OSHA's 2026 Agenda Targets Lockout/Tagout, Heat Rule, Power Presses
The Department of Labor’s safety agencies laid out 32 combined regulatory proposals for the year ahead, Safety+Health Magazine reports, with OSHA accounting for 30 of them and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) the remaining two.
The 2026 Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda, issued July 3, sets November as the target for a proposed rule modernizing OSHA’s lockout/tagout standard (1910.147), last updated in 1989. The update would likely address computer-based controls for hazardous energy. Lockout/tagout was OSHA’s fourth most frequently cited standard in fiscal year 2025, according to the agency.
Market Impact
OSHA is also targeting December for a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking on its heat illness and injury prevention standard, following an August 2024 proposed rule and stakeholder hearings held in June and July 2025. The agency says a dedicated heat standard would “more clearly set forth enforceable employer obligations” beyond the patchwork of state-level heat protections already in place.
Separately, OSHA plans to publish a proposal this month revising the mechanical power presses standard, a rule dating to the early 1970s, by eliminating certain injury reporting requirements the agency says create employer burden “that does not result in significant reductions in injuries.” The agency is also moving to rescind construction illumination requirements under 1926.26 and 1926.56. On the mining side, MSHA has a revised silica exposure proposal slated for July, addressing exposure monitoring, medical surveillance and respiratory protection provisions tied to its April 2024 rule that cut the permissible exposure limit to 50 micrograms per cubic meter, a rule whose enforcement remains delayed by litigation in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Electrical and maintenance crews performing lockout/tagout procedures should expect a proposed rule by November addressing computer-based hazardous energy controls; firms using legacy control-circuit devices should start assessing compliance gaps now rather than waiting for the final text.
- Outdoor construction, pipeline, and civil crews working in high-heat regions like Texas and the Gulf Coast should track OSHA’s December supplemental notice on the heat rule, since it will refine obligations first proposed in August 2024.
- Mechanical and equipment maintenance subcontractors using power presses should note OSHA’s July proposal only trims reporting requirements, not safety obligations, so operational compliance burden stays largely unchanged.
- Metal and nonmetal mine contractors and silica-exposed trades should watch MSHA’s July proposal revising exposure monitoring and respirator protocols tied to the 50 microgram-per-cubic-meter PEL, especially given ongoing 8th Circuit litigation affecting enforcement timing.
- Contractors bidding construction work involving lighting requirements should note OSHA’s move to rescind illumination standards 1926.26 and 1926.56, which could ease minimum lighting obligations on job sites once finalized.
