What to Do if An Employee is Not Available to Remove the Lock?

The safety supervisor can remove the lock, provided that:

they have verified that the employee is not in the facility
they have received specific training on how to remove the device
the specific removal procedure for the device is documented and included in the
facility’s lockout tagout program
After removing the lock, the safety supervisor must also contact the employee to inform them the lock has been removed and must confirm that the employee is aware of this before they resume work at the facility.
Establishing a Lockout Tagout Program
To be OSHA-compliant, a lockout tagout program must have 3 core components:

Lockout Tagout Procedures
Safety supervisors need to create equipment-specific LOTO procedures that outline the scope, purpose, authorization, rules, techniques, and means to enforce compliance. Each lock out tag out procedure must include the following, at the minimum:

a specific statement of the intended use of the procedure
specific procedural steps for:
shutting down, isolating, blocking, and securing equipment
placement, removal, and transfer of lockout tagout devices
a description of who has responsibility for lockout tagout devices
specific requirements for testing equipment to verify the effectiveness
of lockout tagout devices