With the release of OSHA’s 2024 Top Ten Safety Violations, we thought it would be useful to take a closer look at some of the big concerns (yes, Falls, we’re looking at you) and provide some resources to help avoid citations and keep the workplace as safe as possible.

Falls

For the 14th year in a row, OSHA has ranked Fall Protection as the most frequently cited standard across all industries. At 6,307 violations, it’s cited more than twice as much as the other contenders, with Fall Protection-Training Requirements coming in seventh.

With falls being such a big workplace safety focus, ICW Group wants to provide you with as many resources as we can. Our Articles & Insights section of our website contains several articles on fall protection, including the comprehensive What You Need To Know About Fall Protection, plus one specifically on working with Lifts and Scaffolds. We also recommend this 8 Step Approach piece, which goes into some depth about OSHA’s requirements and has an actionable approach for creating a fall protection plan.

Our online resource, Safety OnDemand®, also has plenty of aids to help prevent these types of violations. It’s available for free to ICW Group work comp policyholders, just note that registration is required. Once there you can find a useful prep kit for holding Roofing Fall Prevention meetings, a 10 minute course on  Fall Hazards and Falls from Heights, as well as a more in-depth Leading Edge Fall Protection webinar.  In addition, we offer a Fall Protection Program Wizard and a Fall Protection Program Audit template to further assist you with your Federal OSHA compliance efforts.

Hazard Communication

The second most common OSHA violation cited relates to Hazard Communication–not surprising given that hazardous chemicals are also the leading cause of workplace illness and injuries.

Having a solid HazCom plan is vital to workplace health and safety, and our Safety OnDemand portal contains a full suite of resources to assist you with your own hazard communication program. Login to find a Hazard Communication Program Wizard, Hazard Communication Employer’s Guide, and this HazCom Audit Tool to help guide your OSHA compliance.

Safety OnDemand also offers a 45 minute eLearning course on the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) Hazcom program as well as a super convenient HazCom/Chemical Safety Video Loop to play in areas of your workplace where you might want some extra safety reminders: just set it to stream and go!

For some extra HazCom research, head to the Articles & Insights section of ICW Group’s website to access articles written by our Risk Management experts on topics such as Hazard Communication Safety Tips and The ABCs of Chemical Safety.

Ladders

For the superstitious among us, going under a ladder might not be a good call, but when going up or down one in the workplace, great care should always be taken. ICW Group has more than one resource for you to stay safe when using this third most common cause for OSHA citations.

Our Safety OnDemand’s Safe Ladder Use Meeting Kit and various Safety Talks will help you set aside time to educate your team on ladder safety, complete with handouts, worksheets, and fleshed-out presentations. Plus, we offer a ten-minute Ladder Safety Quick Course as well as an on-demand Ladder Webinar presented by an ICW Group risk management professional.

You can also check out the various ladder safety articles in our Articles and Insights section like this one on Ladder Safety Steps.

More Resources: Respiratory, Lockout/Tagout and Forklifts

Below you will find additional resources for some of the other areas of concern on OSHA’s list.

Respiratory Protection:

Lockout/Tagout Safety:

To help you stay OSHA compliant with those procedures used to properly shutdown or disable machinery not in use, ICW Group created a 9-step Lockout Tagout Employer’s Guide that walks you through the steps needed to get your business on the path to compliance.

Powered Industrial Trucks:

If you’ve got forklift or Powered Industrial Trucks (PIT)  operators on your crew, check out our Forklift and PIT Safety Webinar, which can be viewed at any time on demand.

Further resources available in Safety OnDemand include:

Take advantage of these resources along with many others we provide to help prevent injuries and avoid OSHA citations, and don’t forget to sign in or register now to Safety OnDemand to fully enhance your safety program.