Editor's Note: Covering OSHA’s ‘Top 10’: It’s a team effort

As I write this, the past few weeks have been full of activity surrounding the release of OSHA’s “Top 10” most cited standards for fiscal year 2020. 

Typically, Safety+Health’s coverage of the agency’s annual list begins shortly after the end of the federal fiscal year (Sept. 30), but we all know 2020 was anything but typical. We promised to present the data when it became available, and we’re pleased to be able to do that now. 

OSHA’s Top 10 most cited violations for FY 2020

It’s a team effort. Big thanks go to Patrick Kapust, deputy director of OSHA’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs. Patrick did triple duty this year: In addition to talking with S+H Associate Editor Kevin Druley for the Q&A that appears in this issue, he partnered with S+H in February for a webinar to announce the Top 10, and then sat down with Associate Editors Barry Bottino and Alan Ferguson for a separate Zoom session to answer reader questions. You can watch the webinar and the Q&A here on the S+H website.

Other people who helped make our coverage happen may not be familiar to you, so I’d like to take a moment to offer appreciation to them as well. Kimberly Darby and Frank Meilinger from the OSHA Communications Office stayed in regular touch with Kevin about the status of the Top 10. And Jane Terry, vice president of government affairs for the National Safety Council, routinely opens doors and smooths paths for us, and Top 10 was no different. 

We hope this year’s data can serve, to quote Patrick, “as a guide” for employers trying to make their workplaces safer, and we’re grateful to OSHA for the opportunity to help spread the word.

The opinions expressed in “Editor’s Note” do not necessarily reflect those of the National Safety Council or affiliated local Chapters.