# SWP - Lockout and Shop Safety
> Fire Service Safety Management System, version 0.3.3 (2026-10-25). The Human Factor. Document FSSMS-SWP-37.
>
> Canonical: https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/swp-lockout-and-shop-safety
>
> Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 with the Adopting Agency Grant (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
>
> General information only, not legal, medical or other professional advice. Verify every requirement against the current official text of the law, standards and manufacturer instructions that apply to you. Obtain your own legal review and consult your joint health and safety committee before adopting anything. You adopt, adapt, implement and rely on this material entirely at your own risk and on your own responsibility. Full terms: Terms of Use, thehumanfactor.ca.
> **Warning: Adoption without implementation increases legal exposure**
>
> Adopting this procedure without the training, equipment, supervision, verification and resources to carry it out as written increases municipal and command liability in a regulatory investigation or a fatality inquiry. See [00a Copyright, Licence and Legal Notices](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/copyright-licence-and-legal-notices).
> **Speak up: Speak up**
>
> Anyone can stop a shop job. Name the hazard, then the action: “Your lock isn’t on the PTO, nobody goes under until it is.” “That lift lock didn’t drop, get out from under it.” “The air tanks still read pressure, bleed them before you open the line.” The supervisor acknowledges, stops the job, puts it right, and reviews it later for learning, never for blame. Nobody is hurried past a lock. The one debrief question for this task: was there a moment today when an energy source was live that we thought was dead?
## 1. Task and when this applies
Any servicing, maintenance, cleaning, adjustment, repair, inspection or clearing of a jam on a machine or system that can release energy, in a station, shop or training ground, and the shop work around it. Systems include apparatus air brakes and air systems, hydraulics (aerials, outriggers, tilt cabs, lifts), power take-offs and fire pumps, electric and hybrid apparatus high-voltage systems, bay doors, compressors and breathing air fill systems, generators and transfer switches, exhaust fans, vehicle lifts, shop machines, gear extractors and dryers, and HVAC. It applies to members, fleet technicians and contractors working on department equipment. Lockout of machinery and utilities at emergency scenes is in the operations procedures, not here. Basis: the applicable lockout, guarding and electrical rules ([J19 Lockout, Machine Guarding and Electrical Safety](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j19-lockout-machine-guarding-and-electrical-safety)); the lockout standard (CSA Z460:20); the machine safeguarding standard (CSA Z432:23); the workplace electrical safety standard (CSA Z462:24); [Facilities and Station Safety Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/facilities-and-station-safety-program) sections 5.6 to 5.8. (S1)
## 2. Hazards
- Unexpected start-up, or release of stored energy: compressed air, hydraulic pressure and accumulators, springs, a raised aerial, outrigger, tilt cab or dump body, gravity.
- Electric shock and arc flash; high voltage that stays in an electric or hybrid apparatus after the key is off.
- Crushing under a lift, a jack or a raised cab; a vehicle rolling while someone is under it.
- Explosive separation of split-rim and multi-piece wheels during inflation.
- Abrasive wheel burst; flying particles; blade contact; entanglement in unguarded shafts and belts.
- Falls into pits; fumes and carbon monoxide collecting in pits.
- Fire from hot work, fuel vapour and oily rags; battery explosion and acid.
- Compressed air driven into skin or eyes.
- Noise; solvents and other chemicals.
- The job that “only takes a minute”, done without a lock because the truck is needed back in service.
