We’ve compiled the list of Top 10 Frequently Cited OSHA Standards for Construction for fiscal year 2017 (October 2016 through September 2017) and there aren’t many changes from last year’s list.

Each year at the National Safety Council & Expo, OSHA reveals the Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards from the previous fiscal year. The goal is to inform the public of the standards most commonly cited for violations and allow employers to focus their efforts on those standards to make workplaces safer for employees.

Given that there are dozens of industries covered it doesn’t provide a good understanding of which standards specific industries are most likely to be cited for. In addition to the general industry standards, OSHA also has separate sets of standards that govern safety for the construction, agriculture and maritime industries.

Luckily, OSHA has a website where you can search the Frequently Cited OSHA Standards by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes as well as establishment size and by federal or state jurisdiction.

Below is the Top 10 Frequently Cited OSHA Standards for Construction for the 2017 fiscal year. Included are the title, standard number, the top 10 ranking from the previous year and the number of citations issued.

1.
Subpart Title: Fall Protection
Standard Number: 1926.501
Title: Duty to have fall protection.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 1
Number of Citations: 5,378

2.
Subpart Title: Scaffolds
Standard Number: 1926.451
Title: General requirements.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 2
Number of Citations: 2,644

3.
Subpart Title: Ladders
Standard Number: 1926.1053
Title: Ladders.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 3
Number of Citations: 1,989

4.
Subpart Title: Fall Protection
Standard Number: 1926.503
Title: Training requirements.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 4
Number of Citations: 1,353

5.
Subpart Title: Personal Protective and Life Saving Equipment
Standard Number: 1926.102
Title: Eye and face protection.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 5
Number of Citations: 1,125

6.
Subpart Title: Personal Protective and Life Saving Equipment
Standard Number: 1926.100
Title: Head protection.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 8
Number of Citations: 700

7.
Subpart Title: Toxic and Hazardous Substances
Standard Number: 1910.1200
Title: Hazard Communication.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 6
Number of Citations: 688

8.
Subpart Title: Scaffolds
Standard Number: 1926.453
Title: Aerial lifts.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 9
Number of Citations: 629

9.
Subpart Title: General Safety and Health Provisions
Standard Number: 1926.20
Title: General safety and health provisions.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 7
Number of Citations: 603

10.
Subpart Title: Fall Protection
Standard Number: 1926.502
Title: Fall protection systems criteria and practices.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 10
Number of Citations: 556

(Note: The rankings and number of citations issued are current as of October 2, 2017.)

The top five remained in the same order as last year. There was some shakeup in the six through nine spots, but none of the standards from last year fell out of the top 10. It’s disconcerting that over half of the top 10 list deals with fall protection or working at height with scaffolding, aerial lifts and ladders since falls remain the number one cause of worker deaths in the construction industry. The fact that head protection and eye and face protection continues to make the list is also troubling since it is such an easy and inexpensive fix.

Be sure to check out our 10 Construction Site Safety Tips that address how to protect workers from hazards created when these standards are violated.

As a point of reference, this year we are including the Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards for fiscal year 2017. The list covers all industries and all sets of standards.

1.
Subpart Title: Fall Protection
Standard Number: 1926.501
Title: Duty to have fall protection.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 1
Number of Citations: 6,072

2.
Subpart Title: Toxic and Hazardous Substances
Standard Number: 1910.1200
Title: Hazard Communication.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 2
Number of Citations: 4,176

3.
Subpart Title: Scaffolds
Standard Number: 1926.451
Title: General requirements.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 3
Number of Citations: 3,288

4.
Subpart Title: Personal Protective Equipment
Standard Number: 1910.134
Title: Respiratory Protection.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 4
Number of Citations: 3,097

5.
Subpart Title: General Environmental Controls
Standard Number: 1910.147
Title: The control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout).
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 5
Number of Citations: 2,877

6.
Subpart Title: Ladders
Standard Number: 1926.1053
Title: Ladders.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 7
Number of Citations: 2,241

7.
Subpart Title: Materials Handling and Storage
Standard Number: 1910.178
Title: Powered industrial trucks.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 6
Number of Citations: 2,162

8.
Subpart Title: Machinery and Machine Guarding
Standard Number: 1910.212
Title: General requirements for all machines.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 8
Number of Citations: 1,933

9.
Subpart Title: Fall Protection
Standard Number: 1926.503
Title: Training requirements.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: Not Ranked
Number of Citations: 1,523

10.
Subpart Title: Electrical
Standard Number: 1910.305
Title: Wiring methods, components, and equipment for general use.
FY2016 Top 10 Rank: 9
Number of Citations: 1,405

Comparing the two lists, it is interesting to see that five of the top 10 list we pulled to the construction industry also showed up on the list covering all industries and the fact that duty to have fall protection made the top spot on both lists.