Hazard Recognition – OSHA’s Most Cited Standards

Each year there are over 2.5 million workplace injuries across the nation. Ensuring safe and healthy workplace conditions is the main purpose of OSHA as it sets and enforces workplace standards. Last year the Top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety standard violations were:
1. Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501): 5,260
2. Hazard Communication (1910.1200): 2,424
3. Respiratory Protection (1910.134): 2,185
4. Ladders (1926.1053): 2,143
5. Scaffolding (1926.451): 2,058
6. Lockout/Tagout (1910.147): 1,977
7. Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178): 1,749
8. Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503): 1,556
9. Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (1926.102): 1,401
10. Machine Guarding (1910.212): 1,370
 
Studies have shown that for every serious workplace injury, there are 300-500 near miss incidents that by chance, aren’t accidents. This is why Hazard Recognition and Risk Assessments are vital in determining the hazards associated within your workplace. When determining hazards in your workplace, some helpful processes include:
 
Risk Assessments
Prior to beginning a project, Risk Assessments are a great way to identify and rate the hazards that are present in the workplace. Once the hazards have been identified and assigned a risk level, controls can then be implemented to help reduce or eliminate risks entirely.
 
Workplace Safety Inspections
Weekly safety inspections can help identify hazards as the workplace changes. When new hazards become present, additional controls and PPE requirements can be implemented to reduce the risk of injury.
 
Job Hazard Analysis
A Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) or Job Safety Analysis (JSA) is completed by workers as they begin new tasks on a daily or weekly basis. When workers can take time before each task to identify and assign hazards, they will be the frontline of hazard recognition.
 
Identifying and eliminating hazards in the workplace is the responsibility of everyone. Providing the tools and methods to recognize hazards will be the best way to eliminate injuries and OSHA citations. To keep the conversation going, download the Risk Assessment Toolbox Talk (TBT) or comment below.

Risk Assessment TBT