OSHA Top 10 most cited

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced its Top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety standards for fiscal year 2023. Eric Harbin, OSHA Region 6 administrator, presented the preliminary data for “OSHA’s Top 10” during the 2023 NSC Safety Congress & Expo, the world’s largest annual gathering of safety professionals.

“OSHA’s annual Top 10 list helps define trends so safety professionals can find the appropriate solutions,” said Lorraine Martin, NSC president and CEO. “Despite advancements in workplace safety, we continue to see the same types of violations each year. It’s more important than ever employers seek education and resources to keep their workers safe.”

The Top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety standards for FY 2023 are:

1. Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501): 7,271 violations
2. Hazard Communication (1910.1200): 3,213
3. Ladders (1926.1053): 2,978
4. Scaffolding (1926.451): 2,561
5. Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178): 2,561
6. Lockout/Tagout (1910.147): 2,554
7. Respiratory Protection (1910.134): 2,481
8. Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503): 2,112
9. Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (1926.102): 2,074
10. Machine Guarding (1910.212): 1,644

Machine Guarding (1910.212) remains on the list at number 10, with 1,644 citations. This is a 12% increase over last year (1469 violations). 2021 saw a record low of 1,113 citations filed.

History of Machine Guarding in the top 10 most cited violations:

Learn more about the announcement here. A more in-depth analysis of the Top 10 violations for 2023 will be published in the December edition of Safety+Health magazine, a National Safety Council publication.