Familiar foes on OSHA cite list

The list of workplace safety standards most frequently cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) continued to paint a familiar picture in fiscal year 2008.

While a couple of violations may swap positions in the list from year to year, the makeup of the top 10 cited standards rarely changes. Violations involving scaffolding, hazard communication and fall protection occupied the top three rankings for the time period from October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008.

Based upon the consistency of the list, OSHA appears to be responding to areas where the hazards are most prevalent and citing accordingly.

See the three accompanying charts below for OSHA's top 10 cited standards for fiscal year 2008, plus compilations of the most frequently cited willful and serious violations over the same time period.

OSHA defines a willful violation as "committed with an intentional disregard of or plain indifference to the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations." A serious violation is one in which there is "substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result, and the employer know or should have known of the hazard."