Top Safety Standards Cited by OSHA

2015 saw an overall increase in the number of inspections conducted by OSHA, up to 8,234 from 7,787 in 2014.  This increase is in line with OSHA’s strong stance on increased enforcement.  In a recent article, David Michaels, Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, stated “OSHA’s new enforcement weighting system, which ranks inspections on time and resources they are expected to consumer, will encourage inspectors to take on more complex investigations.”  Additionally, this new system is expected to result in more general duty clause citations as these complicated inspections are more likely to lead to citations for serious hazards that are not covered by a specific standard. Here are the Top General Industry Standards cited by OSHA.  This list does not reflect results of state inspections held.  The standards are listed from highest number of violations to the lowest.

1. Hazard Communication, including lack of written communication program, information and training, maintenance of safety data sheets, and labeling.
2. Respiratory Protection, including lack of medical evaluations, written programs, fit tests
3. Lockout/Tagout, including lack of energy control procedure, periodic inspections, training and communication.
4. Powered Industrial Trucks, including lack of safe operation, refresher training and evaluation, certification and truck inspections
5. Electrical Wiring Methods and Equipment, including improper use of flexible cords and cables, covers and canopies and temporary wiring
6. Machine Guarding – General Requirements, including types of guards, point of operations guarding, exposure of blades and general requirements
7. Electrical Equipment General Requirements, including improper installation and use, space around and guarding of electrical equipment (600 volt), and mechanical execution of work.

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