Top 10 OSHA Citations of 2016: A Starting Point for Workplace Safety
Every October, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration releases a preliminary list of the 10 most frequently cited safety and health violations for the fiscal year, compiled from nearly 32,000 inspections of workplaces by federal OSHA staff. One remarkable thing about the list is that it rarely changes. Year after year, our inspectors see thousands of the same on-the-job hazards, any one of which could result in a fatality or severe injury.
More than 4,500 workers are killed on the job every year, and approximately 3 million are injured, despite the fact that by law, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their workers. If all employers simply corrected the top 10 hazards, we are confident the number of deaths, amputations and hospitalizations would drastically decline.
Consider this list a starting point for workplace safety:
- Fall protection
- Hazard communication
- Scaffolds
- Respiratory protection
- Lockout/tagout
- Powered industrial trucks
- Ladders
- Machine guarding
- Electrical wiring
- Electrical, general requirements
It’s no coincidence that falls are among the leading causes of worker deaths, particularly in construction, and our top 10 list features lack of fall protection as well as ladder and scaffold safety issues. We know how to protect workers from falls, and have an ongoing campaign to inform employers and workers about these measures. Employers must take these issues seriously. We also see far too many workers killed or gruesomely injured when machinery starts up suddenly while being repaired, or hands and fingers are exposed to moving parts.
Lockout/tagout and machine guarding violations are often the culprit here. Proper lockout/tagout procedures ensure that machines are powered off and can’t be turned on while someone is working on them. And installing guards to keep hands, feet and other appendages away from moving machinery prevents amputations and worse.
Respiratory protection is essential for preventing long term and sometimes fatal health problems associated with breathing in asbestos, silica or a host of other toxic substances. But we can see from our list of violations that not nearly enough employers are providing this needed protection and training.
The high number of fatalities associated with forklifts, and high number of violations for powered industrial truck safety, tell us that many workers are not being properly trained to safely drive these kinds of potentially hazardous equipment. Rounding out the top 10 list are violations related to electrical safety, an area where the dangers are well-known.
Our list of top violations is far from comprehensive. OSHA regulations cover a wide range of hazards, all of which imperil worker health and safety. And we urge employers to go beyond the minimal requirements to create a culture of safety at work, which has been shown to reduce costs, raise productivity and improve morale. To help them, we have released new recommendations for creating a safety and health program at their workplaces. We have many additional resources, including a wealth of information on our website and our free and confidential On-site Consultation Program. But tackling the most common hazards is a good place to start saving workers’ lives and limbs.
Thomas Galassi is the director of enforcement programs for OSHA.
Las 10 Violaciones Tope de OSHA en 2016
Por Thomas Galassi
La Administración de Seguridad y Salud Ocupacional del Departamento de Trabajo publica cada mes de octubre la lista preliminar de las 10 violaciones de seguridad y salud más frecuentemente citadas durante el año fiscal sobre la base de casi 32.000 inspecciones de lugares de trabajo realizadas por parte del personal federal de OSHA. Algo sorprendente es que la lista rara vez cambia. Año tras año nuestros inspectores ven miles de los mismos peligros que pueden resultar en muerte o en lesión grave. A pesar de que por ley los empleadores son responsables de proporcionar espacios seguros y saludables para sus trabajadores, cada año mueren más de 4.500 trabajadores, y aproximadamente tres millones sufren lesiones. Estamos seguros de que el número de muertes, amputaciones y hospitalizaciones se reduciría drásticamente si todos los empleadores sencillamente corrigiesen los 10 riesgos principales. Considere esta lista como punto de partida para la seguridad laboral:
- Protección contra caídas
- Comunicación de peligros
- Andamios
- Protección respiratoria
- Bloqueo y etiquetado
- Vehículos industriales
- Escaleras
- Protectores para máquinas
- Cableado eléctrico
- Requisitos eléctricos y generales
No es coincidencia que las caídas sean una de las principales causas de muerte entre trabajadores, particularmente en construcción, y que en nuestra lista de las 10 violaciones tope aparezcan la falta de protección contra caídas así como cuestiones de seguridad relacionadas con escaleras y andamios. Sabemos cómo proteger a los trabajadores contra caídas, y tenemos en marcha una campaña permanente para informar a empleadores y trabajadores acerca de las medidas a tomar. Los empleadores deben abordar seriamente estas cuestiones. También vemos demasiados trabajadores muertos o heridos horriblemente cuando repentinamente las máquinas se ponen en marcha mientras se están reparando, o cuando manos y dedos quedan expuestos a sus elementos móviles. Al respecto, las violaciones culpables son comúnmente las relativas a los sistemas de bloqueo y al etiquetado. Los procedimientos apropiados de bloqueo y etiquetado garantizan que las máquinas permanezcan apagadas y no se puedan encender mientras alguien está trabajando en ellas. E instalar protectores de máquinas para mantener