OSHA’s Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards for Fiscal Year 2021

OSHA’s Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards for Fiscal Year 2021

Take a look at the newest data shaping the list standards that are most frequently cited in 2021.

  • By Sydny Shepard
  • Dec 01, 2021

Each year, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) releases preliminary data to support their latest Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards list at the National Safety Council’s Safety Congress & Expo. With a slight delay in last year’s data release due to COVID-19, the Administration is back on track announcing the new Top 10 list in partnership with Safety + Health magazine.

This year, the newest information for fiscal year 2021 was announced by Acting Director of OSHA and Directorate of Enforcement Programs Patrick Kapust in a presentation called, “See it live: OSHA’s Top 10,” moderated by S+H Associate Editor Kevin Druley. In the presentation, which took place at Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, Kapust announced the newest lineup of the Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards and the number of violations for each standard between October 1, 2020 and September 1, 2021. Let’s first take a look at the list:


OSHA’s Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards

  1. Fall Protection, general requirements (29 CFR 1926.501)
  2. Respiratory Protection, general industry (29 CFR 1910.134)
  3. Ladders, construction (29 CFR 1926.1053)
  4. Scaffolding, general requirements, construction (29 CFR 1926.451)
  5. Hazard Communication Standard, general requirements (29 CFR 1910.1200)
  6. Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout), general requirements (29 CFR 1910.147)
  7. Fall Protection - Training Requirements (29 CFR 1926.503)
  8. Eye and Face Protection (29 CFR 1926.102)
  9. Powered Industrial Trucks, general requirements (29 CFR 1910.178)
  10. Machinery and Machine Guarding, general requirements (29 CFR 1910.212)

Now that you’ve seen the lineup, let’s take a more in-depth look at the new Top 10. Starting with the standard that saw the fewest number of violations in the list:

Machinery and Machine Guarding.

Machinery and Machine Guarding Once again, Machine Guarding is at the bottom of the list. While this might be the last standard on the Top 10, it is most certainly not the least. In fiscal year 2021, 1910.212 saw 1,113 violations. While this number is technically down from fiscal year 2020, the issue remains the same—workplaces are not putting together proper machine guarding programs that keep workers safe.


This article originally appeared in the November/December 2021 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.

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