Top Violations
Every year, OSHA publishes a list of the top ten most frequently-cited violations. Let’s look at the list of 2018’s most cited violations:
1. Fall Protection – General Requirements: 7,216 Violations §1926.501
2. Hazard Communication: 4,537 Violations §1910.1200
3. Scaffolding: 3,319 Violations §1926.451
4. Respiratory Protection: 3,112 Violations §1910.134
5. Lockout/Tagout: 2,923 Violations §1910.147
6. Ladders: 2,780 Violations §1926.1053
7. Powered Industrial Trucks: 2,281 Violations §1910.178
8. Fall Protection Training: 1,978 Violations §1926.503
9. Machine Guarding: 1,969 Violations §1910.212
10. PPE and Lifesaving Equipment: 1,528 Violations §1926.102
This year, OSHA updated its financial penalties to adjust for inflation. Violations start at $13,260. If you fail to abate the problem, it can reach that total per day past the abatement date. Willful or repeated penalties cost a whopping $132,598 per violation. Of course, this is aggregated national data – Michigan has its own state plan. If you’d like more data on the specific sections of these standards cited, we like the presentation at the Safety+Health Magazine.
Takeaways for our readers
It’s worth mentioning that general fall protection requirements not only ranks #1 on the overall list but top the charts for serious violations and willful violations.
Fall protection has been the number one violation for at least the last six years running.
All of these violations have seen an increase in citation over 2017, except for eye and face protection (PPE), which is also a newcomer to the list.
As you’ll see later, several of these violations belong to categories we are experts in, so we’ll illustrate ways we can help.
These violations are expensive, even without fatalities. You’ll see next that there’s a correlation between fall-related citations, and work-related deaths/injuries.
Top Fatalities
Due to the vast number of worker fatalities in the construction sector, it’s not uncommon to see construction-related fatality statistics. On a national level:
- 310 construction workers are killed and more than 10k injured each year, falling from heights.
- This includes 124 deaths from roofs, 104 deaths from ladders, and 60 deaths from scaffolds.
- According to BLS data, 57% of ladder deaths occur in the construction industry.
Full details on these facts and more are available in a very digestible publication put out by the CDC in a NIOSH publication. Numerous contributing factors attributed to these deaths include:
- Lack of training
- No fall protection program or personal fall arrest system
- Improper use of equipment
- Unstable and insecure setups
In Michigan, you’ll often see fatalities dominated by falls. For example, of the deaths in 2016 reported to MIOSHA, 23 of the 43 deaths involved falls ranging from zero to fifty-five feet. The average height of a fatal fall in Michigan was only 24 feet.
Our Solutions
Springfield is a leader in safety for Michigan. We have solutions that help businesses all over the state to avoid OSHA violations, and more importantly, injuries/fatalities.
LadderAnchor
This innovative product is an easy, low-cost solution for flat or pitched roofs. It’s a safe, OSHA-compliant solution for portable ladders (which unlike permanent ladders, help prevent unauthorized access.)
Custom Solutions
Our experts can assess your individual facility needs, design a custom solution that exceeds OSHA requirements, install the solution, and even provide training, inspection, and maintenance.
Safety Training
Create a safety culture in your organization where employees become safety advocates. We take a hands-on approach because it has better retention than classroom-alone or online learning.
References:
https://www.osha.gov/penalties/
https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp/stateprogs/michigan.html
https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/17702-oshas-top-10-most-cited-violations-for-fiscal-year-2017
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2019-128updated052019/pdfs/2019-128updated052019.pdf?id=10.26616/NIOSHPUB2019128updated052019
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/lara/lara_miosha_fatalities_2016_548131_7.html