manos, pies y otras partes lejos de maquinaria en movimiento evita amputaciones y otras calamidades aún peores. La protección respiratoria es esencial para prevenir problemas de salud duraderos y a veces potencialmente mortales asociados a la inhalación de amianto, sílice y toda una serie de sustancias tóxicas. Pero podemos ver por nuestra lista de violaciones que definitivamente no suficientes empleadores están ofreciendo ni protección adecuada ni el necesario entrenamiento. El elevado número de muertes asociadas con carretillas elevadoras, y el alto número de infracciones relacionadas con la seguridad de vehículos industriales motorizados son indicativos de que muchos trabajadores no están siendo debidamente capacitados para manejar con seguridad este tipo de equipos potencialmente peligrosos. Completando la lista de las 10 violaciones tope destacan las relacionadas con la seguridad eléctrica, un área donde los peligros son de sobra conocidos. Nuestra lista de las principales infracciones está lejos de ser completa. Las regulaciones de OSHA cubren una amplia gama de peligros, todos los cuales ponen en riesgo la salud y la seguridad de los trabajadores. Hacemos un llamado a los empleadores para que vayan más allá de los requisitos mínimos exigidos de manera que contribuyan decididamente a crear una cultura de seguridad laboral que ha demostrado su capacidad en reducir costos, aumentar la productividad y mejorar la moral. Para ayudarles, hemos publicado nuevas recomendaciones para la creación de un programa de salud y seguridad en sus propios lugares de trabajo. Tenemos muchos recursos adicionales, incluyendo una gran cantidad de información en nuestra página web y nuestro programa de consulta gratuita y confidencial in situ. Pero la lucha contra los peligros más comunes es un buen lugar para empezar a salvar las vidas y extremidades de los trabajadores.
Thomas Galassi es director de los programas de OSHA para el cumplimiento.
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I second that!
I understand your complaint, but you fail to objectify safety and are playing the same "blame" game as do most management and corporation leaders. You are the workers' advocate yet cite employees as the causation. It has been proven in study after study that ambivalence on the part of the company and management, (as well as bad safety management programs,) directly correlates to the workers' norms. (Cavazza/Serpe) If the company truly advocates 'safety' culture and treats the safety process as a profitable metric assessment instead of the "blame" game, the employee will adopt the accessible, positive and proactive safety culture. It starts from the top-down and until implementation of a proactive preventative safety program, instead of a structure of for profit management of employees, you will never see the benefits of positive safety culture. I have experienced poor, mediocre and best practices in safety culture. Go be a 'worker' for awhile...
Really? When you've deported all the immigrants, who will pick the fruits and vegetables? We'll all likely to starve as Americans will refuse to work under the conditions that they do. Where is your heart when it comes to Mexican immigrants and the benefit they provide us. Are you stupid or just heartless?
Thank you Jo! Thi is exactly my thoughts! Although I actually grew up picking right along side the mexicans, there is no way I would accept only $3 an hour for that kind of work. So by exporting illegal mexicans, the price of good farmed vegetables is going to jump significantly
If I moved to Mexico I would be sure to learn the language beforehand. I'm pretty sure the Mexican Govt doesn't provide documents in english the way this country does. By the way I am not a racist and am VERY EMBARRASSED by some of the things my fellow countrymen have said but much of it is correct. Mexico's problems are of their own making and they should stay and correct them -- TOUGH LOVE, but It's easier to sneak across the border than it is to apply for a visa and the illegals are criminals just by their presence and those who employ them ARE accomplices.
What tax dollars? You didn't pay any.
..."for all the boarder jumpers"... Learn the language indeed...or learn to use spell check at least
Learn how to use spell check!!
I completely second that Mr President!
Thanks for the link Mike
When I filed my complaint with OSHA, the state level fell into the company's manipulation to try and minimize how bad things were. I have dealt with the company's retaliation since then. Appearance wise it looks like the company paid OSHA off. My efforts to make my employer come from being 30 years behind the rest of the industry in regards to safety, seems like they have only advanced a few months.
OSHA takes every safety and health complaint seriously. A worker has a right to file a complaint with OSHA and it is illegal for an employer to retaliate against a worker for filing a complaint. If you believe you have been retaliated against for exercising your rights, you may file a whistleblower complaint at https://www.whistleblowers.gov/complaint_page.html
As expected the major cause for deaths every year is due to falls from construction and repairs. Health and safety for workers should be taken seriously by the employers. Every company should have a strong workplace policy and responsible person who should make sure that the policy is implemented. We too should have a very strong health and safety act just like UK https://hasawa.com/1974-act/health-and-safety-at-work-act-1974/
-Mike.
Like so many of the before mentioned articles why aren't the company names of the violator made public. You say there are 10 companies but you will not name them sound a little strange