Proposed OSHA Lockout/Tagout Rule Review May Open Doors

Machine lockout/tagout regulations could be changed under a proposed rulemaking to allow more flexibility in how workers are protected from equipment unexpectedly starting.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s decision to review lockout/tagout regulations comes at the same time the agency considers issuing a rare variance to the rule (29 C.F.R. 1910.147) and the American National Standards Institute nears issuing a revised voluntary consensus standard (ANSI/ASSE 244.1) in 2016.

“We were hesitantly excited,” Jimi Michalscheck, director of market development at Rockwell Automation Inc., told Bloomberg BNA. Rockwell routinely consults with manufactures and machinery makers on lockout/tagout procedures ...