The 10 most-cited standards in 2022 remained the same as in 2021, though the order shifted somewhat. Hazard Communication jumped from fifth to second, with a 25% increase in cited violations. The biggest drop in cited violations occurred in Scaffolding, with a 19% decrease. Respiratory Protection, which surged early in the pandemic, fell from second to third in 2022, but was still more prominent than it had been before COVID-19.
The preliminary data was presented at the 2022 NSC Safety Congress and Expo by Patrick Kapust, deputy director of the Directorate of Enforcement Programs at OSHA.
The chart below gives OSHA’s preliminary data alongside the final data from FY 2021.
See recent OSHA Top 10 results here: 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018
OSHA Standard FY 2022 Preliminary Data
1. Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501)
5,260 Violations
No. 1 with 5,271 Violations
2. Hazard Communication (1910.1200)
2,424 Violations
No. 5 with 1,939 Violations
3. Respiratory Protection (1910.134)
2,185 Violations
No. 2 with 2,521 Violations
4. Ladders (1926.1053)
2,143 Violations
No. 3 with 2,018 Violations
5. Scaffolding (1926.451)
2,058 Violations
No. 4 with 2,538 Violations
6. Lockout/Tagout (1910.147)
1,977 Violations
No. 6 with 1,670 Violations
7. Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178)
1,749 Violations
No. 9 with 1,404 Violations
8. Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503)
1,556 Violations
No. 7 with 1,660 Violations
9. Personal Protective and Life Saving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (1926.102)
1,401 Violations
No. 8 with 1,451 Violations
10. Machine Guarding (1910.212)
1,370 Violations
No. 10 with 1,105 Violations
