USA: OSHA Reveals Top 10 Violations for 2019

The National Safety Council (NSC) and OSHA have announced the preliminary Top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety violations for the fiscal year 2019 – and it appears U.S. companies are failing to address the same hazards year-on-year.

Remarkably, Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501) tops the list for the ninth consecutive year.

NSC President and CEO, Lorraine M. Martin, said far too many preventable injuries and deaths were occurring on the job in America.

“The OSHA Top 10 list is a helpful guide for understanding just how adept America’s businesses are in complying with the basic rules of workplace safety. This list should serve as a challenge for us to do better as a nation and expect more from employers. It should also serve as a catalyst for individual employees to re-commit to safety.”

The Top 10 for FY 2019* are:

1. Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501) 6,010

2. Hazard Communication (1910.1200) 3,671

3. Scaffolding (1926.451) 2,813

4. Lockout/Tagout (1910.147) 2,606

5. Respiratory Protection (1910.134) 2,450

6. Ladders (1926.1053) 2,345

7. Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178) 2,093

8. Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503) 1,773

9. Machine Guarding (1910.212) 1,743

10. Eye and Face Protection (1926.102) 1,411

A detailed report on the Top 10 violations for 2019 will be published in December.

For more on this subject, view 2018’s most cited violations.