OSHA’s Top Most Cited Violations

EHS Today published an article recently on the Top 10 Most Cited Violations for 2009 (year ending September 30). Richard Fairfax, director of OSHA’s directorate of enforcement programs, presented the most common OSHA citations. According to Fairfax, 81 percent of the violations OSHA recorded throughout the year were either serious or willful violations. The number of top 10 violations has increased almost 30 percent over the same time period in 2008.

OSHA’s top 10 most cited violations for are:

1. Scaffolding, General – 9,093 violations
2. Fall Protection – 6,771 violations
3. Hazard Communication – 6,378 violations
4. Respiratory Protection – 3,803 violations
5. Lockout/Tagout – 3,321 violations
6. Electrical, Wiring – 3,079 violations
7. Ladders – 3,072 violations
8. Powered Industrial Trucks – 2,993 violations
9. Electrical, General – 2,556 violations
10. Machine Guarding – 2,364 violations

We thought you may find it interesting to see the top 10 for Auto Dealers:

1. Hazard Communication
2. Electrical safety requirements
3. General Duty Clause
4. Personal Protective Equipment
5. Spray finishing using flammable and combustible materials
6. Abrasive wheel machinery
7. Respiratory Protection
8. Portable fire extinguishers
9. Exit routes, emergency action plans and fire prevention plans
10. Machinery and Machine Guarding

Consistent with inspections by KPA’s engineers and registrations in myKPAonline.com dashboards, by far the most common violations by Auto Dealers are related to hazard communication. Details of hazard communication requirements are outlined in OSHA’s Inspection Procedures for Hazard Communication Standards. These violations include deficiencies in chemical inventories, written hazard communication program, material data sheets (MSDS), and employee training.