OSHA Enforcement Data
The ten standards OSHA cited most often in Fiscal Year 2025 (October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025), with a summary and regulation number for each. OSHA typically publishes an updated list each fall, so check back for the FY 2026 update later this year.
Source: osha.gov/top10citedstandards
Requires fall protection for construction workers exposed to falls of six feet or more onto lower levels, using guardrails, safety nets, or personal fall arrest systems. Cited most often for missing or improperly used fall protection at unprotected edges, floor openings, and roof work — the top OSHA violation for 15 consecutive years.
Requires employers to classify chemical hazards, maintain Safety Data Sheets, label containers, and train employees on chemical hazards in the workplace. Common citations involve missing or incomplete written HazCom programs, absent SDS access, and inadequate employee training — the same program deficiencies Qualia CIH Inc. routinely corrects for clients.
Sets requirements for the safe use, inspection, and maintenance of portable and fixed ladders on construction sites, including extension length past the landing surface and weight capacity. Frequent violations include damaged ladders left in service, improper set-up angles, and use of the top step as a standing surface.
Requires employers to establish procedures for shutting down and de-energizing machinery during service or maintenance, preventing unexpected startup that can crush, cut, or electrocute workers. Citations typically stem from missing machine-specific lockout procedures, unauthorized removal of locks, or inadequate periodic inspections of the energy control program.
Requires a written respiratory protection program, medical evaluation, fit testing, and training wherever workers use respirators for dust, fumes, vapors, or oxygen-deficient atmospheres. Violations most often involve missing written programs, expired fit tests, or respirator use without required medical clearance — a core area of Qualia CIH Inc.'s written program work.
Establishes safety requirements for scaffold construction, capacity, access, and fall protection on construction sites, including platform planking and guardrail specifications. Common citations include scaffolds erected without a competent person's oversight, missing guardrails, and inadequate access such as climbing on cross braces instead of a ladder.
Requires employers to train construction workers to recognize fall hazards and correctly use fall protection systems before exposure, with retraining when conditions change or deficiencies appear. Citations frequently pair with 1926.501 violations, reflecting workers who lacked fall protection and were never trained to recognize the hazard in the first place.
Covers the design, maintenance, and safe operation of forklifts and other powered industrial trucks, including mandatory operator training and evaluation. Frequent citations involve operators without documented training or evaluation, unsafe travel with elevated loads, and trucks kept in service despite defects that should have removed them from operation.
Requires employers to provide and ensure use of eye and face protection wherever workers face risk from flying particles, chemical splash, molten metal, or harmful light radiation. Violations typically involve missing protective eyewear during grinding, cutting, or welding tasks — hazards Qualia CIH Inc. evaluates as part of PPE assessments.
Requires machines with moving parts — points of operation, ingoing nip points, rotating parts, and flying chips or sparks — to be guarded against worker contact. Citations most often involve missing point-of-operation guards on presses and saws, or guards removed for production convenience and never reinstalled.
Where Qualia CIH Inc. Can Help
Three of these ten standards — Hazard Communication (#2), Respiratory Protection (#5), and PPE/Eye & Face Protection (#9) — sit directly in Qualia CIH Inc.'s written program and industrial hygiene practice. A written program review or gap assessment ahead of an OSHA inspection is often the fastest way to move off this list.
OSHA Authorized Trainer
Michael Chermak is an OSHA Authorized General Industry Trainer. Beyond gap assessments and written program work, Qualia CIH Inc. is available to assist employers with OSHA defenses — inspection response, informal conference preparation, and technical support for contesting or negotiating citations.
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Share which of these areas concern you most, and I'll follow up with a scoped gap assessment proposal.