Last Updated: 2026-09-28
This article is part of the Print Pro AZ OSHA electrical labeling series. Start with the pillar guide: OSHA Electrical Safety Labels: 29 CFR 1910 Requirements.
Last Updated: May 3, 2026
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147(f)(3) requires a group lockout/tagout procedure whenever a crew, craft, or department services equipment together. A primary authorized employee coordinates the group, every worker affixes a personal LOTO device to a group lockbox, and the procedure must equal the protection of personal lockout. Tagout-only programs need equivalent safeguards under (c)(5)(ii).
A maintenance team takes down a 480V switchgear lineup for a Saturday shutdown. Electricians, controls techs, and a millwright crew all pull on the same equipment. One person locks the disconnect, the rest assume they're protected, and a controls tech reaches into a panel that was never isolated for him. That is the failure mode OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147(f)(3) was written to prevent, and it is exactly the gap most facility group lockout/tagout procedures still leave open.
This guide walks through what OSHA 1910.147(f)(3) requires for group LOTO, the duties of the primary authorized employee, how group lockboxes work in practice, the tag content rules under (c)(5)(ii), and why the standard you comply with today is the same one issued in 1989, even after OSHA's 2019 rulemaking on the topic stalled.
What Does OSHA 1910.147(f)(3) Require for Group Lockout/Tagout?
Per OSHA 1910.147(f)(3)(i), when servicing or maintenance is performed by a crew, craft, department, or other group, the employer must use a procedure that affords each employee a level of protection equivalent to a personal lockout or tagout device. A single group lock applied by one supervisor does not satisfy the standard.
OSHA spells out four mandatory elements in 1910.147(f)(3)(ii):
- (A) Primary responsibility is vested in an authorized employee for a defined number of workers operating under the group LOTO device
- (B) The primary authorized employee must ascertain the exposure status of every individual group member
- (C) When more than one crew, craft, or department is involved, one authorized employee must be designated to coordinate the affected workforces and ensure continuity of protection
- (D) Each authorized employee must affix a personal lockout or tagout device to the group lockout device, group lockbox, or comparable mechanism when starting work and remove it when stopping
Each requirement is independently citable. A facility with a clear primary employee but no individual exposure check still fails (B). A multi-crew shutdown with no designated coordinator still fails (C), even if every individual lock is in place.
Takeaway: Group LOTO is not optional shorthand for "the lead guy locks it out." It is a four-part procedure with separate compliance triggers. Build your written program around each subsection and audit it that way.
Who Is the Primary Authorized Employee, and What Are Their Specific Duties?
The primary authorized employee is the single person OSHA holds accountable for the group's continued protection from hazardous energy. Per 1910.147(f)(3)(ii)(A), this role must be assigned before group servicing begins, not improvised on the floor.
The primary authorized employee is responsible for:
- Implementing the energy control procedure, verifying every energy source listed in the equipment-specific procedure is isolated, blocked, and de-energized before the group begins work
- Communicating the operation's purpose and scope, every group member must understand what equipment is locked out, what the work involves, and what hazards remain
- Ascertaining exposure status of individuals, knowing who is in the panel, who has stepped away, and who has signed off
- Coordinating with affected employees, production operators, adjacent crews, and shift supervisors who could re-energize the equipment
- Verifying all procedural steps are completed before group device removal and re-energization
Notice what the primary authorized employee does NOT do under (f)(3): apply locks on behalf of individual workers. Each authorized employee must apply their own personal LOTO device, the primary employee's role is coordination, not substitution.
Key Rule: "Primary authorized employee" is a regulatory role with defined duties under 1910.147(f)(3)(ii)(A) and (B). Naming a foreman as "in charge" without documenting these specific responsibilities is one of the most common gaps OSHA finds in group LOTO programs.
AHJs (Authorities Having Jurisdiction) and state-plan OSHA agencies may impose stricter requirements, always confirm locally.
How Does a Group Lockbox Actually Work on the Job Site?
A group lockbox is the mechanism that lets every authorized employee maintain personal control while the equipment is isolated by a single set of locks at the energy-isolating devices. It is the most common way facilities satisfy 1910.147(f)(3)(ii)(D).
The procedure:
- The primary authorized employee performs the energy isolation per the written procedure, opens disconnects, closes valves, blocks stored energy
- The locks used to secure each isolation point are placed inside the group lockbox
- The lockbox itself is locked by the primary authorized employee
- Each authorized employee in the group then attaches their own personal lock to the lockbox before beginning work
- When an individual finishes their portion of the work, that person removes only their own lock from the lockbox
- The group lockbox cannot be opened, and the equipment cannot be re-energized, until every personal lock is removed
This satisfies (f)(3)(ii)(D) because every authorized employee maintains independent control over their own protection. No one else can release the isolation hardware while their personal lock is on the box.
