If you’ve looked into Lockout/Tagout procedures, chances are you’ve seen reference to an ‘energy control program’. But what exactly is an energy control program, and what does it have to do with LOTO procedures?
Quite a lot.
An energy control program, in its most basic definition, is the introduction/enforcement of a program for employees to follow that results in a safer working environment because energy sources are shut down, locked out and completely inoperable until maintenance is completed.
The scope of the program encompasses relevant training for employees, control procedures, periodic inspections, release of stored energy and the effective isolation of energy sources to stop their operation.
OSHA (The Occupational Health and Safety Administration) are the governing body behind lockout/tagout procedures and define the energy control program under section (c)(1) of The Control of Hazardous Energy (lockout/tagout) – 1910.147 as being:
“The employer shall establish a program consisting of energy control procedures, employee training and to periodic inspections to ensure that before any employee performs any servicing or maintenance on a machine or equipment where the unexpected energizing, startup or release of stored energy could occur and cause injury, the machine or equipment shall be isolated from the energy source and rendered inoperative.”
In order to perform the energy control program, an employer must develop, enforce and maintain their devised program and ensure that it followed by all employees with relevant training.
