At the end of each year, OSHA releases a valuable resource for safety leaders and operations teams. Their report highlights the most common OSHA violations observed in the workplace and lists them in order of frequency.
Here’s how you can use it:
Cross-check your safety program to find weak links or repeated infractions
Bring credible stats into safety meetings and toolbox talks
Focus your time on the gaps that actually get enforced
If you want a fast, contractor-friendly way to apply this list to your own jobs, book a free 15-minute Safety Assessment. We’ll pinpoint the 1–2 gaps that usually trigger citations, jobsite shutdown risk, or GC pressure, and give you a clear next step.
Fall Protection – General Requirements: 5,914 violations (29 CFR 1926.501)
Hazard Communication: 2,546 violations (29 CFR 1910.1200)
Ladders: 2,405 violations (29 CFR 1926.1053)
Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout): 2,177 violations (29 CFR 1910.147)
Respiratory Protection: 1,953 violations (29 CFR 1910.134)
Fall Protection – Training Requirements: 1,907 violations (29 CFR 1926.503)
Scaffolding – General Requirements: 1,905 violations (29 CFR 1926.451)
Powered Industrial Trucks (Forklifts): 1,826 violations (29 CFR 1910.178)
Eye and Face Protection: 1,665 violations (29 CFR 1926.102)
Machine Guarding: 1,239 violations (29 CFR 1910.212)
As we examine each in detail, you may recognize familiar problem areas.
Ask yourself:
Are any of these common trouble spots on your jobsites or in your shop?
Are the procedures you have in place coming up short in the field?
If a GC, client, or inspector asked for proof today, could you pull it in minutes — not hours?
Now it’s time to use the OSHA Top 10 list to make the right changes (without turning safety into more admin).
Machine guarding violations usually aren’t complicated. They happen when guards are missing, removed, or bypassed because “it’s faster.”
The risk is obvious, but the reason it keeps showing up is also obvious: guarding slips when production is moving and nobody wants to slow down.
Quick fixes that work:
Make one rule: if the guard isn’t on it, the tool is out of service
Do a short shop walk weekly and tag anything missing guards
Build guarding checks into your equipment inspection routine (not “when we remember”)
Ready to get started? Check out our blog on equipment inspection systems.
If you want us to quickly identify where your shop or field inspections are breaking down, book a free Safety Assessment
This one is frustrating because it’s usually preventable. The most common gap is simple: safety glasses are present… but not on faces.
If you want fewer incidents and fewer citations, focus less on posters and more on repeatable habits.
Quick fixes that work:
Put spare glasses where work actually happens (gang box, truck, trailer)
Make it a foreman standard: glasses on when the tool turns on
Match eye/face PPE to the task (cutting, grinding, drilling, chipping)
Ready to get started? Check out our blog on PPE in construction
Forklift issues show up year after year because companies rely on “the good operator” instead of a simple system:
Who is authorized?
Is training current?
Are daily checks happening?
Are defects actually fixed?
Quick fixes that work:
Keep a current list of authorized operators
Run daily pre-use inspections and track defects until they’re closed out
Make “park it until fixed” the standard (not optional)
Ready to get started? If you want a strong backbone for consistent equipment procedures across jobs, check out this blog.
If your issue is “we do checks… but the proof is scattered,” book a free Safety Assessment and we’ll show you how to tighten it fast.
Scaffold violations usually happen for predictable reasons:
Guardrails missing or incomplete
Poor foundations (no base plates, no mud sills where needed)
Unsafe access
Platforms not properly planked
Workers not trained in scaffold hazard recognition
The fix is consistency. One competent person owns the checks, and the same expectations apply on every job.
Ready to get started? Check out our blog on scaffolding requirements and best practices.
This is the classic problem: “We trained them… kind of.” OSHA expects that employees exposed to fall hazards have been trained and that the training is documented.
Quick fixes that work:
Train anyone exposed to fall hazards (not just the supervisor)
Document it simply (date, topic, names, trainer)
Refresh training when scope changes, crews change, or after a close call
Ready to get started? Check out our blog on OSHA training requirements.
If you want us to quickly review what you have (and what’s missing) without turning it into a big project, book a free Safety Assessment.
Respiratory protection is specialized PPE. The most common compliance gaps are:
No written program
Missing medical evaluations (when required)
Missing fit testing (for tight-fitting respirators)
Training not documented
Construction makes this harder because exposures don’t always feel urgent in the moment, until you’re asked for proof.
Ready to get started? Check out our blog on OSHA respiratory protection requirements,
and for construction-specific silica control.
This one matters because failures here can lead to severe injuries and fatalities. In construction, hazardous energy control shows up more than people think: temporary power, generators, equipment servicing, troubleshooting, and tie-ins.
Quick fixes that work:
Identify the equipment your team services or maintains
Write simple lockout steps for the equipment types you actually use
Train it, then verify it’s being followed
Make locks available and assign ownership (not “everyone” and not “no one”)
Ready to get started? Check out our blog on Lockout/Tagout in construction.
Ladders are everyday equipment, which makes them a high-risk place for complacency. Common misses include:
Using the wrong ladder for the job
Unsafe setup or unstable surfaces
Using the top step/top cap
Extension ladders not extending high enough above the landing
Quick fixes that work:
Standardize ladder sizes that match your common tasks
Train and enforce the basics (setup, angle, secure, condition)
Add a simple “ladder competency check” to reinforce expectations on site
Ready to get started? Check out our blog on ladder and stairway requirements.
HazCom citations are usually about basics:
No written program
SDS sheets not accessible to workers
Poor labeling (especially secondary containers like spray bottles)
Training not documented
If your proof is scattered (texts, email threads, “it’s in someone’s truck”), this category is where you get burned.
Quick fixes that work:
Maintain a simple chemical list for what’s actually used on your jobs
Make SDS easy to access during the shift (not “back at the office”)
Label secondary containers every time
Train in plain language and store proof in one place
Ready to get started? Check out our guide to Safety Data Sheets and if you want a practical way to decide controls beyond “just wear PPE,” start here.
If you want help centralizing training + SDS + proof so it’s not a scavenger hunt, book a free Safety Assessment.
Fall protection stays #1 because it’s not one mistake, it’s a pattern: edges, holes, leading edges, roof work, incomplete systems, and inconsistent enforcement across sites.
A Fall Protection Plan is the key to establishing a consistent standard of safety when workers are exposed to falls. It provides a procedure and a formula that can be repeated from job to job, even when crews change.
Hazard analysis and recognition – identify fall hazards before the task starts
Preventing the fall – use higher-level controls first (guardrails, covers, access control)
Controlling the fall – personal fall arrest systems when prevention isn’t possible
Written rescue plan – who is responsible and how rescue will proceed
Training employees – equipment use, limits, and documentation
Inspections – equipment plus site-specific fall hazards (daily, not “sometimes”)
Regular review and assessment – fix what keeps showing up
Ready to get started? Check out our blog on 6 Elements Of A Strong Fall Protection Plan.
If you’re not sure whether your fall protection plan would hold up under GC scrutiny or an OSHA visit, book a free Safety Assessment and we’ll help you tighten the gaps.
Taking a closer look at your safety system using OSHA’s Top 10 can help you:
Prevent citations before an inspector shows up
Reduce jobsite shutdown risk
Make training and proof easy to find
Stop relying on tribal knowledge and get consistency across crews
If you want us to pinpoint the 1–2 gaps most likely to get you tagged (and the fastest way to fix them), book your free Safety Assessment.
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