Usually, OSHA waits until the end of the year to announce the most frequently cited standards. However, as a special event at the National Safety Congress held this week in New Orleans, the agency issued a preliminary list that includes violations from Oct. 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004.
According to OSHA, the most frequently cited standards are:
- (1) 1926.451 (Scaffolding-general requirements) 6,587
- (2) 1910.1200 (Hazard Communication) 5,382
- (3) 1926.501 (Fall Protection-general requirements) 4,091
- (4) 1910.147 (Lockout/Tagout) 3,312
- (5) 1910.134 (Respiratory Protection) 3,033
- (6) 1910.305 (Electrical-wiring methods, components and equipment for general use) 2,465
- (7) 1910.212 (Machine Guarding-general requirements) 2,441
- (8) 1910.178 (Powered Industrial Trucks) 2,298
- (9) 1910.219 (Mechanical Power Transmission Apparatus) 1,777
- (10) 1910.303 (Electrical-general requirements) 1,770
The Top Ten standards where most "willful" violations were cited included:
- (1) 1926.652 (Excavations requirements for protective systems) 48
- (2) 1926.451 (Scaffolding general requirements) 44
- (3) 1926.501 (Fall Protection-general requirements) 39
- (4) 1910.146 (Permit-Required Confined Space) 23
- (5) 1910.95 (Occupational Noise Exposure) 20
- (6) 1910.147 (Lockout/Tagout) 18
- (7) 1910.134 (Respiratory Protection) and 1910.269 (Electrical power generation, transmission and distribution) 15
- (8) 1910.212 (Machine Guarding general requirements); 1926.651 (Excavations specific requirements); and 1926.760 (Fall Protection) 14
- (9) 1910.1200 (Hazard Communication) 12
- (10) 1926.453 (Aerial Lifts) 11