Top 10 OSHA Violations of 2015
This time of year is all about lists: Christmas lists, holiday shopping lists, New Year’s resolution lists…Here’s one for you, Top 10 OSHA Violations of 2015! We should clarify that is Most Cited violations as most go unreported. This is one of those lists that you probably don’t want to make it on. Each year Occupational Safety and Health Administration compiles this list to help business owners identify potential areas of concern. We recommend a review of your safety policies and procedures to stay off of the naughty list and on the nice list where you belong.
- Fall Protection – General Requirements: Almost always number one, OSHA sited a whopping 7,402 violations this year. You can’t help but wonder if Santa was among them.
- Hazard Communication: Chemicals are no joke. This year saw 5,681 violations for everything from employee training to written hazard communication programs. Have you dusted off your Safety Data Sheets lately?
- Scaffolding: There were some pretty abstract interpretations of scaffolding out there this year resulting in a total of 4, 681 violations.
- Respiratory Protection: From proper cleaning and maintenance to fit testing there is a lot to manage when dealing with possible respiratory hazards and protective equipment. No wonder this violation was cited 3,626 times.
- Lockout/Tagout: Energy can be hazardous. 3,308 employers got nailed this year – the biggest reason? Employee training on proper procedures.
- Powered Industrial Trucks: 3,004 violations were made this year, which happens to be down from 2014. Certifications for drivers and operators are a big area of concern as well as servicing and making necessary repairs.
- Ladders: If OSHA made an inspection visit to my home I would likely be on this list – thankfully, they have enough work to do citing 2,732 violations of this standard. Did you know you can’t use the top step?
- Electrical Wiring Methods: There were more than a few Clark Griswold’s out there this year; hysterical in the movies, not so funny in real life. If the “little lights are not twinkling” be sure your employees use proper methods and don’t become one of these 2,624 violators.
- Machine Guarding: We’ve all heard the horror stories; your employees are surely happier and more productive when they have all of their appendages. 2,540 employers were not very successful at this in 2015.
- Electrical – General Requirements: There is a reason the word “Electrical” makes it on to this list twice. Electricity is extremely dangerous and the reason behind these 2,181 violations.
Today’s Top 10 Most Cited Safety Violations was brought to you by Clark-Mortenson via the National Safety Council. For more details on these and other OSHA safety standards and regulations contact me directly: bkingsbury@clark-mortenson.com or 877-352-2121 x285
