Employees are required to review their procedures at least once a year to ensure that they provide adequate worker protection. As part of the review, employers must correct any deviations and inadequacies identified in the energy-control procedure or its application.

The yearly review is intended to assure that employees are familiar with their responsibilities under the procedure and continue to implement energy-control procedures properly. The inspector, who must be an authorized person not involved in using the particular control procedure being inspected, must be able to determine the following:

• Employees are following steps in the energy-control procedure.
• Employees involved know their responsibilities under the procedure.
• The procedure is adequate to provide the necessary protection, and what changes, if any, are needed.

For a lockout procedure, the periodic inspection must include a review of each authorized employee’s responsibilities under the energy-control procedure being inspected. Where tagout is used, the inspector’s review also extends to affected employees because of the increased importance of their role in avoiding accidental or inadvertent activation of the machinery. In addition, the employer must certify that the designated inspectors perform periodic inspections. The certification must specify the following:

• Machine or equipment on which the energy-control procedure was used.
• Date of the inspection.
• Names of employees included in the inspection.
• Name of the person who performed the inspection.