Common failure points OSHA cites:
- The lockbox holds keys to disconnects, but a worker is in a panel that was isolated by a separate breaker not represented in the box
- Personal locks are applied at shift start but never removed when a worker leaves the site, fouling the box for the next shift
- The lockbox is staged but workers proceed without attaching personal locks, defeating the entire mechanism
Every lock on the box must be tagged with the worker's name. Untagged locks make exposure verification under (f)(3)(ii)(B) impossible. Print Pro AZ's LOTO-grade electrical safety labels and tags carry the durability rating to survive industrial shutdown conditions, paper tags don't.
Takeaway: The lockbox is not the compliance, it's the tool. Compliance is what the procedure says, who is named on each lock, and whether exposure status is actively tracked.
Multi-Crew Coordination: When (f)(3)(ii)(C) Applies
Per 1910.147(f)(3)(ii)(C), when more than one crew, craft, or department is involved in servicing the equipment, a single authorized employee must be designated to coordinate the affected workforces and ensure continuity of protection across the entire job. This is separate from, and in addition to, the primary authorized employee duty under (A).
Real-world scenarios that trigger (C):
- Electricians and millwrights both working on a conveyor system
- Solar installers servicing a rooftop PV array while electrical contractors work in the inverter room
- Multiple shifts handing off a partially-disassembled piece of equipment
- A facility shutdown with in-house maintenance, an HVAC subcontractor, and a controls integrator all on the same equipment
The coordinator's job is continuity. When crew A finishes and crew B starts, the energy isolation must remain in place without a gap. When a shift changes, the new coordinator must inherit the lockbox, the procedure, and the named exposure list, not start over.
The most-cited gap: crews lock out independently using separate group lockboxes, with no single coordinator. From a compliance standpoint there are now two parallel programs operating on shared equipment. If crew A's coordinator releases their lockbox before crew B is clear, OSHA reads that as a (C) violation regardless of how clean the individual locks were.
For facilities running large multi-crew shutdowns, custom-printed energy control procedure placards and equipment ID labels make coordination practical, every isolation point gets a unique ID that the lockbox keys, locks, and procedure all reference consistently.
What Tags and Labels Does a Group LOTO Procedure Require?
A compliant group lockout/tagout procedure typically uses several distinct label and tag types, each tied to a specific requirement under 1910.147 and ANSI Z244.1 best practice.
| Label / Tag Type | Purpose | Required By |
|---|---|---|
| Personal LOTO tag (per worker) | Identifies the individual authorized employee on each personal lock | 1910.147(c)(5)(ii) |
| Group lockout tag | Identifies the primary authorized employee on the group device | 1910.147(c)(5)(ii) |
| Energy isolation point label | Marks each breaker, valve, or device with a unique ID | ANSI Z244.1 best practice |
| Energy control procedure placard | Documents shutdown/restart sequence at point of work | 1910.147(c)(4) |
| Multi-crew coordination roster | Names primary authorized employees and coordinator | 1910.147(f)(3)(ii)(C), practical implementation |
Per 1910.147(c)(5)(ii), every tagout device, group or individual, must include a warning legend (e.g., "Do Not Energize," "Do Not Operate"), the name of the authorized employee who applied it, and the date of application. The tag must withstand the environment where it is applied, and the attachment must be non-reusable, self-locking, and require at least 50 pounds of force to remove.
For group LOTO specifically, there are two additional practical content requirements that consistently show up in OSHA citation patterns:
- Group device tag must clearly identify it as a group lockout device, not just a personal tag, so anyone approaching the equipment understands multiple workers are protected
- Personal locks on the lockbox must be uniquely identifiable per the OSHA 1910.147(c)(5)(i) singular identification rule, generic locks without worker IDs make exposure verification impossible
Takeaway: Spec tags for the actual environment and use a tag system that distinguishes group devices from personal devices visually. Identical-looking tags on a multi-crew shutdown create confusion and audit findings.
The OSHA Proposed Rule That Was Withdrawn, and Why Group LOTO Hasn't Changed
In May 2019, OSHA published a Request for Information on the Control of Hazardous Energy signaling the agency was exploring modernization of 1910.147. The RFI focused on two areas: control-circuit-type devices used in lieu of energy isolation, and robotics. Industry submitted comments. Six years later, no proposed rule has been published, the rulemaking effectively stalled and the initiative was dropped from active regulatory agenda.
The 2025 OSHA deregulatory rulemaking wave touched roughly two dozen standards. 1910.147 was not among them. No active deregulatory effort, no proposed amendment, no rulemaking on the table.
What this means for facilities running group LOTO programs in 2026:
- The standard you must comply with today is the same 1910.147 issued in 1989, with the (c)(5) tagout content and (f)(3) group provisions unchanged
- "Control circuit type devices", including PLCs, safe-state relays, and electronic isolation methods, are still NOT recognized energy-isolating devices under 1910.147(b). A PLC-based lockout, no matter how sophisticated, does not satisfy the standard
- Robotics installations remain governed by 1910.147 plus ANSI/RIA R15.06, there is no separate OSHA carve-out
- AHJs and state-plan agencies have moved ahead with their own interpretations in some cases, but the federal standard is static
For commercial and industrial facilities, that stability is actually useful: the procedures and labeling you build today will not be invalidated by a rulemaking that is not happening.
