The Safety Newsletter

The Same Hazards, Year After Year

The most frequently cited standards offer a useful safety check.

OSHA has released its preliminary list of the 10 most frequently cited standards for fiscal year 2026, based on citation data from October 1, 2025, through August 31, 2026.

Fall Protection is number one on the list for the 16th year in a row. Hazard Communication is second, followed closely by Lockout/Tagout.

The list looks very familiar.

All 10 standards from this year’s list also appeared in last year’s Top 10. Only their positions changed. Scaffolding made the biggest move, climbing from No. 6 to No. 4, while Ladders dropped from No. 3 to No. 5. Lockout/Tagout and Powered Industrial Trucks each moved up one spot.

Here is the preliminary 2026 list, with the number of violations cited for each standard:

1. Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501) — 4,041
2. Hazard Communication (1910.1200) — 1,961
3. Lockout/Tagout (1910.147) — 1,863
4. Scaffolding (1926.451) — 1,725
5. Ladders (1926.1053) — 1,659
6. Respiratory Protection (1910.134) — 1,608
7. Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178) — 1,379
8. Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503) — 1,273
9. Eye and Face Protection (1926.102) — 1,120
10. Machine Guarding (1910.212) — 1,072

Four of the Top 10 are construction standards involving falls or working at height: Fall Protection, Scaffolding, Ladders, and Fall Protection Training. The rest cover hazards found across many industries, including chemicals, hazardous energy, respirators, forklifts, eye and face protection, and machine guarding.

The Top 10 can be a useful checklist for your own safety program. Start with the standards that apply to the work your employees actually do. Are employees using the required fall protection? Is your hazard communication program current? Do your lockout procedures match the equipment being serviced? Are forklift operators properly trained and evaluated? Are machines properly guarded?

You can also go one step further. OSHA lets you search the most frequently cited standards for your specific industry by NAICS code. That can give you a better picture of the violations OSHA is finding in businesses that do work similar to yours. Search your industry ›

Put the Top 10 to work. Pick two or three areas that apply to your workplace or jobsite and take a closer look. If OSHA continues to find the same problems year after year, they’re worth checking before they become a problem for you too. Learn more ›

Recent safety news, briefly.

OSHA says a burn caused by an employee’s personal e-cigarette battery can be work-related. In a January letter of interpretation, OSHA considered a case in which an employee was burned when a personal lithium-ion battery caught fire during assigned work hours. OSHA said injuries caused by events in the work environment are presumed work-related unless a specific exception applies. The fact that the battery was personal did not change that determination. Read more ›

OSHA released new guidance on responding to opioid overdoses at work. The Sept. 24 fact sheet recommends keeping naloxone or nalmefene in visible, easily accessible locations and training workers to recognize an overdose and respond. Signs can include slow or stopped breathing, blue lips or skin, pinpoint pupils, and unresponsiveness. OSHA also says to call 911 immediately because the effects of overdose reversal medication are temporary. Read more ›

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board released its final report on a 2025 furnace explosion at Shell Polymers in Pennsylvania. The explosion and fire caused an estimated $95 million in property damage and forced 15 employees to evacuate. The CSB found that Shell relied on procedures and other administrative controls to prevent a potentially fatal gas backflow instead of using available engineered safeguards. The board recommended identifying similar hazards and putting additional safeguards in place. Read more ›

Pipeline Worker Killed Changing a Drill Bit

The drill stem rotated during a routine job. OSHA cited the contractor for a willful violation.

In March, a crew at a job site in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., was replacing a drill bit on a horizontal directional drilling machine. The pipe stem began to rotate and struck one of the workers. The worker died. Read more ›

OSHA cited the employer, a pipeline installation contractor based in Orlando, for one willful violation for exposing workers to struck-by hazards. The contractor faces $165,514 in proposed penalties.

Changing a bit is ordinary work on these machines. So is clearing a jam, swapping a blade, or making an adjustment on other equipment. Each task can put a worker in the path of a part that is built to move.

Before that kind of work starts, identify what could move and where the worker will be standing. Then determine what will keep the equipment from moving while the work is being done. If preventing movement depends only on someone staying away from the controls, additional safeguards are needed.

Dates to know in the weeks ahead.

October · National Protect Your Hearing Month. About 27 million workers are exposed to hazardous noise on the job each year, according to NIOSH. Hearing loss from work can almost always be prevented. NIOSH ›

Oct. 4–10 · Fire Prevention Week. This year’s theme is “Charge into Fire Safety: Safe Charging Is a Superpower” with a focus on safely charging lithium-ion batteries. NFPA ›

Oct. 15 · Great ShakeOut earthquake drill. Millions of people will practice “Drop, Cover, and Hold On.” If earthquakes are a risk in your area, use the day to run a drill and review your emergency action plan. ShakeOut ›

Nov. 1 · Daylight saving time ends. Clocks go back an hour, and evenings get dark earlier. Check that parking lots, walkways, and outdoor work areas are well lit. NIST ›

Nov. 1–7 · Drowsy Driving Prevention Week. Driving while drowsy slows reaction time, reduces awareness, and impairs judgment. Remind employees to get enough sleep before driving and never get behind the wheel when they are too tired to drive. NSF ›

Housekeeping Is Easy to Skip When a Job Runs Late

Keeping a job site clear matters most when the schedule is tight.

By John Matias, weeklysafety.com

Housekeeping is one of the first things to get pushed aside when a job falls behind. The crew is focused on getting the work done, and cleanup can seem like something that can wait. Sometimes it gets put off until the end of the day, the end of the week, or even the end of the job.

On a job site, housekeeping means more than sweeping up. Tools and materials need to be put away when they are not in use. Scrap and debris need to be removed, spills cleaned up, and walkways and exits kept clear. Flammable and hazardous materials also need to be stored properly.

Poor housekeeping creates hazards that are easy to recognize.

Trips and slips. Cords, scrap, tools, and materials left where people walk can cause someone to trip. The risk is even greater when a worker is carrying something and cannot see the ground ahead.

Fire. Combustible waste, oily rags, and flammable materials need to be handled and stored properly. Sparks and other ignition sources can quickly turn poor housekeeping into a fire.

Blocked exits and equipment. Workers need clear access to exits, fire extinguishers, and other emergency equipment. Don’t let materials, tools, or pallets block the way.

Lost time. Clutter can also slow down the work. Crews spend time looking for tools, moving materials out of the way, and working around things that should have been put away.

The best approach is to make cleanup part of the job. Give crews time to clear their work areas as tasks are completed and at the end of the shift. Make sure someone is checking walkways, exits, and other areas where clutter can create a hazard.

Supervisors set the standard. If clutter, cords, or debris are allowed to build up, the crew gets the message that housekeeping can wait. Addressing it when you see it sends the opposite message.

Start with the walkways and exits. Walk them at the start of the next shift and clear anything that does not belong there before work begins.

A version of this first appeared on inspiresafety.com.

Put what you know in front of other safety professionals, with your name on it. Every Column runs with your byline, your credentials and a link to your LinkedIn. It goes out by email and is published on our website the same day, so you can share it on LinkedIn right away. It’s open to anyone with a stake in workplace safety. A pitch takes a few sentences. Pitch your idea ›

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”

— Will Durant

What’s one safety habit your crew could strengthen this month?

Until next month, stay safe.

— The Safety Newsletter