Another year, another Top 10 list of OSHA violations
While Alfred, Lord Tennyson opined that “in the spring, a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love,” spring, for certain safety professionals (I won’t characterize based on age, but I suspect you know who you are) means lists of what could have (and, often, did) go wrong in the world of workplace safety, particularly from our friends at the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA). As one might imagine, while there is some variability in positioning on the list, those concerns on the list are very much familiar to anyone within the sound of my voice. The good news is that the Top 10 list generated fewer violations in 2024 than in 2023 (by about 3,500 citations), so a tip of the hard hat to all the safety professionals that kept things on the straight and narrow. If you’re interested in the details, including some of the performance numbers, you can find them here. So, drum roll, please—your 2024 Top 10 OSHA Violations:
- Fall protection – general requirements
- Hazard communications
- Ladder safety
- Respiratory protection
- Lockout/Tagout
- Powered industrial trucks
- Fall protection – training requirements
- Scaffolding
- Personal protective and lifesaving equipment – eye and face protection
- Machine guarding
I don’t know that there’s a whole of explaining that would need to occur, but if you have a burning (or not so burning) question, feel free to reach out at stevemacsafetyspace@gmail.com. And here’s to even better numbers for 2025!
About the Author: Steve MacArthur is a safety consultant with The Chartis Group. He brings more than 30 years of healthcare management and consulting experience to his work with hospitals, physician offices, and ambulatory care facilities across the country. He is the author of HCPro's Hospital Safety Director's Handbook and is an advisory board member for Accreditation and Quality Compliance Center. Contact Steve at stevemacsafetyspace@gmail.com.