Dear Valued Customer,

In this issue of the “——————“ we focus on OSHA’s most frequently violated cited standards.

OSHA is responsible for the health and safety of 130 million workers, employed at more than 8 million worksites around the nation. (OSHA) can help with safety information and tools which can make your environment a better place.  So OSHA publishes this list to alert employers about these commonly cited standards so they can take steps to find and fix recognized hazards addressed in these and other standards before OSHA shows up.

We appreciate your continued business and look forward to serving you.

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October 1997 – January 2000

(Sequential Order by Standard)

Scaffold/Aerial Lift – Subpart L

1926.451(b)(1)	Each platform on all working levels of scaffolds shall be fully planked or decked between the front uprights and the guardrail supports.
* 1926.451(c)(2)	Supported scaffold poles, legs, posts, frames, and uprights shall bear on base plates, mud sills or other adequate firm foundation.
* 1926.451(c)(2)(i)	Footings shall be level, sound, rigid, and capable of supporting the loaded scaffold without settling or displacement.
* 1926.451(e)(1)	When scaffold platforms are more than 2 feet above or below a point of access, portable ladders, hook-on ladders, attachable ladders, stair towers, and so on shall be used.
* 1926.451(f)(7)	Scaffolds shall be erected, moved, dismantled, or altered only under the supervision and direction of a competent person qualified in scaffold erection, moving, dismantling or alteration.
1926.451(g)(1)	Each employee on a scaffold more than 10 feet above a lower level shall be protected from falling to that lower level.
* 1926.451(g)(4)(i)	Guardrail systems shall be installed along all open sides and ends of platforms. Guardrail systems shall be installed before the scaffold is released for use by employees other than erection/dismantling crews.
1926.451(h)(1)	In addition to wearing hardhats each employee on a scaffold shall be provided with additional protection from falling hand tools, debris, and other small objects through the installation of toeboards, screens, or guardrail systems, or through the erection of debris nets, catch platforms, or canopy structures that contain or deflect the falling objects.
1926.452(c)(2)	Frames and panels shall be braced by cross, horizontal, or diagonal braces, or combination thereof, which secure vertical members together laterally. The cross braces shall be of such length as will automatically square and align vertical members.
* 1926.453(b)(2)(iv)	Employees shall always stand firmly on the floor of the basket, and shall not sit or climb on the edge of the basket or use planks, ladders, or other devices for a work position.
* 1926.453(b)(2)(v)	A body belt shall be worn and a lanyard attached to the boom or basket when working from an aerial lift.
* 1926.454(a)	The employer shall have each employee who performs work while on a scaffold trained by a person qualified in the subject matter to recognize the hazards associated with the type of scaffold being used and to understand the procedures to control or minimize those hazards.
* 1926.454(b)	The employer shall have each employee who is involved in erecting, disassembling, moving,, operating, repairing, maintaining, or inspecting a scaffold trained by a competent person to recognize any hazards associated with the work in question.

Fall Protection – Subpart M

* 1926.501(b)(1)	Each employee on a walking/working surface with an unprotected side or edge which is 6 feet or more above a lower level shall be protected from falling by the use of guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems.
1926.501(b)(4)(i)	Each employee on walking/working surfaces shall be protected from falling through holes more than 6 feet above lower levels, by personal fall arrest systems, covers, or guardrail systems erected around such holes.
1926.501(b)(4)(ii)	Each employee on a walking/working surface shall be protected from tripping in or stepping into or through holes by covers.
* 1926.501(b)(10)	Each employee engaged in roofing activities on low slope roofs, with unprotected sides and edges 6 feet or more above lower levels shall be protected from falling by guardrail systems, safety net systems, personal fall arrest systems, etc.
1926.501(b)(11)	Each employee on a steep roof with unprotected sides and edges 6 feet or more above lower levels shall be protected from falling by guardrail systems with toeboards, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems.
* 1926.501(b)(13)	Each employee engaged in residential construction activities 6 feet or more above lower levels shall be protected by guardrail systems, safety net system, personal fall arrest system, or the absence of a fall protection plan where it is demonstrated infeasible to use the systems listed above.
1926.501(b)(14)	Each employee working on, at, above, or near wall openings (including those with chutes attached) where the outside bottom edge of the wall openings is 6 feet (1.8m) or more above lower levels and the inside bottom edge of the wall opening is less than 39 inches (1.0m) above the walking/working surface, shall be protected from falling by the use of a guardrail system, a safety net system, or a personal fall arrest system.
1926.501(b)(15)	Except as provided in 1926.500(a)(2) or in 1926.501(b)(1) through (b)(14), each employee on a walking/working surface 6 feet (1.8m) or more above lower levels shall be protected from falling by a guardrail system, safety net system, or personal fall arrest system.
1926.502(b)(2)	Midrails, screens, mesh, intermediate vertical members, or equivalent intermediate structural members shall be installed between the tope edge of the guardrail system and the walking/working surface when there is no wall or parapet wall at least 21 inches (53cm) high.
* 1926.503(a)(1)	The employer shall provide a training program for each employee who might be exposed to fall hazards.

Steel Erection – Subpart R

1926.750(b)(1)(ii)	On buildings or structures not adaptable to temporary floors, and where scaffolds are not used, safety nets shall be installed and maintained whenever the potential fall distance exceeds two stories or 25 feet. The nets shall be hung with sufficient clearance to prevent contacts with the surface of structures below.
1926.751(d)	Tag lines shall be used for controlling loads.

