Most Frequently Cited OSHA Standards in Fiscal Year 2018

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) annually publishes the top ten most frequently cited OSHA standards violated in the previous fiscal year.  OSHA has published the stats for the fiscal year (FY) 2018 (which runs from October 1, 2017, to September 30, 2018).  Here is the list of most frequently cited OSHA standards:

1. Fall Protection, construction (1926.501)
2. Hazard Communication Standard, general industry (1910.1200)
3. Scaffolding, general requirements, construction (1926.451)
4. Respiratory Protection (1910.134)
5. Control of Hazardous Energy (lockout/tagout), general industry (1910.147)
6. Ladders, construction (1926.1053)
7. Powered Industrial Trucks, general industry (1910.178)
8. Fall Protection - training requirements, construction (1926.503)
9. Machinery & Machine Guarding, general requirements, general industry (1910.212)
10. Eye and Face Protection (1926.102)

OSHA performed a total of 32,020 inspections in FY 2018.  In 2017, there were 971 fatalities in the construction industry which were 20.7% of total private industry fatalities.  The fatal four (falls, struck by, electrocution, & caught-in/between) were responsible for 59.9% of construction worker deaths in 2017.

The top 10 violations in the Remediation Servies Industry (which includes asbestos abatement, lead abatement, crime scene cleanups, oil spill cleanup, mold remediation, and hazardous materials remediation companies) were:

1. Asbestos (1926.1101)
2. Respiratory Protection (1910.134)
3. Lead (1926.62)
4. Hazard Communication (1910.1200)
5. Permit-required Confined Spaces (1910.146)
6. Inorganic arsenic (1910.1018)
7. Duty to have Fall Protection (1926.501)
8. Electronic Submission of Injury and Illness Records to OSHA (1904.41)
9. Scaffolding, general requirements (1926.451)
10. Ladders (1926.1053)

Interesting how the top four violations in the remediation industry should be the industry's specialty.

Since the silica standard has been in effect since September 23, 2017, we looked to see how many citations were issued in FY 2018.  OSHA performed 202 inspections in reference to the silica standard (1926.1153) and issued 556 citations for total penalties of $815,426.  The top 10 industries cited were:

1. Masonry Contractors
2. Poured Concrete Foundation and Structure Contractors
3. Commercial & Institutional Building Construction
4. Water & Sewer Line & Related Structures Construction
5. Highway, Street, & Bridge Construction
6. Site Preparation Contractors
7. Residential Building Contractors
8. Flooring Contractors
9. All Other Specialty Trade Contractors
10. Siding Contractors

As you can see OSHA is still performing inspections and still issuing citations.  Though silica standard is fairly new OSHA conducted almost triple the inspections than it did regarding asbestos.  However, OSHA's focus is definitely on falls, struck by, electrocutions, and caught-in/between.