OSHA’s Top 10 Citations

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For yet another year, fall protection violations in construction is the number 1 most cited standard that is violated in the workplace. Falls are also the number 1 killer of construction workers. Training for fall protection is also on the list as the 8th most cited standard. It goes hand-in-hand that those who work without fall protection are also not knowledgeable about the OSHA requirements for fall protection. Scaffolding and ladders were also numbers 4 and 5 on the list respectively. Many of the requirements of those standards boil down to fall hazards: you can fall off the scaffold or ladder or, if it collapses with you on it – it’s going to result in a fall. With Hazard Communication and Respiratory Protection in at #2 and 3, respectively, (these are about chemical hazards and protection from lung hazards usually due to chemical exposures), it is clear that the top 10 are not ONLY about fall hazards, but fall hazards still continue dominate the OSHA Top 10.

Below is the information taken directly from http://www.osha.gov:

OSHA Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards

for Fiscal Year 2020 (Oct. 1, 2019, to Sept. 30, 2020)

The following is a list of the top 10 most frequently cited standards following inspections of worksites by federal OSHA. OSHA publishes this list to alert employers about these commonly cited standards so they can take steps to find and fix recognized hazards addressed in these and other standards before OSHA shows up. Far too many preventable injuries and illnesses occur in the workplace.

  1. Fall Protection, construction (29 CFR 1926.501) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
  2. Hazard Communication Standard, general industry (29 CFR 1910.1200) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]]
  3. Respiratory Protection, general industry (29 CFR 1910.134) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
  4. Scaffolding, general requirements, construction (29 CFR 1926.451) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
  5. Ladders, construction (29 CFR 1926.1053) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
  6. Control of Hazardous Energy (lockout/tagout), general industry (29 CFR 1910.147) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
  7. Powered Industrial Trucks, general industry (29 CFR 1910.178) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
  8. Fall Protection–Training Requirements (29 CFR 1926.503) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
  9. Eye and Face Protection (29 CFR 1926.102) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
  10. Machinery and Machine Guarding, general requirements (29 CFR 1910.212) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
OSHA's 2020 Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Violations - Includes illustrations symbolizing the top ten most frequently cited standards in the list on this page

If you ever have any questions about fall hazards or the other contents of OSHA’s Top 10 Violations, please contact me at (619) 241-1662 or email me at fred@synergy-safety.com.

Thanks and Be Safe Out There!

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