LOTO frequently asked questions

Lockout/Tagout is a safety procedure that prevents a machine from starting up or releasing energy unexpectedly during maintenance, servicing, cleaning or repair. Energy sources are isolated, locked with a safety padlock (lockout) and marked with a tag (tagout) so that nobody can switch them back on by mistake.

The law does not use the term LOTO directly, but employers must ensure that work equipment cannot start unexpectedly during maintenance. This follows mainly from Government Regulation No. 392/2006 Coll. LOTO is a proven and widely used way to meet this obligation – and to demonstrate it.

From 20 January 2027, Directive 2006/42/EC is replaced by the Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, which applies directly in all member states including Slovakia. It covers machinery placed on the market from that date. The requirement that matters most for LOTO remains: machinery must have means of isolation from all energy sources that are clearly identified and can be locked if reconnection could endanger persons (Annex III, section 1.6.3). Operators' obligations during maintenance do not change – Slovak Government Regulation No. 392/2006 Coll. still applies. When buying new machinery, we recommend checking that it has lockable isolators for all types of energy and updating your LOTO procedures accordingly.

Any company whose employees or contractors maintain, service or clean machines and equipment with hazardous energy sources – electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, thermal or chemical.

An internal LOTO policy with rules and responsibilities, procedures for individual machines, labelling of energy sources and isolation points, suitable LOTO devices, role-based staff training, rules for contractors and regular checks that the programme is followed.

Whenever a worker carrying out maintenance, repair, cleaning, adjustment or troubleshooting has to remove a guard or bypass a safety device, or places any part of their body where the machine could injure them.

For example on cord-and-plug equipment where the plug stays under the worker's exclusive control for the whole job. For minor routine tasks during normal production, alternative protective measures may be used – but they must be clearly defined in advance.

An authorised employee is a trained person who personally locks and tags the equipment in order to work on it. An affected employee operates or works near the equipment – they must understand what LOTO means and must never remove someone else's lock or start locked-out equipment.

As a rule, no. The tag only informs; physical protection comes from the padlock. Tagging alone is used only exceptionally – when the energy source cannot be locked – and additional protective measures are then required.

Because everyone protects themselves. The equipment can only be restarted when the last worker removes their padlock. When several people work on one machine, a hasp or group lock box is used.

Energy that remains in a machine after it is switched off – hydraulic pressure, compressed air, a tensioned spring, a raised load, a flywheel running down or a charged capacitor. It must be released or secured and zero energy verified before work starts.

The programme should be reviewed regularly – we recommend at least once a year – and whenever the technology changes. New employees are trained at induction, others repeatedly and whenever procedures change.

It depends on the number and complexity of machines. After the initial site visit we prepare a proposed solution, a quote and an implementation schedule.

Yes. Padlocks, hasps, lockout devices, tags and stations are supplied separately – for companies based on a quote, and smaller quantities will also be available to order directly online.

Yes. Information boards with the LOTO procedure for a specific machine, lockout stations in the required size and labels marking isolation points (e.g. E-1 for electricity, P-1 for compressed air, W-1 for water).