OSHA conducted its very popular "Top 10 Violations" program at the National Safety Congress on Tuesday, November 7. Richard Fairfax, OSHA's director of enforcement programs delivered the updated numbers. Fairfax told the packed audience that there were 23 fatalities in the preceding week alone.
You may notice that these numbers are higher (and the order is slightly different with HazCom and Fall Protection switching places) than those we published in October. OSHA has adjusted the numbers upward as it updated its database. These statistics are from federal OSHA and do not include state-plan states.
The top 10 violations for 2006 (as of September 30) are:
| 1. |
Scaffolding |
1926.451 |
9,012 |
| 2. |
Hazard Communication |
1910.1200 |
6,704 |
| 3. |
Fall Protection |
1926.501 |
6,378 |
| 4. |
Respiratory Protection |
1910.134 |
4,332 |
| 5. |
Lockout/Tagout |
1910.147 |
3,659 |
| 6. |
Powered Industrial Trucks |
1910.178 |
3,080 |
| 7. |
Electrical Wiring |
1910.305 |
2,953 |
| 8. |
Machine Guarding |
1910.212 |
2,749 |
| 9. |
Ladders |
1926.1056 |
2,329 |
| 10. |
Electrical General |
1910.303 |
2,178 |
Some comments on the violated standards:
- Ladder violations have been going up the last 3 years.
- OSHA specifically checks for machine guarding violations during an inspection.
- The biggest issue for powered industrial trucks (forklifts) is lack of training.
- OSHA is working on a new directive for lockout/tagout, and it should be out in a month or two.
- The biggest issues in hazard communication are: no written program, MSDSs, and lack of training. OSHA checks for hazard communication violations at every inspection.
- Scaffolding is a major focus area.