Common Group LOTO Citations and How to Avoid Them
OSHA cited 1910.147 a total of 2,443 times in FY2024, ranking 7th on the agency's Top 10 Most-Cited Standards list. While OSHA does not break out (f)(3) violations as a separate line item, group LOTO failures consistently surface inside the broader (c)(4) energy control procedure and (d) application of controls citations.
The patterns that show up most often:
No documented primary authorized employee. The written procedure references "the supervisor" or "the foreman" without naming the role under (f)(3)(ii)(A). Inspectors flag this even when the actual worker on the floor performed correctly.
Single-source group lockouts on multi-source equipment. Crew locks the electrical disconnect into a lockbox but ignores pneumatic, hydraulic, or stored-energy sources. The (f)(3) procedure isn't the gap, the underlying (c)(4) procedure failed to identify all energy sources.
Coordinator hand-offs without documentation. Shift change occurs mid-shutdown, the new coordinator inherits the lockbox, but no record exists of who is currently exposed. This is a (f)(3)(ii)(B) and (C) double-citation.
Generic, unidentified personal locks. Workers attach locks to the lockbox without name tags or unique identifiers, making (c)(5)(i) singular identification impossible. Common in facilities buying unmarked lock kits in bulk.
Here's a scenario Print Pro AZ hears regularly: A facility runs a Saturday electrical shutdown with in-house electricians and an outside controls integrator. The integrator brings their own locks but never gets added to the energy control procedure roster. When a (c)(7) training audit hits, the contractor isn't documented as authorized at this facility under this procedure, even though they applied a personal lock correctly. The citation isn't for the missing tag; it's for letting an undocumented worker into the group LOTO program.
For facilities standing up or auditing a multi-crew LOTO program, Print Pro AZ's commercial labeling team can build a full equipment-ID and tag set keyed to your written procedure, so the labels match the procedure match the locks.
Related reading: Lockout/Tagout Labels: OSHA 1910.147 Requirements
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a group lockout/tagout procedure under OSHA 1910.147?
A group lockout/tagout procedure under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147(f)(3) is a written program covering equipment serviced by a crew, craft, or department together. It must vest primary responsibility in a single authorized employee, allow each worker to attach a personal LOTO device to a group lockbox or comparable mechanism, and provide protection equivalent to personal lockout. When multiple crews are involved, a coordinator must be designated under (f)(3)(ii)(C).
Who is the primary authorized employee in a group LOTO procedure?
The primary authorized employee is the single person OSHA holds accountable for the group's protection from hazardous energy under 1910.147(f)(3)(ii)(A). Their duties include implementing the energy control procedure, communicating the operation's scope to the group, ascertaining exposure status of individual members, and verifying all procedural steps are completed before the group device is removed. The role must be formally assigned, not improvised.
What is a group lockbox and how does it satisfy OSHA?
A group lockbox is a lockable container that holds the keys to the energy-isolating devices once the equipment is locked out. Each authorized employee then attaches their own personal lock to the lockbox before starting work. Because the lockbox cannot be opened until every personal lock is removed, equipment cannot be re-energized while any worker remains exposed, satisfying 1910.147(f)(3)(ii)(D).
Does each worker need their own LOTO tag in a group lockout?
Yes. Per OSHA 1910.147(f)(3)(ii)(D) and (c)(5)(ii), every authorized employee must affix a personal lockout or tagout device to the group lockbox. The personal device must carry a tag identifying the worker by name with the date of application. Generic, unmarked locks on a group lockbox fail the (c)(5)(i) singular identification requirement.
Was the OSHA lockout/tagout proposed rule withdrawn?
OSHA issued a Request for Information in May 2019 exploring updates to 1910.147 for control-circuit-type devices and robotics, but no proposed rule followed and the rulemaking has not advanced. The 2025 OSHA deregulatory rulemaking initiative did not include 1910.147 either. The standard governing group LOTO procedures today is the same 1910.147 issued in 1989, unchanged in its substantive group, tagout, and energy control requirements.
Build Your Group LOTO Program on Tags That Won't Fail in the Field
Group lockout/tagout under OSHA 1910.147(f)(3) is a four-part procedure: a primary authorized employee, individual exposure tracking, multi-crew coordination, and personal devices on every group mechanism. Each subsection is independently citable. The standard hasn't changed since 1989 and isn't on the deregulatory agenda, the program you build today is the program you'll be audited against tomorrow.
Print Pro AZ supplies LOTO tags, energy control procedure placards, and custom equipment-ID labels built for industrial field conditions and sized for your written procedure. Shop electrical safety and LOTO labels →
Running a multi-crew shutdown program or commercial facility that needs a full group LOTO label set? Send us your equipment list →
Questions? Call Brent: (602) 649-5305
Brent Hanke | Print Pro AZ | (602) 649-5305 | b.hanke@printproaz.com Brent Hanke is the founder of Print Pro AZ, supplying NEC-compliant labels to contractors across the country.
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