Reference

Inspection tagging has drifted into folk practice, and most of the tags on a typical rack satisfy no federal requirement at all. This guide sorts them equipment by equipment into required, evidence of a required inspection, and pure convention, then gives the hard specification that the tags OSHA does compel by name have to meet.

Lockout puts a physical lock on an energy-isolating device, while tagout adds only a warning tag with no restraint. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147 treats lockout as the more reliable method and limits when tagout alone is allowed. This guide covers the difference, which one to use, the device families, and a worked six-step procedure.