Check Your Jobsitefor
the Top FIVEOSHAViolations
OSHA’s major enforcement tool is the jobsiteinspection. Inspections often resultin the discovery of violations of OSHAstandards. Because your construction companyis subject to OSHA inspections, it may behelpful for you to know which rules OSHA isciting most frequently.
Knowing this information can help determine if your jobsites are in compliance or may need improvements. The following list, updated for fiscal year 2001/2002, catalogs the top five most frequently cited OSHA construction standards.
1.Fall Protection — Unprotected Sides and Edges (1,968 Citations)
OSHA’s 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(1) is designed to protect employees working on unprotected sides and edges. Specifically, each employee on a walking or working surface (both horizontal and vertical) with an unprotected side or edge that is six feet or more above a lower level has to be protected from falling. Your employer can do this by the use of:
• Guardrail systems,
• Safety net systems, or
• Personal fall arrest systems.
One of the reasons this regulation is violated is because so many workers are exposed to unprotected sides or edges six feet or more above a lower level. Think about it: six feet is not very high. Many people work that close to an unprotected edge without thinking it’s dangerous, and many employers display a similar lack of concern. However, OSHA obviously has its compliance officers looking for these violations, hence the large number of citations written.
2. Personal Protective Equipment — Head Protection (1,537 Citations)
This is a very common violation — lack of (or improper) protective helmets. “Employees working in areas where there is a possible danger of head injury from impact, or from falling or flying objects, or from electrical shock and burns shall be protected by protective helmets,” states ß1926.100(a). We all know that we should wear our hard hats at all times, right? Then why don’t we?
A few reasons we don’t wear our hard hat when we should:
1. Forgot it.
2. The boss doesn’t care if we wear it.
3. Too hot.
4. Too cold.
5. Too uncomfortable.
6. It looks ugly.
7. OSHA will never visit when we’re not wearing it.
Well, numbers one through six may be true, but number seven is definitely not true! There were at least 1,537 times that OSHA did do an inspection and found workers lacking the required hard hats. Do you want to be the worker responsible for your employer receiving a hefty OSHA fine? Heaven forbid that it’s a repeat violation!
3. Scaffolding — Fall Protection (1,260 Citations)
You may not work on scaffolding, but if you do, pay close attention. ß1926.451(g)(1) has been cited many times, often in connection with imminent danger situations. It states, “Each employee on a scaffold more than 10 feet above a lower level shall be protected from falling to that lower level.”
It sounds straightforward, but it’s not. Otherwise, why all the citations? Anyway, who really wears fall protection gear or puts a guardrail on a scaffold?
4. Excavations — Employee Protection
I don’t know if you have worked in an excavation, but it can be very dangerous. That’s why OSHA has a regulation that protects employees in excavations. ß1926.652(a)(1) states, “Each employee in an excavation shall be protected from cave-ins by an adequate protective system designed in accordance with paragraph (b) or (c) of this section, except when excavations are:
• Made entirely in stable rock; or
• Less than 5 feet in depth and examination of the ground by a competent person provides no indication of a potential cave-in.”
How many excavations are made in stable rock? Not too many. Excavations less than five feet are also uncommon on most jobsites. Most excavations do need some type of employee protection.
5. Scaffolding — Proper Access (1,043 Citations)
OSHA’s 29 CFR 1926.451(e)(1) covers proper scaffold access for all employees. This regulation requires, “When scaffold platforms are more than 2 feet above or below a point of access, portable ladders, hook-on ladders, attachable ladders, stair towers (scaffold stairways/ towers), stairway-type ladders (such as ladder stands), ramps, walkways, integral prefabricated scaffold access, or direct access from another scaffold, structure, personnel hoist, or similar surface shall be used. Crossbraces shall not be used as a means of access.”
It’s easy for OSHA compliance officers to spot this; that’s why so many citations are written. A tape measure and a sharp eye are all that are needed.
