Emergency Situations Toolbox Talk

Emergency situations can put pressure on workers to rush lock out tag out or skip steps. Equipment may be jammed, leaking, sparking, overheating, smoking, moving unexpectedly, or creating a hazard for nearby crews. Even in an emergency, uncontrolled energy can injure the person trying to fix the problem.

This talk focuses on what to do when an emergency involves locked out equipment, equipment that needs immediate shutdown, or equipment that may have to be made safe before rescue, repair, or response work begins. The crew needs to slow down enough to control energy, communicate clearly, and keep unauthorized workers away from the hazard.

Why This Matters

• Emergency pressure can lead to shortcuts, missed energy sources, and unsafe restarts.
• Equipment may still hold electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, gravity, thermal, chemical, or mechanical energy after shutdown.
• Rescue or repair work can expose responders to the same hazardous energy that caused the emergency.
• Clear communication keeps operators, responders, supervisors, and nearby trades from making the situation worse.
• Lock out tag out protects workers even when the job is urgent.

Common Hazards

• Trying to clear a jam, leak, blockage, or fault without isolating the energy source.
• Resetting a breaker, opening a valve, or restarting equipment to “see what happens.”
• Entering an area with moving parts, stored pressure, suspended loads, hot surfaces, exposed wiring, gas, steam, or chemicals.
• Removing another worker’s lock or tag during an emergency without following the approved removal procedure.
• Untrained workers crowding the equipment or trying to help without understanding the hazard.
• Emergency responders arriving without being told what energy sources are present.
• Temporary power, generators, batteries, automatic controls, or backup systems re-energizing equipment during response.
• A worker becoming trapped or injured where equipment must be stabilized, blocked, or de-energized before rescue can be attempted safely.

Safety Checklist

Before Work Begins

• Review emergency shutdown points for equipment that will be used or serviced today.
• Identify who is authorized to perform lock out tag out during an emergency.
• Know where disconnects, valves, breakers, e-stops, fuel shutoffs, air shutoffs, and hydraulic isolation points are located.
• Confirm how the crew will contact supervision, emergency response, and affected workers.
• Keep lock out tag out devices available where they can be accessed quickly.
• Discuss stored energy hazards that may remain after emergency shutdown.
• Set expectations that no one clears jams, opens panels, repairs leaks, or reaches into equipment without energy control.

During Work

• Stop the equipment using the safest available shutdown method.
• Move workers away from the hazard area and keep unauthorized workers out.
• Call for supervision or emergency response when injury, fire, electrical exposure, chemical release, gas leak, or entrapment is involved.
• Identify and isolate all energy sources before rescue, repair, clearing, or inspection begins.
• Apply locks and tags when equipment must remain shut down.
• Release, bleed, block, pin, discharge, cool, or restrain stored energy before anyone enters the danger area.
• Communicate LOTO status to responders, operators, affected workers, and nearby trades.
• Do not restart equipment until the emergency is controlled, the area is clear, and the proper restart procedure is followed.

Crew Talking Points

• Where are the emergency stop, disconnect, valve, breaker, and shutoff points for today’s equipment?
• Who is authorized to apply lock out tag out if equipment has to be made safe quickly?
• What stored energy could remain after an emergency shutdown?
• How will we keep workers and other trades away from the hazard area?
• Who needs to be contacted if the emergency involves injury, fire, electrical hazards, gas, chemicals, or entrapment?
• Does anyone have a question or concern about how we will control energy during an emergency?

Stop Work If

• Someone is trying to fix, clear, inspect, or restart equipment without lock out tag out.
• An energy source cannot be identified, isolated, locked, tagged, or verified.
• Stored pressure, raised parts, heat, electricity, gas, chemicals, or moving components are still uncontrolled.
• Unauthorized workers are crowding the area or interfering with response work.
• A lock or tag needs to be removed but the authorized worker is not present and the approved removal procedure has not been followed.
• The equipment, area, or system is unstable and could move, collapse, energize, leak, burn, or release pressure.

Final Reminder

Emergencies do not cancel lock out tag out. Control the energy, protect the crew, communicate clearly, and do not restart until the situation is fully safe.