Each of the violation types show up every year, but it’s may be useful to note that machine guarding went from being the 10th most cited OSHA standards violation in fiscal year 2011 (www.osha.gov/oshstats/commonstats.html) to the sixth most cited violation in fiscal year 2012. No one wants to be part of those statistics.
A documented machine guarding assessment can be performed to verify compliance, and numerous companies including Omron STI offer services that can help.
If you're not certain that your machines are guarded to relevant standards or whether or not your company has had an assessment, resolve to perform an assessment in 2013. Here is OSHA's list of the top 10 violations for 2012:
- Fall protection – 7,250 violations
- Hazard communication – 4,696 violations
- Scaffolding – 3,814 violations
- Respiratory protection – 2,371 violations
- Ladders – 2,310 violations
- Machine guarding – 2,097 violations
- Powered industrial trucks – 1,993 violations
- Electrical wiring – 1,744 violations
- Lockout/tagout – 1,572 violations
- Electrical (general) – 1,332 violations
