The Top 10 Most-Cited Osha Violations of 2019

Do you ever get a bad feeling that one day, OSHA’s gonna come onsite, and they are going to hit you with a dozen violations for things you’ve never even heard of?

It’s a common fear that most of my clients have.

True, there are hundreds of pages of code and most business owners don’t have time to sift through them, but that’s where people like me come in.

The cool thing is, if you want to know the top most-cited OSHA violations, OSHA publishes the list every year, so you know what the major problems are, and how to avoid them.

In this article, we are going to cover the top 10 most-cited OSHA violations of 2019.

 

The Top 10 OSHA Violations of 2019 

I rarely meet an employer who doesn’t think their worst nightmare is an employee getting seriously injured.

We all want to avoid OSHA citations, not only because of financial consequences, but because it’s the right thing to do. That being said, meeting OSHA requirements can also be challenging, as we all know.

Add on top of that, the increase in citation limits has also brought on much stricter penalties. Today, a “serious” violation can cost up to $13,260, while “willful” and “repeat” violations can cost up to ten times that much.

We all have lots of reasons to try to avoid OSHA citations. This list of the top ten most-cited OSHA violations of 2019, will give you the information you need to avoid making the same mistakes as other businesses and help you to provide a safer workplace.

10th Most Common OSHA Violations

With 1,411 violations, coming in at #10 we have eye and face protection violations. The types of things inspectors were citing companies on were employees who were protected from flying parts, liquid chemical, and radiant energy – which in this case means employees who weren’t adequately shielded from welding. Surprisingly enough, the most cited companies for this one were roofers, framers, masonry, and siding contractors.

 

9th Most Common OSHA Violations

With 1,743 violations we have machines and machine guarding. The issues in this section were focused around poorly guarded points of operation, equipment that isn’t anchored properly, and fan blades that aren’t guarded. The most cited locations were machine shops and metal shops.

 

8th Most Common OSHA Violations

Next up at #8 with 1,773 violations, Fall protection training requirements in construction. This one makes the list most years. Remember, OSHA requires that employers provide training programs for procedures, use and maintenance of fall protection systems. Also, be careful not to fall into the same mistake as a lot of companies and forget to document training.

Remember, if you don’t document it, it didn’t happen.

 

7th Most Common OSHA Violations

With 2,093 violations coming in #7 is powered industrial trucks AKA the forklift standard. For this one, the main issues were trucks not being operated in a safe manner, operators who didn’t go through the re-evaluation process every three years, no certificates of training on file, and last but not least; truck in unsafe condition.

 

6th Most Common OSHA Violations

In 6^th place with 2,345 violations, we have ladders, under the construction standard. The problems OSHA inspectors found most were ladders that didn’t extend three feet above the landing, employees using the wrong type of ladder, employees on the top step, and ladders that had structural defects.

5th Most Common OSHA Violations

With 2,450 violations is respiratory protection. What tended to catch companies off-guard was the need to have a medical evaluation for employees before they use respirators. Other problems were the lack of a written respiratory protection program, and not fit-testing employees to make sure their respirators were providing a good fit.

 

4th Most Common OSHA Violations

In fourth place with 2,606 violations is control of hazardous energy, or you may know it as the Lockout Tagout standard. The majority of these violations were based on employers failing to have proper procedures to control hazardous energy, employees who weren’t trained, devices that weren’t affixed, or not meeting the requirements for periodic evaluations of the program. The most cited facilities were manufacturers and sawmills.  

 

3rd Most Common OSHA Violations

In third place with 2,813 violations is scaffolding, general construction requirements. Where companies went wrong the most often was in using cross-braces as scaffold access, not fully planking (no, not that type of planking), scaffolds not on firm foundations, and missing guardrails.

 

2nd Most Common OSHA Violations

Pulling ahead by 800 violations in second place is the hazard communication standard with 3,671 violations. If you’ll remember the hazard communication standard is the one that requires us to keep a chemical inventory onsite. The most common problems here were lack of Safety Data Sheets or SDS’s and no worker training records.

#1 Most Common OSHA Violations

And last, with a whopping 6,100 violations, coming in at number one is fall protection in the construction industry. This one has topped the list for 9 years a row now and it’s not necessarily surprising since falls in the construction industry are still the number one cause of fatalities.

What’s included with this standard issues like fall protection on sloped roofs, employees not being protected from falling through skylights, and anywhere else work at heights is done. Among those most cited were roofing contractors, masonry contractors, and commercial home builders.

OSHA's Most Common Violations Year-to Year

Now, if you want to be able to anticipate what the major sources of violations will be in 2020, the past is a pretty good indicator of the future.

I checked out the top 10 violations for the past three years and here they are. As you can see not a lot changes from year to year.

Most Common OSHA Violations 2019	Most Common OSHA Violations 2018	Most Common OSHA Violations 2017
Fall Protection	Fall Protection	Fall Protection
Hazard Communication	Hazard Communication	Hazard Communication
Scaffolding	Scaffolding	Scaffolding
Control of Hazardous Energy- LoTo	Respiratory Protection	Respiratory Protection
Respiratory Protection	Control of Hazardous Energy – LOTO	Control of Hazardous Energy – LOTO
Ladders	Ladders	Ladders
Powered Industrial Trucks	Powered Industrial Trucks	Powered Industrial Trucks
Fall Protection – Training Requirements	Fall Protection – Training Requirements	Machine Guarding – General
Machine Guarding	Machine Guarding	Fall Protection – Training Requirements
Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment	Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment	Electrical – Wiring Methods

 

So if you want to avoid the biggest OSHA citations, take this list and use it to help prioritize some areas where your company may need to improve.