## 3. Controls in hierarchy order
| Level | Control |
|:---|:---|
| Elimination | Work on equipment only in a zero energy state; design repairs so they can be done de-energized; remove, rather than repair, unsafe shop equipment |
| Substitution | Tests that do not need the system running; battery tools in place of corded tools in wet areas; non-flammable cleaners |
| Engineering | Fixed guards and interlocks; emergency stops within reach; lockable isolation points; lift locks and rated jack stands; a tire inflation cage with a clip-on chuck and an in-line gauge; pit covers and ventilation; local exhaust for welding and solvents |
| Administrative | A written lockout procedure for each machine and system; personal locks and a lock register; group lockout for multi-person jobs; hot work and energized work permits; authorized persons only; the shop pre-use check; signs and barricades |
| PPE | Eye and face protection (CSA Z94.3:26); protective footwear (CSA Z195:14); hearing protection; cut-resistant and chemical gloves as the task needs; arc-rated PPE where the electrical risk assessment calls for it (CSA Z462:24); welding PPE |
## 4. Required PPE and equipment
The PPE above; the equipment’s lockout procedure ([Facilities and Station Safety Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/facilities-and-station-safety-program) toolkit T5); a personal lock with one key for each authorized person, danger tags, hasps and a group lockout box; valve and breaker lockout devices; a voltage tester (and a known source to prove it) for qualified persons; wheel chocks, cab props and rated jack stands; the tire cage and a clip-on chuck; a hot work permit book and an extinguisher; a spill kit; the monthly shop checklist ([Facilities and Station Safety Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/facilities-and-station-safety-program) toolkit T3).
## 5. Minimum staffing and competencies
| Role | Competency |
|:---|:---|
| Authorized person (applies locks, does the work) | Lockout training before assignment and every year; trained on the equipment’s procedure |
| Affected person (works near the equipment) | Lockout awareness: what a lock and tag mean, never to remove or bypass one |
| Competent person (confirms zero energy) | Named by the program manager for each equipment type |
| Electric or hybrid apparatus technician | Manufacturer’s high-voltage training for that model |
| Qualified electrical person | Only where the department has one; trained and authorized to the electrical safety standard (CSA Z462:24); otherwise all electrical work goes to licensed contractors |
| Hot work | A permit issuer and a fire watch named on each permit |
## 6. Step-by-step procedure
### A. Shop pre-use check (start of each shift or job)
| Check | OK | Defect |
|:---|:---|:---|
| Guards on every machine; emergency stops work | | |
| Bench grinder tool rest and tongue guard set to the regulation gap; wheel rated for the speed | | |
| Vehicle lift: annual certificate current; capacity posted against the apparatus axle weights; locks engage | | |
| Pit: cover on and signed when not in use; ventilation working; no ignition sources | | |
| Tire cage present, chuck and gauge working | | |
| Lockout station stocked; lock register current; procedures posted | | |
| Compressed gas cylinders secured and capped; hot work permit book and extinguisher present | | |
| Cords sound; ground fault protection in wet areas; no daisy chains | | |
| Safety data sheets available; containers labelled; spill kit stocked | | |
| Eye and hearing protection zones marked; equipment at hand | | |
A defect is fixed before the equipment is used, or the equipment is tagged out and reported on [Form - Hazard Report](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/form-hazard-report).
### B. The lockout sequence
1. **Prepare.** Find the written procedure for the equipment. If there is none, stop: the program manager authorizes a procedure before the work starts. Identify every energy source (electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, mechanical, gravity, thermal, chemical, stored, high voltage) and every isolation point.
2. **Notify.** Tell the officer, the crew and anyone working nearby. For apparatus, the unit is placed out of service with dispatch before work begins. Post a sign on the unit or machine.
3. **Shut down** by the normal stop.
4. **Isolate** each energy source at its isolation point: disconnect or breaker, valve, battery disconnect, and for electric or hybrid apparatus the manufacturer’s high-voltage disconnect.
5. **Lock and tag.** Each authorized person puts a personal lock and tag on each isolation point, or on the group lockout box, and keeps the key.
6. **Release or restrain stored energy:** bleed air tanks, relieve hydraulic pressure, lower or block raised components, prop tilt cabs with the manufacturer’s prop, chock wheels, wait the manufacturer’s time for high-voltage capacitors to discharge, let hot parts cool.
