Tagging Out Damaged Tools

A damaged tool left in the gang box will be used by the next person who grabs it. Tagging it out and getting it out of reach protects your whole crew. OSHA requires employers to keep tools in safe condition, and electrical tools must be removed from service when they’re defective.

• Construction
• General Industry

The rules

• Employers must keep all hand and power tools in safe condition, including tools that workers bring themselves (29 CFR 1926.300 and 1910.242).
• Portable electric tools and cords must be visually inspected before use each shift, and defective ones removed from service until repaired (1926.404 and 1910.334).
• Damaged tools must not be used. See Power Tool Basics.

Look for these before every use

• Cuts, cracks or exposed wires in the cord or plug
• A missing or bent ground pin
• Cracked or broken housing or handle
• Missing, broken or tied-back guards
• A switch that sticks or doesn’t turn the tool off
• Cracked, warped or dull blades, wheels or bits
• Swollen, cracked, leaking or overheated batteries
• Air hoses with bulges or leaks; loose fittings
• Mushroomed heads on chisels and punches; loose or cracked hammer handles

How to tag it out

1. Stop using it and unplug it, disconnect the air, or remove the battery.
2. Attach a “Do Not Use” or “Defective” tag stating what’s wrong, the date and your name.
3. Remove it from the work area. Put it in the designated repair bin, locked box or red tag area, so no one grabs it by mistake.
4. Tell your supervisor or tool crib so it gets repaired or replaced.

A tag on a tool you leave lying in the work area isn’t enough. Get it out of reach. For damaged batteries, follow the special storage steps below.

Don’t “fix” it on the spot

• Electrical tape is not an approved repair for damaged cords. Damaged cords must be replaced or properly repaired by a qualified person. See Extension Cords.
• Don’t cut off a ground pin, swap a plug for one without a ground, or bypass a guard or switch.
• Don’t remove someone else’s tag and use the tool.

Only qualified people, often the manufacturer’s service center, should repair power tools. After repair, the tool should be checked before it goes back into service.

Damaged batteries

A swollen, cracked or hot lithium-ion battery can catch fire. Don’t charge or use it. Move it to a safe spot away from anything that can burn, such as a metal container with sand if your site has one, and follow your employer’s disposal process. See Battery Safety.

Tagging vs. lockout

Tagging a hand tool out of service is different from lockout/tagout, which controls hazardous energy on machines and equipment during service and maintenance. Follow your site’s lockout program for fixed machinery.

Color-code programs

Some sites use colored tape on cords and tools to show they passed the latest inspection, often as part of an assured equipment grounding conductor program. Learn your site’s current color, and don’t use tools without it. See GFCI.

Last updated: October 2, 2026