Stairways/Ladders – Subpart X

* 1926.1051(a)	A stairway or ladder shall be provided at all personnel points of access where there is a break in elevation of 19 inches or more, and no ramp, runway, sloped embankment, or personnel hoist is provided.
1926.1052(c)(1)	Stairways having four or more risers or rising more than 30 inches, whichever is less, shall be equipped with at least one handrail, and one stairrail system along each unprotected side or edge.
* 1926.1053(b)(1)	When portable ladders are used for access to an upper landing surface, the ladder side rails shall extend at least 3 feet above the upper landing surface to which the ladder is used to gain access.
1926.1053(b)(4)	Ladders shall be used only for the purpose for which they were designed.
1926.1053(b)(13)	The top or top step of a stepladder shall not be used as a step.
* 1926.1060(a)	The employer shall provide a training program for each employee using ladders and stairways, as necessary.

* Denotes the standard has been cited in relationship to a work-related accident/fatality.

Note: The two steel erection standards above were cited less than 10 times, but were the only two steel erection standards cited.

The Source for this document is an OSHA IMIS database report. Each standard identified was cited a minimum of 10 instances with a maximum of 212 instances.

 

Source: United States Department of Labor, “Frequently Violated OSHA Standards Related to Fall Hazards in the Construction Industry” https://www.osha.gov website. Accessed November 24, 2015. https://www.osha.gov/Region7/fallprotection/2000_freq_cite_stds.html

© Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. This content is strictly for informational purposes and although experts have prepared it, the reader should not substitute this information for professional insurance advice. If you have any questions, please consult your insurance professional before acting on any information presented. Read more.

Federal OSHA coverage

Federal OSHA is a small agency; with our state partners we have approximately 2,200 inspectors responsible for the health and safety of 130 million workers, employed at more than 8 million worksites around the nation—which translates to about one compliance officer for every 59,000 workers.

Federal OSHA has 10 regional offices and 90 local area offices.

OSHA budget

FY 2013: $535,246,000
FY 2014: $552,247,000
FY 2015: $565,010,000

OSHA inspections

FY 2013 Total Federal inspections: 39,228
FY 2013 Total 18(b) State Plan inspections: 50,436

Worker injuries, illnesses and fatalities

4,628 workers were killed on the job in 2012 [BLS revised 2012 workplace fatality data*] (3.4 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers) – on average, 89 a week or more than 12 deaths every day. (This is the second lowest total since the fatal injury census was first conducted in 1992.)

748 Hispanic or Latino workers were killed from work-related injuries in 2012–on average, more than 14 deaths a week or two Latino workers killed every single day of the year, all year long.

Fatal work injuries involving contractors accounted for 15 percent of all fatal work injuries in 2012.

Construction’s “Fatal Four”

Out of 4,175* worker fatalities in private industry in calendar year 2012, 806 or 19.3% were in construction. The leading causes of worker deaths on construction sites were falls, followed by struck by object, electrocution, and caught-in/between. These “Fatal Four” were responsible for more than half (54.2%) the construction worker deaths in 2012*, BLS reports. Eliminating the Fatal Four would save 437 workers’ lives in America every year.

• Falls – 279 out of 806 total deaths in construction in CY 2012 (34.6%)
• Struck by Object – 79 (9.8%)
• Electrocutions – 66 (8.1%)
• Caught-in/between – 13 (1.6%)

Top 10 most frequently cited OSHA standards violated in FY2013

The following were the top 10 most frequently cited standards by Federal OSHA in fiscal year 2013 (October 1, 2012 through September 30, 2013):

1. Fall protection, construction (29 CFR 1926.501) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
2. Hazard communication standard, general industry (29 CFR 1910.1200) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
3. Scaffolding, general requirements, construction (29 CFR 1926.451) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
4. Respiratory protection, general industry (29 CFR 1910.134) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
5. Electrical, wiring methods, components and equipment, general industry (29 CFR 1910.305) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
6. Powered industrial trucks, general industry (29 CFR 1910.178) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
7. Ladders, construction (29 CFR 1926.1053) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
8. Control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout), general industry (29 CFR 1910.147) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
9. Electrical systems design, general requirements, general industry (29 CFR 1910.303) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
10. Machinery and Machine Guarding, general requirements (29 CFR 1910.212) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]

OSHA is Making a Difference

• In four decades, OSHA and our state partners, coupled with the efforts of employers, safety and health professionals, unions and advocates, have had a dramatic effect on workplace safety.
• Since 1970, workplace fatalities have been reduced by more than 65 percent and occupational injury and illness rates have declined by 67 percent. At the same time, U.S. employment has almost doubled.
• Worker deaths in America are down–on average, from about 38 worker deaths a day in 1970 to 12 a day in 2012.
• Worker injuries and illnesses are down–from 10.9 incidents per 100 workers in 1972 to 3.4 per 100 in 2011.

Source: Occupational Safety & Health Administration, “Commonly Used Statistics” https://www.osha.gov website. Accessed November 24, 2015. https://www.osha.gov/oshstats/commonstats.html

© Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. This content is strictly for informational purposes and although experts have prepared it, the reader should not substitute this information for professional insurance advice. If you have any questions, please consult your insurance professional before acting on any information presented. Read more.