Covers OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147 • 1910.333(b) • Written Energy Control Procedures • Group Lockout

Course Overview

Lockout/tagout (LOTO) — formally "the control of hazardous energy" — is the set of practices that keeps machinery and equipment from unexpectedly starting up, energizing, or releasing stored energy while someone is servicing or maintaining it. In a data center, LOTO is complicated by redundancy: equipment is often fed by more than one source specifically so that it never loses power, which means a device that looks "off" can still be very much alive on a second feed, a bypass path, or a battery. This course covers OSHA's energy control requirements and how they apply to UPS systems, generators, PDUs, switchgear, and battery plants.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Explain why lockout/tagout exists and what can go wrong without it.
2. Identify the types of hazardous energy present in data center equipment, including stored and redundant energy.
3. Describe OSHA's six-step energy control sequence and the roles of authorized, affected, and other employees.
4. Explain the minimum required content of a machine/equipment-specific energy control procedure.
5. Apply group lockout and shift-change procedures correctly.
6. Respond appropriately if a lockout is bypassed, defeated, or found already in place.

Who Must Take This Course

Any employee who services, maintains, installs, or troubleshoots equipment where the unexpected start-up or release of energy could cause injury must be trained as an authorized employee under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147. Employees who work in an area where lockout/tagout is performed, without performing the lockout themselves, must be trained as affected employees so they understand what the locks and tags mean and why they must never be removed or bypassed.