Saudi Aramco LOTO Requirements for Vendors and Contractors

If your company works on Saudi Aramco or SABIC facilities (as a maintenance contractor, service vendor, or EPC subcontractor), your workers must comply with Aramco’s isolation, lockout, and hold tag requirements before they can touch a single piece of controlled equipment. The rules are not optional and the consequences of getting them wrong are immediate: removal from site, suspension of work permit access, and risk to your CSMS rating.

This guide breaks down exactly what Saudi Aramco requires under GI 6.012 and GI 2.720, what your CHSEP must document, and why LOTO training is a mandatory prerequisite before any Aramco work permit can be issued to your crew.

What Is Saudi Aramco’s Governing Standard for LOTO?

Saudi Aramco’s LOTO requirements are set out in two General Instructions that all contractors must comply with.

GI 6.012: Isolation, Lockout and Use of Hold Tags is the primary document. Issued by Aramco’s Loss Prevention Department, GI 6.012 defines the minimum requirements for isolation, lockout, and use of hold tag procedures at all Saudi Aramco facilities. It applies to every situation where personnel could be injured by unexpected release of energy or hazardous materials during maintenance or inspection. The standard covers mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, and pneumatic energy systems, as well as process lines containing H2S, hydrocarbons, steam, and other hazardous substances.

GI 2.720: Isolation and Lockout operates alongside GI 6.012 within Aramco’s Work Permit System. It governs how isolation is integrated into the permit-to-work process under GI 2.710, ensuring that no maintenance work begins on controlled equipment until all energy sources are physically isolated and verified.

Both GIs follow the requirements of OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147 (the Control of Hazardous Energy) while adding Aramco-specific controls around the Work Permit system, contractor lock sets, and the Lock, Tag, Clear and Try (LTCT) verification sequence.

Why LOTO Is Part of Aramco’s 12 Golden Rules

Saudi Aramco’s 12 Golden Rules of Safety (also called the Life Saving Rules) are the non-negotiable behavioural controls that apply to every person on Aramco premises, including Aramco employees and contractor personnel. Control of hazardous energy (LOTO) is one of the 12 Golden Rules.

A confirmed violation of any Golden Rule results in immediate removal of the individual from all Aramco premises and a permanent site access ban. For contractors, a pattern of Golden Rule violations within the workforce can trigger a formal Contractor Safety Performance Review. The outcome of that review ranges from a Yellow Card (formal warning with corrective action requirements) to a Red Card (immediate suspension of the contractor from all Aramco work). The financial and reputational damage of a Red Card to a vendor company is severe.

This is not a theoretical risk. On Aramco-operated facilities in the Eastern Province, Jubail, and Yanbu, HSE site inspectors conduct unannounced checks on LOTO compliance specifically because it is a Golden Rule item. Contractors whose workers are found performing maintenance on unlocked equipment face immediate permit withdrawal.

What GI 6.012 Requires: The Lock, Tag, Clear and Try Sequence

The core LOTO procedure on Saudi Aramco sites follows the four-stage LTCT sequence mandated by GI 6.012.

Lock: The authorized employee applies a personal padlock to each energy isolation device: circuit breaker, valve, disconnect switch, or other control point. Only the person who applies the lock is permitted to remove it. No supervisor, foreman, or colleague may remove another worker’s lock except through the documented emergency removal procedure, which requires written authorization and a record of the action.

Tag: A hold tag is attached to each lockout device. The tag must identify the worker who applied it, the date, and a clear instruction that the equipment must not be operated or energized. On Aramco sites, hold tags follow a specific format specified in GI 6.012. Contractor-supplied tags must meet this format. A generic commercial warning tag is not compliant.

Clear: Before any verification attempt, the authorized employee confirms that all personnel are clear of the equipment, all tools are removed from the work zone, and the area is safe.

