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OSHA publishes a list of the most frequently cited OSHA standards to guide employers’ awareness of potential hazards. The purpose of publishing the most cited violations is to convert this awareness into compliance with the ultimate result of increased workplace safety.
“The OSHA Top 10 list is a helpful guide for understanding just how adept America’s businesses are in complying with the basic rules of workplace safety. This list should serve as a challenge for us to do better as a nation and expect more from employers. It should also serve as a catalyst for individual employees to recommit to safety,” said NSC President and CEO Lorraine M. Martin in a September 10, 2019 press release.
Here are the lists for the last two years:
Most Cited Violations of 2018
1. Fall Protection (1926.501)
2. Hazard Communication (1910.1200)
3. Scaffolding – General Requirements (1926.451)
4. Respiratory Protection (1910.134)
5. Control of Hazardous Energy – Lockout/Tagout (1910.147)
6. Ladders (1926.1053)
7. Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178)
8. Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503)
9. Machine Guarding– General Requirement (1910.212)
10. Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face
Protection (1926.102)
Most Cited Violations of 2017
1. Fall Protection (1926.501)
2. Hazard Communication (1910.1200)
3. Scaffolding (1926.451)
4. Respiratory Protection (1910.134)
5. Control of Hazardous Energy – Lockout/Tagout (1910.147)
6. Ladders (1926.1053)
7. Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178)
8. Machine Guarding– General Requirement (1910.212)
9. Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503)
10. Electrical – Wiring Methods (1910.305)
Here is 2019’s top ten starting with #10, eye and face protection, new to OSHA’s top 10 list in 2018, this standard repeated its placement, appearing on the list again in FY 2019.
10. Personal protective and lifesaving equipment (construction)—eye and face protection (29 CFR 1926.102): 1,411 violations.
Cited issues included failing to provide eye and face protection where employees are exposed to hazards from flying objects; failing to provide eye protection with side protection; and failing to provide protection from caustic hazards, gases, and vapors.
9. Machine guarding (29 CFR 1910.212): 1,743 violations.
Violations included failing to guard points of operation, failing to ensure that guards are securely attached to machinery, improper guarding of fan blades, and failing to anchor fixed machinery properly.
Machine guarding violations occur in many industries, but commonly in machine shops, and fabricated metal manufacturing facilities.
8. Fall protection (construction)—training requirements (29 CFR 1926.503): 1,773 violations.
Cited issues include failing to provide training to each person required to receive it, failing to certify training in writing, inadequacies in training leading to the failure of retention by the trainee, and failing to retrain in instances where the trainee failed to retain the training content.
7. Powered industrial trucks (29 CFR 1910.178): 2,093 violations.
Violations commonly addressed deficient or damaged include forklifts that were not removed from service, failing to safely operate a forklift, failing to retain certification of training, and failing to evaluate forklift drivers every three (3) years as required.
Forklift violations were widely common among many industries, but particularly prevalent in warehousing and storage facilities, fabricated and structural metal manufacturing, and among framing contractors.
6. Ladders (construction) (29 CFR 1926.1053): 2,345 violations.
Common deficiencies included failure to have side rails extend 3 feet (ft) beyond a landing surface, using ladders for unintended purposes, using the top step of a stepladder, and ladders with structural defects.
These violations were common among roofing, framing, siding, and painting contractors. Employers have a duty to provide a safe workplace for their employees. For 113 years, our attorneys have represented the injured in workers’ compensation cases because our decades of experience make us the clear and obvious choice for representation in workers’ compensation matters in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and surrounding areas. Consult an experienced Pennsylvania workers’ compensation attorney. Contact Powell Law at (570) 961-0777. The consultation is FREE!
