This week, in case you weren’t aware of it, was the National Safety Council Congress and Expo in Florida. Everyone who’s anyone in the world of safety was there, including all the manufacturers of safety equipment. It’s also where OSHA usually announces the preliminary list of the top ten safety violations for the year. This year, the list ranks as follows:

1. Fall Protection with 7,250 total violations
2. Hazard Communication with 4,696 total violations
3. Scaffolding with 3,814 total violations
4. Respiratory Protection with 2,371 total violations
5. Ladders with 2,310 total violations
6. Machine Guarding with 2,097 total violations
7. Powered Industrial Trucks with 1,993 total violations
8. Electrical Wiring Methods with 1,744 total violations
9. Lockout/Tagout with 1,572 total violations
10. Electrical (General requirements) with 1,332 total violations

Noticeable changes from the previous year include scaffolding which last year was # 1 and fell to # 3 this year, Ladders which was # 8 last year and climbed to #5 this year and machine guarding which was # 10 last year and climbed to # 6 this year.