Fall Protection: OSHA’s Most-Cited Violation

As it does every year, OSHA has released its 2021 top ten list of most-cited workplace violations — and, for the eleventh time in a row, failure to have appropriate fall protection (1926.501) ranks number one.

With 5,271 violations, fall protection more than doubled the second most common violation (respiratory protection), which had 2,521 citations. Likewise, lack of proper fall-protection training (1926.503) also made the top ten list with 1,670 violations. And, using the average OSHA fee for this particular citation (just over $5,400), the yearly national penalty for lack of fall protection totaled more than $28 million (to say nothing of the additional $2.7 million collected for lack of fall-protection training).

While obviously the primary purpose of fall protection is to keep personnel safe and productive while working at heights, it’s also important to remember that it’s more than just a moral and safety issue — it’s a legal obligation. And, as companies continue to lapse in their fall-protection safety measures, OSHA will in turn continue to prioritize this during their on-site inspections.

The best method for mitigating these OSHA violation fees is to be proactive — don’t wait until you’ve been fined to construct a fall-protection safety plan for your facility. Contact Safety Rail Company to see how we can help build you a site-specific, OSHA-compliant system!

Sources can be found here, here, and here.