Try: The authorized employee attempts to operate the equipment using its normal controls by pressing the start button, opening a valve, or applying the operating control, while standing clear of any potential energy release point. Only if the equipment fails to respond is the system confirmed to be in a zero energy state. A LOTO procedure without the Try step is not complete under GI 6.012.

One rule that trips up contractor crews accustomed to less rigorous sites: on Aramco facilities, contractors must use their own company-issued, CHSEP-registered lock sets. Workers cannot use Aramco employee locks, share locks with colleagues, or use unregistered hardware. Every lock must be traceable to the individual authorized employee who holds its key.

LOTO and the Work Permit Receiver Prerequisite

Every contractor employee who needs to receive a Saudi Aramco work permit must first complete the Work Permit Receiver Certification Course. Before they can enrol in that course, they must complete three prerequisite training modules. LOTO (lockout tagout per GI 6.012) is one of the three mandatory prerequisites.

The three mandatory prerequisites for Aramco Work Permit Receiver certification are:

1. Hazard Recognition and Control
2. Lock Out / Tag Out (GI 6.012 content)
3. Confined Space Entry

No contractor employee can receive or manage a work permit on an Aramco site without completing all three. For vendors whose scope involves any maintenance, inspection, or servicing of equipment, this means LOTO training is not optional for any worker who will handle permits. It is a gate that cannot be bypassed.

The practical implication for vendor companies: if you mobilize a maintenance crew to an Aramco facility without proof of LOTO training for every authorized employee and permit receiver, your crew will not be permitted to begin work. The training documentation must be available on site for SAPO (Saudi Aramco Proponent Organization) inspection.

LOTO in the Contractor HSE Plan (CHSEP)

Before any contractor mobilizes to an Aramco facility, the company must prepare and submit a Contractor HSE Plan (CHSEP). The CHSEP must be accepted by the Aramco proponent organization before work commences. It addresses all 12 elements of Aramco’s HSE Management System, and energy isolation controls fall under the operational controls element.

Within the CHSEP, the contractor must document all of the following for LOTO:

CHSEP LOTO Requirement	What Must Be Documented
Written LOTO procedures	Machine-specific energy control procedures for every controlled equipment type in scope
Authorized employee list	Names of all workers trained and authorized to perform lockouts
Training records	Evidence that authorized employees have completed LOTO training aligned with GI 6.012
Lock set registration	Inventory of company-issued lock sets with unique identifiers per employee
Group LOTO procedure	How multi-worker lockouts are managed, including hasp use and shift transfer protocol
Emergency lock removal procedure	Written procedure for removing a lock when the authorized employee is unavailable

A CHSEP that contains generic LOTO language without machine-specific procedures, named authorized employees, and supporting training records will not be accepted by the Aramco proponent. Aramco HSE audits during contract execution verify that the CHSEP documentation matches actual site practice. Discrepancies found during an audit are cited as non-conformances and can trigger corrective action requirements that halt work.

How LOTO Compliance Affects Your CSMS Rating

Saudi Aramco evaluates all contractor organizations through the Contractor Safety Management System (CSMS) before adding them to the approved vendor list. The CSMS assessment examines HSE management capability and past safety performance, including incident rates (LTIR, TRIR) for the previous three years.

LOTO-related incidents are classified as high-severity events under Aramco’s loss prevention framework. An incident involving hazardous energy release (a worker injured because equipment was not properly isolated) will be recorded, investigated, and reflected in both the contractor’s incident rate and its CSMS assessment. Contractors with fatalities or high TRIR values face additional scrutiny and may be required to submit corrective action plans before qualification is granted or maintained.

The connection is direct: poor LOTO practice on site creates incidents; incidents degrade CSMS scores; degraded CSMS scores reduce a contractor’s access to Aramco work. For vendor companies competing for contracts in the Eastern Province, Jubail, and Yanbu industrial areas, a strong LOTO compliance record is part of commercial competitiveness, not just a safety obligation.