7. **Verify zero energy.** Try to start it, then return the controls to off; read the gauges; a qualified person tests electrical circuits with a tester proved before and after. The competent person confirms.
8. **Do the work.**
9. **Restore.** Tools and materials out; guards back on; everyone clear and told; each person removes only their own lock; controls in a safe position; re-energize and test; return the unit to service with dispatch; record the job.
### C. Group work, shift change and contractors
10. Several workers: one group lock on each isolation point, the key in the group box, and every worker’s personal lock on the box.
11. Shift change: the oncoming worker puts on a lock before the offgoing worker takes theirs off, so the equipment is never unprotected.
12. Contractors bring their own locks and follow this procedure; the department’s authorized person coordinates the isolation points ([Form - Contractor Orientation Checklist](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/form-contractor-orientation-checklist)).
### D. Removing another person’s lock
13. Only when the lock owner has left the site and cannot be reached: the supervisor documents the attempts to reach the owner, confirms the equipment is safe and everyone is clear, removes the lock with a second person present, records it in the lock register, and tells the owner before the owner returns to work.
### E. Where lockout is not practicable
14. Some tasks need the system live (a pump test, an aerial adjustment, an engine diagnostic). They proceed only under a written alternative procedure approved by a competent person: controls under the worker’s direct control, guards or barriers kept in place, a second person at the emergency stop, and the minimum exposure the task allows.
### F. Electric and hybrid apparatus, and energized electrical work
15. Only technicians trained by the manufacturer for that model work on high-voltage systems, using the manufacturer’s isolation, wait time and insulated tools; the design standard requires high-voltage warnings on these vehicles [(NFPA 1900, 2024)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/swp-lockout-and-shop-safety#ref-nfpa-1900).
16. Members do not work on energized electrical equipment. Licensed contractors who must do so work under an energized work permit with an arc flash risk assessment (CSA Z462:24).
### G. Shop practices
17. **Lifts and stands:** check the rated capacity against the axle weight; the lift’s locks engaged before anyone goes under; never work under a load held only by a jack.
18. **Tires:** split-rim and multi-piece wheels are inflated only in a cage, with a clip-on chuck and an in-line gauge, standing out of the wheel’s trajectory; damaged rim parts are scrapped.
19. **Pits:** cover on when not in use; ventilation running when someone is in the pit; no engine running over an occupied pit.
20. **Grinders and saws:** guards and tool rest set; face shield over safety glasses; stand aside when starting; chainsaws only with a working chain brake.
21. **Compressed air:** never on skin or clothing; reduced-pressure nozzles for cleaning parts.
22. **Hot work:** a permit for every job outside a designated welding area; combustibles moved or covered; an extinguisher at hand; a fire watch for the period the permit sets; never near fuel tanks, cylinders or the fill station.
23. **Chemicals and batteries:** labels and safety data sheets; flammables in the cabinet; batteries charged in a ventilated area with an eyewash nearby; oily rags in a closed metal container.
> **Warning: Stop-work triggers**
>
> Stop the job when: there is no written procedure; an energy source turns up that the procedure does not list; zero energy cannot be verified; a lock is missing or has been moved; a guard is off; a lift lock does not engage; a high-voltage warning appears on an electric or hybrid unit; fuel vapour is present during hot work; rim parts are damaged; anyone calls stop. The supervisor resolves the problem before work resumes.
## 7. Emergency and contingency
- **Caught in or crushed:** hit the emergency stop; do not re-energize to free the person unless a qualified person says it is the only way; call EMS; first aid; preserve the scene.
- **Electric shock:** do not touch the person until the source is isolated; call EMS; start CPR and use the defibrillator if needed.
- **Arc flash or burn:** cool the burn with water; EMS; isolate the equipment.
- **Tire or rim separation, wheel burst, fire, chemical splash:** first aid (eyewash for 15 minutes for splashes), EMS, extinguisher only if safe, evacuate the shop if the fire grows.
