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OSHA's Top 10 most frequently cited violations

OSHA's Top 10: The more things change ...

OSHA may implement new rules and enforcement changes, but the agency's list of the Top 10 most frequently cited violations stays the same

November 23, 2014
Kyle W. Morrison
11 Comments
OSHA penalties OSHA's Top 10 Penalties Violations
OSHA's Top 10 2014

Employers will be facing changes from OSHA.

In the past year or so, the agency has been enforcing new hazard communication and fall protection requirements. OSHA has prioritized temporary worker safety, and employers must soon comply with new injury reporting rules.

But will these actions affect OSHA’s Top 10 most frequently cited violations list?

The 2014 list is nearly the same as it has been in previous years, suggesting the hazards employers dealt with yesterday are the same hazards they will deal with tomorrow.

Brady Worldwide, Inc.
Sponsored by Brady Worldwide, Inc.

Despite a static Top 10, employers can improve safety by using the list as a guide to evaluate their own worksites, according to Patrick Kapust, deputy director of OSHA’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs.

“Employers need to be proactive and focus on prevention,” he said during an interview with Safety+Health

Most-cited violations, fiscal year 2014

*Data current as of Nov. 5, 2014

View the Top 10 infographic.

Top 10 'serious' violations, fiscal year 2014

A “serious” violation is defined by OSHA as “one in which there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result, and the employer knew or should have known of the hazard.”


Top 10 'willful' violations, fiscal year 2014

A “willful” violation is defined by OSHA as one “committed with an intentional disregard of or plain indifference to the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and requirements.”

Brady Worldwide, Inc.

This year's "OSHA's Top 10" feature article is sponsored by Brady Worldwide, Inc.

 Next: Penalty box

A list of OSHA's top proposed fines

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Jack Otting
November 25, 2014
Please let us know when the Mfg. must have the MSDS changed to SDS. What is the final date?
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Dennis Richardson
November 25, 2014
As I read the above, I wonder how many workers were killed or maimed when they were not adequately trained due to English Not being their primary language
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Dennis Richardson
November 25, 2014
With the instant legalization of 5(+) million Hispanic workers, how will OSHA assist in the training of workers with a limited grasp of English language
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Dennis Richardson
November 25, 2014
When OSHA admits to only 40,000 inspections per year, how will they be able to focus on residential building where the majority of falls occur
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Jack Brassell
December 10, 2014
I hear over and over again that safety increases cost because it takes longer to do a job safely. Safety needs to turn into a habit instead of a nuisance. The GC needs to make it known that short cuts on safety will not be tolerated. Class "A" violation as Tie off, lock out tag out, scaffolding, and excavation, etc will result in removal of the violator from the job, no question asked. Not only class "A" violation need to be enforced but all safety rules, like safety glasses, hardhats, ear plugs, glove uses, ect. You cannot deviate from your program. Another helpful hint is to have a safety program that is stricter than OSHA's. Your contractors need to understand your expectations in the bid process in case he wants to decline from a bid. Is it easy, by no means. But if you stick to your guns eventually it will get easier. One more thing, you client needs to back you 100%.
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Dale Smith
December 10, 2014
It would have been useful to include an estimate of the cost to implement the changes that would have prevented the above incidents. Then a true comparison could be seen. Cost of fine Vs cost to initiate safety requirements.
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Ron Whited
December 12, 2014
The fact that the "Top Ten" list doesn't change very much should be an alarming statistic to OSHA.It clearly demonstrates that rules,penalties,and inspections do not serve the intended purpose of reducing the numbers of citations.That is because all of these things do not and cannot change the culture of a workplace that permits such practices to continue to occur. Until there is a culture shift in this country towards recognizing that the worker is the most valuable asset in any company,there will never be appreciable reductions in these redundant citations.
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SafetyBob
December 13, 2014
Sorry, I couldnot figure out how to put a comments on the osha hearing article http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/11539-michaels-psm-update-years-away-stronger-penalties-needed Check out a anecdoke(sp?) by Dr Michaels at 40 minutes in about upping penalties. Delaware refinery worker death fined $175,000 by osha, crab and fish death from I think the same accident fined $10million by epa. what's wrong with this picture????
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Jeff Largen - USMC Vet
December 24, 2014
As a safety professional I find it deeply troubling that there are machine guarding injuries that happen that are 100% preventable. I urge each employer to partner with a machine safety expert so we can provide the appropriate risk reduction action plan that will get your equipment compliant. I have seen far too many times a employer dedicating reaources for machine safety and improperly implemting mitigation techniques. Don't waste valuable time and money trying to implement risk reduction techniques without seeking out expert guidance. Visit larsafe.com for expert help.
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Lettie Gunning
February 5, 2016
Hey discussion , I was fascinated by the specifics ! Does someone know if my company could possibly get ahold of a fillable 338th Army Band version to edit ?
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TK Raddatz
December 20, 2016
We try extremely hard to educate all workers,but have found that sometimes its not always a language issues. Sometimes the worker themselves are only there for the Paycheck. It makes it hard to watch workers constantly when they themselves have no regard for safety or Life itself. I am constantly reminding workers that the Family they leave every day is the most important and they need there Father/Mother to come home at night with all fingers/toes and eyesight. Some listen and others pretend,so how does OSHA help with this issue. We try very hard to convey safety everyday but that's not enough. If anybody has a helpful solution I am all ears.
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