Top OSHA Violations in 2023: It’s Time to Fix this Recurring List!
Recently OSHA Revealed the Top 10 Safety Violations in 2023 at NSC Congress & Expo.
Here’s the list of Top 10 violations in 2023:
A comprehensive examination of the Top 10 violations in 2023 is featured in the December issue of Safety+Health magazine, a publication by the National Safety Council.
OSHA Violations: Not Much Improved Over the Last 3 Years
| Violation | Standard | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall Protection | 1926.501 | 7,271 | 5,980 | 5,271 |
| Hazard Communication | 1910.1200 | 3,213 | 2,682 | 1,939 |
| Ladders | 1926.1053 | 2,978 | 2,471 | 2,018 |
| Scaffolding | 1926.451 | 2,859 | 2,285 | 1,943 |
| Powered Industrial Trucks | 1910.178 | 1,922 | 1,922 | 1,404 |
| Lockout/Tagout | 1910.147 | 2,554 | 2,175 | 1,670 |
| Respiratory Protection | 1910.134 | 2,481 | 2,521 | 2,430 |
| Fall Protection - Training Requirements | 1926.503 | 2,112 | 1,778 | 1,660 |
| Eye and Face Protection | 1926.102 | 2,074 | 1,582 | 1,451 |
| Machine Guarding | 1910.212 | 1,644 | 1,488 | 1,105 |
Top 10 OSHA Violations: Quick Summary
- Fall Protection remains the top OSHA violation, showing a consistent upward trend (unfortunately) over the past 3 years, with a notable increase from 5,271 violations in 2021 to 7,271 violations in 2023.
- Hazard Communication violations have also increased significantly, rising from 1,939 violations in 2021 to 3,213 violations in 2023, indicating a growing concern for proper chemical hazard communication.
- Ladders and Scaffolding violations have both seen gradual increases over the past 3 years, with 2023 figures at 2,978 and 2,859 violations, respectively.
- Powered Industrial Trucks violations have seen a substantial increase from 1,404 violations in 2021 to 2,561 violations in 2023, highlighting the importance of safety when operating such equipment.
- Lockout/Tagout violations have consistently remained a concern, with 2,554 violations in 2023, indicating a need for improved safety protocols in hazardous energy control procedures.
Overall, the data suggests that OSHA violations have not shown significant improvement over the last 3 years, with many of the top violations either increasing or remaining at high levels. This underscores the ongoing importance of workplace safety and the need for employers to address these common violations to protect their employees.
It’s important to note here that oversight by OSHA has increased which also contributes to more violations, but that’s not the only reason.
Key Questions Safety Leaders Must Ask Themselves
Are companies ignoring the importance of safety? Do they not understand the direct correlation between better safety and better business?
The greater question is: How can companies across the board come together to individually and collectively minimize these safety risks?
- These violations not only result in minor injuries and disruption to work; A portion of these violations have a direct impact on SIFs (Serious Injuries and Fatalities)
- Better safety culture and implementation of BBS (Behavior-Based Safety) will be the first step to improve these numbers, not to mention the role of senior leaders, better integration of people, processes & systems, safety training and world-class automation.
It's also important to note that OSHA violations now result in sizable penalties. For instance, a willful or repeated violation can cost the company anything from $10,360 per violation to $145,027 per violation
Use the below checklist to audit and assess your current safety management processes, and drive a ‘safety improvement’ initiative.
Connected Safety: Bringing Together Safety Management, Regulatory Compliance and Other Business Processes
In several cases, these violations occur because compliance can be tedious and takes up resources. This can be draining on small and medium enterprises, who may be looking at OSHA compliance at the last minute rather than proactively ensuring compliance.
Even for large organizations, the nitty-gritty of becoming compliant with standards can be difficult. With multi-site operations, the problem gets compounded.
A cloud-based Safety Management System can help reduce the compliance burden and improve workplace safety. Through checklists and automated workflows, well-designed safety audits and inspections businesses can minimize violations and improve compliance.
CQ’s SafetyQuest Solution with next-generation AI and data capabilities, for instance, is aligned with OSHA for workplace safety. Therefore, implementing it can reduce the need for human intervention, and improve compliance, documentation, training, and change management.
A comprehensive suite of checklists also adds to safety assurance, thereby addressing safety hazards more effectively and proactively.
To know more, read this whitepaper: https://www.compliancequest.com/whitepaper/osha-violations/
