2018 Top 10 OSHA Violations

OSHA recently reported the top 10 most cited violations for the 2018 fiscal year, with 50% of violations cited for general industry standards (1910), and 50% cited for construction standards (1926).

The top 10 citations are as follows:

1. Fall Protection, General Requirements (1926.501) – Failure to provide fall protection remains the #1 violation from 2017.
2. Hazard Communication (1910.1200) – Failure to develop a hazard communication program, train employees and provide applicable safety data sheets.
3. Scaffolds, General Requirements (1926.451) – Improper decking, failure to use personal fall arrest systems and inadequate scaffold positioning.
4. Respiratory Protection (1910.134)– Failure to develop a respiratory protection program and conduct necessary fit-testing.
5. Lockout/Tagout (1910.147) – Failure to develop energy control programs, train employees and use lockout/tagout in operations.
6. Ladders (1926.1053) – Improper use of ladders, including using ladders in poor condition and not extending rail three feet above a landing.
7. Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178) – Using defective industrial trucks and failure to certify operators.
8. Fall Protection, Training Requirements (1926.503) – Failure to train employees on fall protection increased from being the #9 violation in 2017.
9. Machine Guarding (1910.212) – Failure to guard point of operation and improperly secured guards. Machine Guarding decreased from being the #8 violation in 2017.
10. Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment, Eye and Face Protection (1926.102) – New addition to the top 10 cited violations, most common among roofing contractors failing to use the proper PPE.

The rankings for OSHA’s Top 10 most cited violations do not vary much from year to year. Electrical – Wiring Methods dropped off the list from the 2017 most cited violations and was replaced by Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment, Eye and Face Protection.