Reprinted from Western Roofing magazine Nov/Dec 2007.

 

And the Hits Just Keep on Coming

OSHAÕs Top 10 Hits in the Construction Industry for the Past Year

 

ItÕs been a couple of years since we took a peek at how our friends at OSHA spent their time, so we thought it was time for another gander.  For those of you new to the construction industry, OSHA is not the killer whale at Sea World, but rather the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, a division of the U.S Department of Labor.

         OSHA spends quite a bit of time visiting jobsites and writing citations, and I looked up the latest information on the quantity of citations on their website.  If you want to check my figures, youÕll find the exact website link at the bottom of the violations list.

          From October 2006 through September 2007, OSHA made 10,998 inspections on construction sites, and cited 33,345 instances of violations for a total of $25,067,686 in fines.  This is down from the previous yearÕs total of 32,798,752 in fines.

         Now, if you want to average this out statistically, when OSHA comes knocking youÕll probably get cited for at least three violations, and each one will cost you $751.77.  The total cost of an average OSHA visit:  $2,255.31.  If this is OSHAÕs second or third visit for the same offense, those fines can increase dramatically, depending upon the violation.

         Taking a look at the top ten OSHA construction violations, you can easily see a trend.  Numbers one through five involve scaffolding, fall protection, ladders, and lifts.  Number nine involves training for the same.  OSHA is clearly concerned about falling bodies or the potential of falling bodiesÉ as we all should.

         The number one violation cited by far is scaffolding.  By the way, if you visit the OSHA website, that violation is listed as ÒGeneral Requirements.Ó  When I called to get a clarification, I was told it was ÒScaffolding.Ó  WeÕve all seen scaffolding thatÕs not assembled properly or out-of-date, and apparently so has OSHA.  But the number one inspected item is ÒFall Protection Scope/Applications/Definitions.Ó  While it ranked number two in actual number of violations, OSHA is spending more time inspecting this one standard than any other possible violations on the construction site.  Obviously, many fall protection applications are passing inspection, but also, many are not.

         An interesting note:  the first electrical violation doesnÕt even show up until number eleven.  Electrical standards and violations are mentioned frequently throughout the OSHA website.  There are numerous listings of OSHA electrical-related violations after the number ten spot, so this area is also a concern to OSHA, but not their chief concern.

         OSHAÕs chief concern is the potential of falling bodiesÉ and that means workers on, getting on, or leaving roof decks.  The roof environment presents an area ripe with the potential for workers to injure themselves.  You know this, your workers know this, and so does OSHA.

 

OSHAÕs Top 10

 

Standard

Cited

Inspected

Penalty

Description

1.

19260451

7434

2769

$6,312,556

Scaffolding

2.

19260501

4396

4017

$4,988,619

Fall Protection Scope/Applications/Definitions

3.

19261053

1948

1491

$1,026,064

Ladders

4.

19260503

1448

1388

$665,847

Fall Protection Training Requirements

5.

19260453

1445

1274

$1,303,286

Manually Propelled Mobile Ladder Stands and Scaffolds

6.

19260020

1289

1178

$853,694

Construction, General Safety and Health Provisions

7.

19260100

1227

1224

$658,628

Head Protection

8.

19101200

1135

565

$145,387

Hazard Communication

9.

19260454

1075

984

$512,052

Training requirements for Ladders & Scaffolds

10.

19260651

834

459

$833,572

Specific Evacuation Requirements