it has electrical
and kinetic.   Because of these two sources, it
does not meet criteria number: 1, 2, 3, 5 and
possibly 4, 6 & 7.  

Even though the picture shows one of the most
simple pieces of shop equipment OSHA
requires a lockout-tagout procedure due to the
residual energy from the grinding disks.
Equipment Types:

  • Welders
  • Plasma Cutters
  • Gas Cutter


Reason/Logic:  This style of equipment
requires a procedure because it has electrical,
Gas, and thermal.   Because of these three
sources, it does not meet criteria number: 1, 2,
3, 5 and possibly 4, 6 & 7.  

Welders are often overlooked when companies
are assessing their LOTO compliancy; and can
lead to a separate OSHA citation for each unit
that does not have a specific procedure.  
Below are a few examples of equipment types that many companies often overlook for
machine specific lockout-tagout procedures: