OSHA’s Top 10 Violations for 2019
Every year, thousands of workplace injuries and illnesses occur. No matter how prepared you are for the next incident, it is clear organizations could use some help. Check out OSHA's top 10 violations and ways you can actively prevent them.
No workplace is perfect, but that should not keep you from considering your workers’ safety each and every day. OSHA citations are very common, many times from the same types of violations. Check out the OSHA’s Top 10 eBook from KPA so you do not make the same, common mistakes.
In the 2019 fiscal year, OSHA issued approximately 27,000 citations combined in the following categories:
- Fall protection—General Requirements: 6,010 citations
- Hazard communication: 3,671 citations
- Scaffolding: 2,813 citations
- Lockout/Tagout: 2,606 citations
- Respiratory Protection: 2,450 citations
- Ladders: 2,345 citations
- Powered Industrial Trucks: 2,093 citations
- Fall Protection—Training Requirements: 1,773
- Machine Guarding: 1,743 citations
- PPE—Eye and Face Protection: 1,411 citations
KPA’s recent report on OSHA’s top violations notes that the above list has remained largely unchanged for a decade. That means that many safety professionals are failing to provide their workers with the adequate tools, training and knowledge to prevent injury and illness on the job.
An OSHA violation is not only bad news for your workers’ safety, but it is expensive. An OSHA penalty can exceed $13,000 per violation and as much per day for every day the issue has not been fixed by OSHA’s standards.
The fine for a willful or repeated violation can be 10 times as much.
In 2020, the maximum penalty for such a violation is $134,937.
The above are just direct costs, too. Organizations that do not address workplace hazards can suffer indirect workplace hazard expenses, too. Examples of indirect expenses include workers’ compensation claims from people who have experienced injuries and illnesses, lost productivity during and after an incident and lowered workforce morale due to fear and uncertainty around risk.
Luckily, KPA’s document on OSHA’s Top 10 provides resources for ways you can avoid losing a worker’s life, becoming a statistic and paying an immense amount of money. The document walks through all 10 violations, their definitions and specific ways to protect workers from each hazard. It even provides a safety checklist for every hazard so you can make sure you are doing everything in your power to avoid preventable workplace injuries and illnesses.
No amount of money is worth a worker’s life. Make sure your organization is addressing the most common OSHA violations so you are better prepared.