Common Gaps Found in Vendor LOTO Programs on Aramco Sites

Aramco HSE inspectors and SAPO representatives conducting site audits consistently identify the same categories of non-compliance in contractor LOTO programs. Vendors who understand these gaps can address them before an audit rather than after.

Generic procedures instead of machine-specific ones. GI 6.012 requires energy control procedures specific to each piece of equipment. A single generic LOTO checklist does not satisfy this requirement. If your scope includes 14 different equipment types, you need 14 documented procedures identifying the exact isolation points, energy types, and sequence for each.

Missing Try step. Crews that Lock and Tag but skip the Try step before beginning work are non-compliant. The Try step is not ceremonial. It is the physical verification that zero energy state has been achieved. Inspectors observe this directly.

Shared locks. Every authorized employee must hold their own lock and key. Workers sharing a lock set, or a supervisor holding a master key to workers’ personal locks, violates the one-lock-one-key principle in GI 6.012.

Contractor using Aramco lock sets. Contractors must bring and register their own lock sets. Using Aramco-issued locks is not permitted. It creates traceability gaps and prevents proper accountability if something goes wrong.

Incomplete CHSEP training records. Training records for LOTO must list each authorized employee by name, the date of training, and the trainer or training provider. A batch certificate with no individual records is not sufficient for SAPO inspection.

No group LOTO procedure for turnaround work. On multi-crew turnarounds, each authorized employee clips their own lock onto a group hasp at every isolation point. Contractors who do not have a documented group LOTO procedure and who have not trained their crews on hasp use are exposed during large-scope maintenance jobs.

What Vendors Need to Do Before Mobilizing to an Aramco Site

If your company is preparing to mobilize a maintenance or service crew to a Saudi Aramco facility, the following checklist reflects the minimum LOTO compliance actions required before work begins.

1. Develop written, machine-specific LOTO procedures for every equipment type in your scope of work. Generic templates are not compliant.
2. Identify and document all authorized employees: the workers who will physically perform lockouts. Every authorized employee needs formal LOTO training on record.
3. Issue individual lock sets to every authorized employee. Register the lock sets in your CHSEP with unique identifiers linked to each worker.
4. Ensure all workers who will handle work permits have completed the three mandatory Aramco prerequisites: Hazard Recognition and Control, Lockout Tagout, and Confined Space Entry.
5. Document your group LOTO procedure for jobs involving multiple authorized employees on the same equipment.
6. Include all the above in the LOTO section of your CHSEP and submit with the rest of your plan before mobilization.
7. Conduct a pre-mobilization LOTO practical exercise with your crew. Workers trained in a classroom who have never practiced the LTCT sequence on real equipment make errors on site.

This is where formal LOTO training matters. Workers who have learned the GI 6.012 sequence in a structured setting (not from a site induction video) arrive on site with the practical competency Aramco expects. For the step-by-step LOTO procedure for Saudi workers, see our previous guide covering the full LTCT sequence in detail.

EUTC Global delivers LOTO lockout tagout training in Saudi Arabia in Arabic and English, covering GI 6.012 content, the LTCT sequence, authorized and affected employee roles, group lockout procedures, and the documentation your crew needs for CHSEP and permit receiver certification. Training is available at our Al Khobar centre and on-site at your facility anywhere in the Kingdom. This training is part of our broader oil and gas safety training in Saudi Arabia program covering the full range of Aramco-required competencies.

For a full picture of what Aramco requires from vendors across all safety disciplines, see our guide on mandatory HSE trainings for Aramco vendor companies.

Frequently Asked Questions About Saudi Aramco LOTO Requirements

EUTC Global’s LOTO safety training is available in Arabic and English at our Al Khobar centre and on-site at client facilities across the Kingdom, with content fully aligned to Saudi Aramco GI 6.012 and OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147. Enrol in LOTO training at EUTC Global or contact us to arrange a group session for your vendor or contractor team before your next Aramco mobilization.