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Confusion about When the LOTO
Standard Applies
Normal production operations are not covered by
the LOTO standard. Rather, the requirements of
OSHA’s LOTO standard kick in during servicing and/or
maintenance, or any production activity that requires
an employee to remove or bypass a guard or other
safety device, or if an employee is required to place
any part of his or her body into an area on a machine Don’t forget LOTO applies only to
or piece of equipment where work is performed upon “unexpected energization”
the material being processed. Otherwise, the employer
is expected to install and maintain appropriate guards Currently, the requirements of OSHA’s LOTO standard
that protect employees as required by 1910.212 do not apply if workers are not exposed to unexpected
(bit.ly/3tr7xuh), OSHA’s machine guarding standard. energization. LOTO is not required if employees should
become aware the machine was about to energize.
While the LOTO and machine guarding standards tend to However, OSHA appears to be pushing ahead with a
complement each other—one protects employees during rulemaking that would strip the LOTO rule of that flexibility.
normal production operations (guarding), while the other Specifically, OSHA’s latest Regulatory Agenda maintains
protects employees during servicing or maintenance the current version of the Standards Improvement Project
(LOTO). Technically, OSHA may not cite the same (SIP IV) (bit.ly/3ekEulY), a kind of ongoing rulemaking
conduct as a concurrent violation of both standards. the Agency has used for years to streamline, clarify, and
update workplace safety standards to remove duplicative,
In short, the LOTO standard applies to general unnecessary, or inconsistent safety and health regulations.
industry workers who are performing servicing and/
or maintenance on machines or equipment, and SIP IV, however, contains a provision about LOTO that does
who by virtue of those activities can be exposed to not meet the spirit of SIP. Specifically, OSHA proposed
the unexpected energization, startup, or release of to remove the term “unexpected energization” from the
hazardous energy from the machines or equipment. LOTO standard, but not for clarification or simplification.
Rather, OSHA is attempting to use the SIP tool, which was
intended for minor, non-controversial rule changes, to
Don’t forget forms of hazardous energy overrule the Sixth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals 1996
other than electrical decision in Reich v. GMC (“GM-Delco case”)
One of several common mistakes employers make is to (bit.ly/3e9Qmaa)
focus too narrowly on one type of hazardous energy.
LOTO applies to every type of hazardous energy, The court explained that energization is NOT unexpected if:
including electrical, mechanical, thermal, hydraulic, • An alarm gives employees clear, audible, timely warning
pneumatic, and gravity. of machine start-up;
• A machine is so small or its controls are located such
Don’t forget energy control requirements that a servicing employee would know of attempts to
standards other than LOTO restart it; or
Another scope mistake is to focus exclusively on the • The equipment is unplugged and the plug is in the
energy control requirements of the LOTO standard exclusive control of the servicing employee.
(1910.147). Other OSHA industry-specific or task-
specific standards that impose energy control For twenty years now, employers have relied on this
requirements include: interpretation of “unexpected energization” in the GM-
Delco case. OSHA now asserts that a change by SIP is
• Permit-Required Confined Spaces; needed to return the scope of LOTO to OSHA’s original
• Mechanical Power Presses; intent, to ensure LOTO is used instead of less effective
• Electrical Safety; warning systems, and to reduce the burden on compliance
• Grain Handling Facilities; officers who have needed to perform a case-by-case
• Process Safety Management Standard; assessment of warning schemes.
• Bakery Equipment;
• Pulp and Paper;
• and others.

www.ieci.org | May/June 2021 | Insights Magazine 45