Top 10 Safety Violations Cited by OSHA for FY2018
The results are in – and it turns out that the most common workplace violations cited by OSHA in fiscal year 2018 are nearly identical to the 2017 list (and the 2016, list for that matter). The one difference: “Eye and Face Protection” slips onto the list at number 10, knocking “Electrical – Wiring Methods” off the list.
The entire FY18 list is as follows:
- Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501): 7,270 violations
- Hazard Communication (1910.1200): 4,552 violations
- Scaffolding (1926.451): 3,336 violations
- Respiratory Protection (1910.134): 3,118 violations
- Lockout/Tagout (1910.147): 2,944 violations
- Ladders (1926.1053): 2,812 violations
- Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178): 2,294 violations
- Fall Protection – Training Requirements: 1,982 violations
- Machine Guarding (1910.212): 1,972 violations
- Eye and Face Protection (1926.102): 1,536 violations
This is the second year in a row that an Electrical-related hazard has been dropped from the Top 10 (last year it was Electrical – General Requirements). We’d like to congratulate our readers in the Electrical industry for making their environments safer.
Patrick Kapust, deputy director of OSHA’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs, presented preliminary data for OSHA’s Top 10 most-cited violations for fiscal year 2018 at the National Safety Council Congress & Expo in Houston. “The Top 10 represents the most frequently cited standards, and they are a good place to start for the employer in identifying hazards in their own workplace,” Kapust reported.
“Knowing how workers are hurt can go a long way toward keeping them safe,” NSC President and CEO Deborah A.P. Hersman said in a related press release. “The OSHA Top 10 list calls out areas that require increased vigilance to ensure everyone goes home safely each day.”
Unfortunately, evidence suggests that these lessons are failing to sink in at many workplaces. In fact, all nine violations that carried over from the 2017 list showed an increase in the actual number of violations cited. For instance, the most common violation, Fall Protection – General Requirements, saw a dramatic increase of almost 20% in the number of violations this year over last. Number two, Hazard Communications violations increased more than 9% over last year. The remaining “repeat offenses” posted much more modest increases, but were all still cited more often in FY2018 than they were in FY2017.
Clearly, these are persistent, known problems that employers and workers should be on the lookout for. At Tyndale we’re all about worker safety. Stop by our FR Safety Library on tyndaleusa.com for a wealth of easy to implement safety advice.
