Lockout Tagout (LOTO) Isolation Checklist and Lock Register
An isolation record for work on machinery: every energy source named, every isolation point locked and tagged by each person working on it, zero energy proved before anyone starts, and the locks removed in order before the machine is restored. It shows that nobody could start the machine while someone was working on it.
Every time machinery is isolated for maintenance, cleaning, clearing a blockage or repair, kept with the permit to work where one is issued.
Legal basis checked 26 October 2026
What is in the template
Energy sources
Columns: Energy source · Present (Y/N) · Isolation point · Method (switch, valve, blank, block, bleed)
- Electrical
- Mechanical (moving parts, flywheels)
- Hydraulic
- Pneumatic
- Stored energy (springs, capacitors, accumulators)
- Gravity (raised loads, counterweights)
- Thermal (hot or cold surfaces, steam)
- Chemical (process lines, gases)
Every source the machine has, not only the main switch. Stored energy and gravity are the ones most often missed: bleed, block or lower them.
Locks and tags
Columns: Name · Company · Lock number · Tag number · Applied (time) · Removed (time) · Signature · 8 rows per page
Each person working on the machine fits their own lock and keeps their own key. A lock is removed only by the person who fitted it, or under your site's controlled-removal procedure.
Zero-energy check before work starts
- Machine tried at its start control after isolation, and did not start (Y/N)
- Voltage tested at the point of work with a tested instrument (Y/N, instrument)
- Stored energy discharged to earth or released (Y/N)
- Checked by (competent person): name, signature and time
Restoring the machine
- Work complete and tools removed (Y/N)
- Guards refitted (Y/N)
- Everyone clear of the machine (Y/N)
- All locks and tags removed by the people who fitted them (Y/N)
- Machine restored by: name, signature and time
Periodic check of the isolation procedure
- Procedure checked
- Checked by (someone who does not use it)
- People seen using it
- Shortcomings found and actions
- Date and signature
International practice (OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147 in the US) is to check each isolation procedure at least once a year, by someone who does not use it. South African law sets no interval; your site standard should.
How to fill it in
- 1List every energy source the machine has and where each is isolated, before the work starts.
- 2Isolate each source, then have every person who will work on the machine fit their own lock and tag.
- 3Prove zero energy: try to start the machine, test for voltage at the point of work and release stored energy.
- 4Do the work. If the job changes or someone joins, update the lock register.
- 5Restore in order: work complete, guards back, everyone clear, each person removes their own lock, then restore and sign.
A general template, not legal advice. Check it against the Act, the regulations and the codes of practice that apply to your site, and against your own safety management system. Regulation 3 of the General Machinery Regulations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 85 of 1993 requires machinery to be safeguarded and its safety equipment used, and regulation 5 limits work on moving or electrically alive machinery to competent or trained persons. Regulation 4 of the Electrical Machinery Regulations, 2011 requires disconnected machinery that can hold a charge to be discharged to earth and kept from being made live while people work on it. On a mine, the trackless mobile machinery regulations (8.10.16 and 8.10.17) cover isolation and lock-out.
Legal basis checked on against: General Machinery Regulations (OHS Act, 85 of 1993), regulations 3 and 5; Electrical Machinery Regulations, 2011, regulation 4.
Convert this template into a digital form
Run it on an Android phone with no signal, attach photos as evidence, and every failed item raises an issue with an owner and a due date.
Start the trial from here and this template is waiting in your workspace as a ready-made form.
The same record in Inspecable
On paper the register is only as current as the last person who updated it. In Inspecable the same record keeps going:
- Lockout is managed with the permit on the web dashboard: a permit cannot go active until every signatory has signed and every isolation is verified by a second person.
- A permit cannot close while a lock is on, so the de-isolation step is enforced rather than remembered (web only).
- The zero-energy check runs as a checklist on the Android app with photo and signature per step, offline, and a failed item raises a tracked issue on the spot.
Questions
What are the steps of lockout tagout?
Name every energy source, shut the machine down, isolate each source, fit a personal lock and tag per person, release stored energy, prove zero energy by trying to start and testing, do the work, then restore in reverse: tools out, guards on, everyone clear, each person removes their own lock.
Is lockout tagout a legal requirement in South Africa?
The law does not use the term, but the General Machinery Regulations require machinery to be safeguarded and work on moving or live machinery to be done by competent or trained persons, and the Electrical Machinery Regulations, 2011 require disconnected machinery to be kept from being made live. A lockout procedure is how most sites meet both.
Who can remove a lock?
Only the person who fitted it. If that person has left site, your procedure should set out a controlled removal: the supervisor confirms the person is off site and the machine is safe, records it, and tells the person before their next shift.
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