The Risk Matrix podcast, by Veriforce, released a timely episode about preparing for an OSHA inspection. It was an excellent discussion led by two of the most well-known safety leaders in the U.S., Dr. L.F. Martin, and James Junkin.
You don’t have to complicate your safety management system. To protect your workers, you must comply with OSHA regulations. The top OSHA violations of 2024 were recently released and most safety professionals were not surprised by the list:
- Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501)
- Hazard Communication (1910.1200)
- Ladders (1926.1053)
- Respiratory Protection (1910.134)
- Lockout/Tagout (1910.147)
- Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178)
- Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503)
- Scaffolding (1926.451)
- Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (1926.102)
- Machine Guarding (1910.212)
The good news? Most of these violations were preventable with proper training, and attention to detail.
This article explores the top three violations and gives you the straight goods on preparing for an OSHA inspection. You won’t find all the rules for each of the three areas in this piece, but you’ll learn some insider tips you may not have considered.
Fall Protection – General Requirements
People are falling off all types of elevated work platforms. For the 14th year in a row, Fall Protection was the top violation in 2024 with 6,307 violations.
According to Dr. Martin, the most common violations are improper ladder use and fall protection gear. James Junkin agrees.
“Some examples I’ve seen are workers who have Fall Protection training with on-the-job training with how to put on the full-body harness, but then the connecting device is not the right one”, said Junkin. “I see more people tied off with shock-absorbing lanyards, at heights that will not safely allow that shock-absorbing lanyard to deploy and you will hit the ground.”
In other words, it doesn’t matter if a worker is tied off if they are tied off improperly.
Hazard Communication
Hazard Communication (OSHA 1910.1200) should be the easiest regulation to comply with. Instead, it had the second-highest number of violations at 2,888. Workers need to be trained on the physical and health hazards when dealing with chemicals.
The Safety Data Sheet tells workers what the physical and health hazards are. But what commonly happens is the worksite does not have an up-to-date safety data sheet. The other challenge that inspectors see is the safety data sheet is only in English when there are many non-English speaking workers on the jobsite.
“I’ve also seen situations where there is a safety data sheet available, but workers do not access it,” said Dr. Martin. “My big thing with people on site is if you’re going to be working with a chemical or a substance, it’s a perfect opportunity to review that safety data sheet in the toolbox talk, or the JSA. Don’t put yourself in harm’s way.”
There also needs to be an updated inventory sheet. If a contractor brings a certain chemical to a hiring client’s jobsite, the contractor needs to communicate that. Many companies keep safety data sheets online so that they’re easily accessible for all workers, at any time.
Ladders
There is a big difference between ladders and a work platform, such as scaffolding. Ladders should be used for ACCESS. Scaffolding should be used as a stationary place to do the job. Unfortunately, companies use ladders as work platforms because they’re cheaper to perform a task.
“If you have workers working on a ladder, you have a significant risk of those workers falling,” said Junkin.“
Dr. Martin adds that ladders can be “too accessible” on the jobsite, an easy fix to get a job done quickly. She suggests that all workers should know the purpose of each ladder and put them away after workers are finished with them. It increases the risk to everyone and increases the likelihood of accidents and citations.
Most companies know the rules for ladders, such as ensuring they are secure, height restrictions, etc. Workers learn these rules through Basic Orientation training. The problem is workers are not complying with the many rules that come with ladder use.
To learn more about the top 10 OSHA violations and the inside scoop on how to prepare for an inspection, listen to The Risk Matrix Episode 65.