LOTO Procedure Template: A Fillable Outline for 1910.147
OSHA 1910.147(c)(4) requires every written energy-control procedure to contain four specific sections — and a generic copy-paste template fails the standard the moment it's stamped onto a real machine. The outline below names what those four sections are, what OSHA cites for each one, and what to fill in for the asset you're putting it on.
A copy-pasted "LOTO procedure template" that names a generic machine and skips isolation points lines up with §1910.147(c)(4)(ii)(A) on paper and fails on the floor. OSHA expects every machine to have its own procedure with the four required sections enumerated, scoped to the actual asset, energy sources, and authorized employees on it. Use the boxes below as a fillable outline — the blanks below each section are what you fill out per machine, not optional flavor.
Fillable Template — Four Required Sections of a 1910.147 Procedure
1. Scope, purpose, and authorized employees — §1910.147(c)(4)(i)(A)
OSHA requires the procedure to name the equipment it covers, the purpose of the procedure, and the employees authorized to perform it. A scope statement that says "this procedure covers maintenance on shop equipment" is not specific enough — auditors want the asset ID, the procedure's intent, and the named or group-identified authorized employees on the page.
✓Machine / Asset ID:__________ (match the asset tag on the physical machine)
Auditor check: a sample of authorized employees is asked to retrieve this procedure on the spot — if the names or group qualifier don't match the floor, this section fails inspection.
2. Energy sources and isolation points — §1910.147(c)(4)(ii)(B)
OSHA requires a specific statement of the energy sources, the magnitudes involved, and the isolation devices — not a generic "lock the main." Multi-source equipment must list every source separately. Copy the row set once per energy source on the machine.
✓Energy type (electrical / mechanical / hydraulic / pneumatic / thermal / chemical / gravitational): __________
✓Energy magnitude (V / psi / °F / etc.): __________
Auditor check: the auditor picks a source off the energy-source list and asks the operator to point at the device on the machine — mismatched identifiers or missing stored-energy notes are the most frequent citation.
3. Shutdown, isolation, stored-energy dissipation, and verification steps — §1910.147(c)(4)(ii)(D)
Per §1910.147(c)(4)(ii)(D), the procedure must contain the specific procedural steps for shutdown, total isolation, dissipation or restraint of stored energy, and verification that the energy is zero before any work begins. Each step is numbered and observable — auditors expect to see an operator perform the verification step, not just have it written.
✓Step __: Notify affected employees that the machine is going down for lockout.
✓Step __: Shut down the machine using the normal stop procedure (operator panel / control switch / "STOP" button).
✓Step __: Isolate every energy source listed in §2 at its named device (breaker, valve, disconnect).
✓Step __: Apply a personal lock + tag at each isolation point — one lock per authorized employee on the job.
✓Step __: Dissipate or restrain any stored energy by the method named in §2 (bleed the pneumatic line, block the hydraulic ram, dissipate the capacitor, restrain the gravitational drop).
✓Step __: Verify zero energy by named method (meter test at the disconnect, mechanical block check, observation of pressure gauge at zero, dissipation sequence completion).
✓Step __: Perform the work the procedure was written for.
✓Step __: Reverse on completion — proceed to Section 4 (Release-of-LOTO and re-energization).
Auditor check: the auditor watches an authorized employee perform Step 7 (verification) before work begins — a procedure that lists it but an operator who skips it is the most common §1910.147(d)(6) failure.
4. Release-of-LOTO and re-energization steps — §1910.147(c)(4)(ii)(E) + (d)(4)
OSHA also requires the procedure to specify how lockout devices are removed and the machine is re-energized. Skipping this section is a frequent deficiency — most teams write the lock-on steps and leave the lock-off steps to memory.
✓Step __: Inspect the work area — tools removed, debris cleared, employees clear of the machine.
✓Step __: Verify all employees are safely positioned away from the machine before re-energization.
✓Step __: Remove each lockout device in reverse order — the authorized employee who applied each lock removes it.
✓Step __: Re-energize following the machine's documented startup sequence (control power → drive → operating mode).
✓Step __: Notify affected employees that the machine is back in service and the lockout is removed.
Auditor check: a sample of removed-lockout records is matched against the work-order closure — a lockout record that doesn't close cleanly is treated as an incomplete release.
This fillable outline gets a team most of the way through §1910.147(c)(4) — once each of the four sections is keyed to a real machine, the procedure is a written energy-control procedure, not a template. The next step is keeping it that way: a paper template goes stale the first time the machine is retooled, the breaker is replaced, or the energy source list shifts. LOTO Tracker stores each filled-out procedure as a versioned, per-machine record — when the line changes, the procedure changes with it, and the auditor sees a current revision instead of a 2019 PDF.
Turn this template into per-machine, versioned procedures — 7-day trial, no credit card
Bring the four-section outline above into LOTO Tracker and turn it into a library of machine-specific, revision-controlled procedures your authorized employees pull up on the floor. Full-feature trial, no credit card.
Per 29 CFR 1910.147(c)(4)(i) and (ii), every written energy-control procedure must contain: a scope statement with the specific equipment covered and the authorized employees; a specific statement of the energy sources, magnitudes, and isolation points; the specific procedural steps for shutdown, isolation, stored-energy dissipation or restraint, and verification; and the requirements for re-energization and lockout release. A template that skips any one of the four sections fails the standard on inspection.
A single written procedure may cover a group of machines only when the equipment is identical, the energy sources and their isolation devices are identical, and the procedural steps for servicing are identical — per 1910.147(c)(4)(ii)(A)(2). The group exception ends the moment any machine in the set has a different isolation device, a different energy magnitude, or a different procedural step. Mixed assets require separate written procedures, even if a generic template would otherwise cover all of them.
Only authorized employees listed on Section 1 of the procedure — either by name or by job classification — who have completed the 1910.147(c)(7) training on that specific procedure or procedure group. Affected employees (those who operate the machine but do not perform the lockout) and other employees in the area must not attempt to perform lockout from this template even when the form is filled out identically to the authorized version. Authorization is a people decision tied to training records, not a procedural outcome of the template.
LOTO Tracker accepts any written procedure — whether it's drafted directly from this fillable template or transcribed from a paper source — and stores it as a per-machine, per-asset record with a full revision history. When the machine is retooled, an isolation device is replaced, or the energy source list shifts, a new version of the procedure is created and the prior version is retained as historical reference. Authorized employees always pull up the current version on their device at the point of work, and the revision trail is the audit record 1910.147(c)(4)(ii)(A) expects on inspection — auditors see a current effective revision, not a 2019 PDF with no lineage.