OSHA top 10 enforcement violations from 2016: a continuing pattern

March 16th, 2017 by Dakota Software Staff Industry News

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration makes it a point to regularly release a list of the most commonly cited health and safety violations its inspectors encounter each year. The information provides valuable guidance to businesses, offering a lens through which companies can view their approach to safety and potentially restructure priorities or reallocate resources. However, the repetitive nature of the list - many violations stay in the top 10 for years at a time, and even in the same positions - indicates some issues reacting to the list and adopting more effective workplace safety procedures.

Recurring citations highlight a pattern
Thomas Galassi, OSHA's director of enforcement programs, pointed to the steady nature of the list in a blog post on the Department of Labor's website. He said the items that are most frequently cited rarely change.

"Year after year, our inspectors see thousands of the same on-the-job hazards, any one of which could result in a fatality or severe injury," Galassi wrote. "More than 4,500 workers are killed on the job every year, and approximately 3 million are injured, despite the fact that by law, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their workers."

Galassi said health and safety programs placing most of their focus on the hazards among the top 10 that are applicable to individual workplaces would go a long way toward resolving these recurrent problems. While every employer has to balance the need to address common issues with a complete perspective of every potential safety concern, the advice is worth considering.

With the repetitive nature of the list in mind, let's review the top 10 most commonly cited OSHA violations:

1. Fall protection
With the need for some employees to spend part or all of their shifts above ground level present in nearly all industries, it's not surprising citations related to fall protection continue to rank so highly. Law firm Jackson Lewis P.C. said issues at construction sites account for a significant percentage of violations overall, but they're common in plenty of manufacturing and industrial contexts as well.

The many specific regulations that fall under the umbrella of fall protection also play a role. Galassi's blog post highlighted the especially dangerous nature of inadequate fall protection, including serious injuries and deaths.

2. Hazard communication
Another broad category, a lack of effective hazard communication ultimately means employees aren't aware of dangers present in the workplace or how to safely work around and avoid them. Without a strong plan for hazard communication - including efforts to train new staff and refresh the skills of existing employees - businesses put themselves at a significant risk for a citation during their next inspection.

3. Scaffolding
A category related to fall protection, the more specific classification of scaffolding issues ranks third. With similar consequences for employees and a similarly wide application across many industries, it's not surprising that scaffolding placed so highly on the list.

4. Respiratory protection
Employees can suffer short- and long-term harm from breathing in dangerous substances. Similar to many other items on the list, there are a wide range of situations where these harmful agents may be discovered. The potential for long-lasting illnesses related to a lack of respiratory projection also mean looking for these violations is a common tactic of OSHA inspectors.

5. Lockout/tagout
Galassi cited a high number of serious injuries, amputations and deaths related to lockout/tagout and machine guarding issues. He noted relatively simple modifications can prevent a great number of those accidents.

6. Powered industrial trucks
Forklifts and similar vehicles cause many injuries, to the point where OSHA believes more training for employees is needed across the board.

7. Ladders
Similar to scaffolding and fall protection, ladders create the potential for many dangerous conditions when not installed and used safely.

8. Machine guarding
A lack of machine guarding can easily lead to amputations and similarly serious injuries. The use of so many machines in a work environment means there are plenty of opportunities for major accidents to occur without the required safeguards in place.

9. Electrical wiring
The extreme dangers presented by unsecured live wires and their presence throughout nearly every type of business mean it's no surprise they continue to appear on this list.

10. Electrical, general requirements
Similar to electrical wiring, the ubiquitous nature of electricity used by businesses means the associated dangers are roundly recognized.