In an effort to highlight common safety issues and raise awareness about steps that can be taken to prevent accidents and injuries, here are the top tips that can help you boost your OSHA compliance and avoid being part of its Top 10 violations list.
Every year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration compiles a “Top 10 list” of the most egregious compliance violations based on safety area and announces them at the National Safety Council Congress & Expo. This year is no different.
What’s new in OSHA’s Top 10 Violations for 2018? The majority of the list remains in the same safety areas—including fall protection, lockout/tagout, respirators, ladders and scaffolding all holding their respective spots. But fall protection training moved up one spot from No. 9 in 2017 to No. 8 this year. Conversely, machine guarding dropped from the No. 8 spot down to No. 9. And the newest area to crack the list at No. 10 is eye and face protection—which took over from last year’s electrical wiring methods.
“The OSHA Top 10 list calls out areas that require increased vigilance to ensure everyone goes home safely each day,” said Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of NSC, in a press release.
Here, we’ve listed the top and most common hazards that apply to the general manufacturing industry for the fiscal year 2018 (Oct. 1, 2017, through Sept. 30, 2018), along with safety tips and online resources—including videos—that offer some guidance. See the sidebar for the full list and number of violations for each area.
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One hazard rarely talked about is over zealous supervision who push employees to do jobs without the proper safety devices or requirements , in the name of making money and advancing themselves in a company, which often results in injuries and death. Too many employees are afraid to complain because they don't want to lose their jobs!
19Employee safety should always come first. Thanks for your comment Randall.
18Speaking as an industry oldtimer, this is what I have seen as the primary function of a union. One can voice safety concerns thru your union steward with minimal concerns about retribution.
19That's a great piece of feedback for all Safety advocates to keep in mind. Thank you for sharing.
17The entire purpose of Safety Programs is to find ways to blame the injured parties, meaning the employees. Each incident inevitably leads writing up each injured employee per negative-demerit systems, all the while the employee is losing work time in the hospital or at home recovering, knowing it's costing their PTO time (if such exists for them) and that they're getting blamed. Managers rarely - if ever - do actual hands-on work, so they're totally cool finding creative new ways to stick it to employees, again. Oh, in the name is "Safety". SURE
19Thankfully OSHA doesn't agree with the rubbish you just posted.
19Of course not. They wouldn't be in business if they did. Job security and all...
19Follow the money
19Lots of comments about how employers "stick it" to their employees, but nothing about how employees should have responsibility for their own safety. You should read the OSHA brochures, and know what is safe and what is not. If you need your employer to warn that falling off a roof is hazardous, perhaps you should stay home in bed.
18Thanks for your input Tony.
21A lot of this stuff, like so many things done by the government, is an attempt to replace intelligence and so-called common sense with generic, one-size-fits-all rules. In trying to fit all situations, the rules often become horribly complex and impractical. I have never worked in a machine shop, in my 30 years as a machinist, where the working machinists did not sympathize with the employer on this issue and regard OSHA as primarily a pain in the butt or something to be worked around. Where I work now we definitely keep on hand the things we actually need and use, such as hearing protection, goggles, dust masks, and chip guards. We use good sense with solvents and electricity. We don't wear neckties while running the lathe. But then we have this lockout/tagout crap that is basically there only to bluff through OSHA inspections. It is not like our machines are down for days at a time, or like you can tangle yourself around the spindle of a Bridgeport mill and have somebody else walk up and somehow not notice you there and plug the thing in and flip the switch on without you saying anything. We aren't stupid.
19We're happy to hear that Safety is a priority in your shop. Thanks for your comment John.
17Well stated
17I read the article and the list skips over #7 & #8.....?
18Hi Seth,
Good Eye.
#8 was addressed with the #1 violation, Fall Protection and Fall Protection Training. #7 was Powered Industrial Trucks which we listed out in the sidebar.
18Went through many safety classes as well as keeping OSHA certified in later years of a long construction career. Quite a bit of common sense rules but everyone needs to be on the same page.
Some of the previous comments on blaming the employee really are a reality with some, but not all companies. Repeatedly delaying hearings & settlements for injuries, sometimes career ending, are very common. "Starving" an injured worker into accepting a lowball compensation offer seems to be expected.
17Thanks for sharing your experience.
17My advice to people who feel that their employer is always trying to blame the employee or forces workers to skip safety protections is to.......change your job. Not trying to be flippant. If a company cares so little about you then you need to take care of yourself first. And companies that can't manage "no fault" accident investigations aren't really running a good safety program.
Second comment about looking at Lockout tag tryout as crap. I personally knew two people killed because of failure to follow LOTO procedures. Understanding accidents as the result of multiple causes (and not just the old "employee error" excuse) helps to develop a better picture of why random circumstances will sometimes conspire against us.
Finally, in my work in manufacturing safety (now retired) I don't buy that safety is all a matter of "common sense". If that were truly the case we would somehow never have any accidents. Yet accidents still happen to the skilled and thoughtful and conscientious.
17Tom's comment "My advice to people who feel that their employer is always trying to blame the employee or forces workers to skip safety protections is to.......change your job." is exactly a defense and a proof of the fact that their employer is always trying to blame the employee.
19At the company where I work, I am the Safety Supervisor. And every time something happens, everyone blames the boss. But I do remind them that if the boss asks them to do something that is unsafe, they all have my cell number and I shut the boss down, believe it or not. I also remind them they too have responsibility for their safety. I also never berate an employee for an accident or seek to blame them. I prefer education vs accusation. Super important to have the owner of the company to have your back. My job would be impossible if the owner and I were not on the same page. I'm very lucky.
18The mantra that one former employer had was "You are responsible for your own safety". To a point, yes. An Operator pushes a button, he should get the response he expects and not shocked or hit with a fluid. That is dependent solely on whoever is performing the repair, something an Operator has no control over. Another was "All Accidents are Preventable". That is an absolute. Because of human imperfection and unforeseen occurrence, that will never come to be true. I agree that you can take every known precaution and things will still happen. Someone can slip off of a flat head screw and bust their knuckles on the side of an electrical panel. Gloves, more positive engaging fastener designs, power tools in some cases can prevent those issues. I think the term common sense is over used and out of date. Sensibility and experience are more to the point. Training the less experienced takes time that everyone has to be willing to invest in. The best advice I can pass on is to use the same discernment as a First Responder uses; 1st and foremost CHECK. Look the situation over and recognize risks and hazards to prevent becoming one, start forming your plan which leads to the 2nd, CALL. This requires knowing your limitations and exercising that. Too much is usually better than not enough. 3rd Commence. Forget the time factor when closing in on the goal. In the case of human life that is not always the case but the point is don't get sloppy and take shortcuts because you are up against a timeline. Mistakes and rework only adds to the harm.
20We are sorry to hear about the loss of your colleagues. We believe in the importance of Safety on the job and hearing this real-world story reinforces that. Thank you Tom.
17what happened to # 7
19Hi Don,
#7 was Powered Industrial Trucks which we listed out in the sidebar.
Thanks!
18A very good article, but disappointed on the lack of concern for #7.
16Hi Mike,
Just today I saw a video online of a bad accident surrounding #7. I appreicate your feedback and will take it into account for upcoming coverage.
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