- Every one of these is reported on [Form - Injury and Incident Report](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/form-injury-and-incident-report) before the end of the shift, triaged through the learning system ([Incident Investigation and Learning Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/incident-investigation-and-learning-program)), and reported to the regulator where the law requires.
## 8. Documentation and reporting
The lock register (issue, return, removals by others); the equipment lockout procedures; the annual audit of at least five procedures by observation (program section 5.7); the monthly shop checklist; hot work and energized work permits; lift and pressure vessel certificates; tag-outs, hazard reports and register entries. Records are kept at least five years ([05 Document Control and Records](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/document-control-and-records)). A lockout failure with energy release is a Tier 2 review.
## 9. Training and review
Authorized persons are trained before assignment and refreshed every year; affected persons get awareness training on joining; competent persons and qualified electrical persons are named in writing. The health and safety officer and the shop supervisor audit five procedures a year by watching the work. The Facilities and Stations team reviews this procedure every year and after any lockout or electrical event, starting with a learning-team session on how a job really starts when the truck is needed back. Sign-off: the program manager. Consulted: the JOHSC.
## 10. Related
- Program: [Facilities and Station Safety Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/facilities-and-station-safety-program) sections 5.6 to 5.8; toolkit T3, T5 and T6.
- Policy: [Policy - Facilities](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-facilities).
- Procedures and programs: [SWP - Breathing Air Fill Station and Cylinder Handling](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/swp-breathing-air-fill-station-and-cylinder-handling); [Apparatus, Driving and Roadway Operations Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/apparatus-driving-and-roadway-operations-program) section 5.3; [Contractor and Mutual Aid Safety Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/contractor-and-mutual-aid-safety-program).
- Forms and audit: [Form - Hazard Report](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/form-hazard-report); [Form - Contractor Orientation Checklist](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/form-contractor-orientation-checklist); [Checklist - Facilities and Station Safety](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/checklist-facilities-and-station-safety).
> **Note: Customize**
>
> List every machine and system that needs a procedure, name the competent persons, choose the lock and tag system, record where hot work may be done without a permit, and state whether the department has any qualified electrical persons. Where corporate fleet does the work, its procedures meet this one, and the service level agreement says so.
## Jurisdiction requirements
This chapter relies on the following legal requirements, which differ by province and territory. Check your jurisdiction’s section on each topic page before adopting it.
| Topic | What to check in your jurisdiction | Page |
|:---|:---|:---|
| Firefighter PPE and Protective Equipment | The eye, face and foot protection standards the regulation names for shop work | [J13 Firefighter PPE and Protective Equipment](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j13-firefighter-ppe-and-protective-equipment) |
| Lockout, Machine Guarding and Electrical Safety | The written lockout procedure, verification and lock removal rules, machine safeguarding and shop equipment rules, and the electrical code and qualified-person rules | [J19 Lockout, Machine Guarding and Electrical Safety](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j19-lockout-machine-guarding-and-electrical-safety) |
| Stations, Premises and Building Codes | Registration and inspection of air receivers and pressure vessels, and the general premises rules for shops | [J20 Stations, Premises and Building Codes](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j20-stations-premises-and-building-codes) |
## References
CSA Group. (2014). *CSA Z195:14 (R2025), Protective footwear* (7th ed.).
CSA Group. (2020). *CSA Z460:20 (R2025), Control of hazardous energy: Lockout and other methods*.
CSA Group. (2023). *CSA Z432:23, Safeguarding of machinery*.
CSA Group. (2024). *CSA Z462:24, Workplace electrical safety* (6th ed.; based on NFPA 70E).
CSA Group. (2026). *CSA Z94.3:26, Eye and face protectors* (10th ed.).
National Fire Protection Association. (2024). *NFPA 1900, Standard for aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicles, automotive fire apparatus, wildland fire apparatus, and automotive ambulances* (consolidates NFPA 414, 1901, 1906 and 1917).