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QHSE Glossary

LOTO

Lockout/Tagout — safety procedures to ensure hazardous energy sources are isolated before maintenance or servicing.

LOTO

LOTO (Lockout/Tagout Energy Isolation) is a critical concept in quality, health, safety, and environmental management.

What Is LOTO?

LOTO (Lockout/Tagout) is a safety procedure used to ensure that dangerous machines and energy sources are properly shut off, isolated, and unable to be restarted before maintenance or repair work is completed. Lockout uses physical locking devices (padlocks, hasps, valve lockout devices) to hold energy isolation points in the safe position. Tagout uses warning tags to indicate that equipment must not be operated. LOTO protects against unexpected energisation, release of stored energy, or start-up of machinery during servicing. Energy sources include: electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal, gravitational, and stored energy (springs, capacitors, elevated loads).

LOTO Requirements Under UK Law

In the UK, LOTO requirements are covered by the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (Regulation 13: isolation), Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER Regulation 19: isolation from energy sources), and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. HSE guidance document HSG85 (Electricity at Work: Safe Working Practices) provides detailed lockout procedures. In the US, OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147 (Control of Hazardous Energy) is the specific LOTO standard. HSE statistics show that 25% of all workplace fatalities involve contact with moving machinery — many attributable to inadequate isolation procedures.

Key Components of LOTO

  • Electrical lockout
  • Mechanical lockout
  • Hydraulic lockout
  • Pneumatic lockout
  • Valve lockout
  • Multi-lock hasp (multiple workers)
  • Personal danger tags
  • Group lockout/tagout
  • Try-start verification

LOTO in Practice

A food processing plant (150 employees, 40 major machines) implements LOTO through Q-Hub's permit system. Before a maintenance engineer works on a conveyor system, they initiate a LOTO permit in Q-Hub: identify all energy sources (3 electrical isolators, 1 pneumatic supply, 1 hydraulic accumulator), apply personal padlocks at each isolation point, attach Q-Hub-generated tags with permit number and engineer's name, discharge stored energy (bleed pneumatic line, lower hydraulic ram), and verify zero-energy state (try-start test). The permit is valid for the shift duration. Upon completion, the engineer removes locks, verifies area clear, and closes the permit in Q-Hub — creating a complete audit trail.

How to Manage LOTO with Q-Hub

Q-Hub provides comprehensive tools for LOTO management. The Permit To Work module handles the core requirements, integrated with document control, audit scheduling, training management, and KPI dashboards to ensure your LOTO processes are audit-ready at all times.

Related Terms

Want to see how Q-Hub handles LOTO in practice? Book a demo or see pricing.

Related QHSE Terms

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