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Top 10 OSHA Construction Violations in 2022

We have compiled a list of the 10 most frequently cited building standards for fiscal year 2022 (October 2020 to March 2022).

Each year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) publishes the 10 most frequently cited standards from the previous fiscal year. By publishing the list, OSHA hopes to raise awareness of the standards most commonly cited as violations to help employers focus their efforts on making workplaces safer for employees.

The list provided by OSHA covers all industries, so it does not provide a good idea of ​​which standards are most commonly cited for a particular industry, such as construction. OSHA also has separate sets of standards with different regulations for building, agricultural, and marine safety control in addition to their industry-wide standards.

Luckily for us, OSHA has a website where you can search for   frequently cited OSHA standards   by North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes, as well as by size of business, and by federal or state jurisdiction.

The following are the 10 most commonly cited OSHA building standards using the NAICS 23 code for fiscal year 2021. Included are title, standard number, previous year's top 10 ranking, and number of citations issued.

The 10 Most Cited OSHA Building Standards

1. Subsection title:
Fall protection standard number:   1926.501
Title: Duty to have fall protection.
FY2020 Top 10 Rank: 1
Citations: 4279

2. Subsection name: Stairs
Standard number:   1926.1053
Name: Stairs.
FY2020 Top 10 Rank: 3
Citations: 1602

3. Subsection title: Forests
Standard number:   1926.451
Title: General requirements.
FY2020 Top 10 Rank: 2
Citations: 1468

4. Subsection Title:
Fall Protection Standard Number:   1926.503
Title: Training Requirements.
FY2020 Top 10 Rank: 4
Citations: 1356

5. Subsection title: Personal protective equipment and life saving
Standard number:   1926.102
Title: Eye and face protection.
FY2020 Top 10 Rank: 5
Citations: 1209

6. Subsection title: Personal protective equipment and life saving
Standard number:   1926.100
Title: Head protection.
FY2020 Top 10 Rank: 7
Citations: 651

7. Sub-section title: General provisions for safety and hygiene
Standard number:   1926.20
Title: General provisions for safety and hygiene.
FY2020 Top 10 Rank: 6
Citations: 648

8. Subsection name: Scaffolding
Standard number:   1926.453
Name: Lifts.
FY2020 Top 10 Rank: 10
Citations: 436

9. Subsection title:
Excavation standard number:   1926.651
Title: Special requirements for earthworks.
FY2020 Top 10 Rank: 8
Citations: 391

10. Subsection title:
Fall protection standard number:   1926.502
Title: Criteria and practice for fall protection systems.
FY2020 Top 10 Rank: 9
Citations: 343

Note.  Fiscal Year 2020 rankings are current as of April 8, 2021. FY2020 position and citation numbers are current as of October 8, 2021. 

Key Findings

The FY2021 list is nearly identical to the FY2020 list in terms of which quotes made the top ten.

In fact, this list has not changed for many years, with most of the same standards topping the cited list year after year. Employers should take note of this list and try to include it in their safety training and  tool talks .

Fall hazard violations  continue to dominate the list, which is not surprising since falls are the number one cause of death for construction workers each year. Six of the 10 standards included in the list dealt with fall protection, ladders and scaffolding.

Preventable but costly security breaches

In addition to the very real possibility that violating OSHA standards could easily lead to accidents, injury, and even death, these fines cost the construction industry millions of dollars each year.

OSHA issued 16,749 complaints to construction companies from 6,624 inspections in FY 2021 totaling $58,691,406 in fines. These numbers are lower than FY 2020, but these numbers are provisional because not everything was reported this close to the end of last fiscal year.

Remember that OSHA standards are the absolute minimum that construction companies must do to protect workers. Be sure to check out our  10 Job Site Safety Tips for tips on how to protect workers from the hazards that come from violating these standards.

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