OSHA's Top 10, Fixed at the System

The list, with where to start on each

Preliminary federal OSHA data, Oct. 1, 2025 through Aug. 31, 2026, presented by Prent Cline, acting deputy director of OSHA's Directorate of Enforcement Programs, at the 2026 NSC Safety Congress & Expo (Indianapolis, Sept. 15, 2026). State-plan OSHA citations are not included. FY 2025 final counts (Oct. 1, 2024 through Sept. 30, 2025, data pulled April 15, 2026) are shown for context. The FY 2026 numbers cover 11 months and are preliminary, so they will rise when OSHA finalizes them. Do not read the lower FY 2026 totals as a trend. Last year the preliminary Fall Protection count was 5,914 and the final was 6,992.

1. Fall Protection – General Requirements

   • 4,041 violations, FY 2026 preliminary · 6,992 FY 2025 final (No. 1)

   Start here (eliminate): Design it out. Prefabricate and assemble at ground level. Parapets or permanent guardrails designed in at the drawing stage.

   Rules and guidance: 29 CFR 1926.501 [CON]

2. Hazard Communication

   • 1,961 violations, FY 2026 preliminary · 3,010 FY 2025 final (No. 2)

   Start here (eliminate): Remove chemicals nobody uses. Most sites carry products with no current task.

   Rules and guidance: 29 CFR 1910.1200 [BOTH]

3. Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout)

   • 1,863 violations, FY 2026 preliminary · 2,562 FY 2025 final (No. 4)

   Start here (eliminate): Design out the need to reach in: jam-resistant feeds, remote clearing tools, lubrication and adjustment points moved outside guards.

   Rules and guidance: 29 CFR 1910.147 [GI]

4. Scaffolding – General Requirements

   • 1,725 violations, FY 2026 preliminary · 2,286 FY 2025 final (No. 6)

   Start here (eliminate): Can the work be done from the ground, from a finished floor, or prefabricated?

   Rules and guidance: 29 CFR 1926.451 [CON]

5. Ladders

   • 1,659 violations, FY 2026 preliminary · 2,842 FY 2025 final (No. 3)

   Start here (eliminate): Plan the work so ladders are not needed: stairs, finished floors, pre-assembly.

   Rules and guidance: 29 CFR 1926.1053 [CON]

6. Respiratory Protection

   • 1,608 violations, FY 2026 preliminary · 2,294 FY 2025 final (No. 5)

   Start here (eliminate): Remove the airborne hazard: change the process, buy pre-cut or pre-finished materials.

   Rules and guidance: 29 CFR 1910.134 [BOTH]

7. Powered Industrial Trucks

   • 1,379 violations, FY 2026 preliminary · 2,150 FY 2025 final (No. 8)

   Start here (eliminate): Redesign flow so fewer truck moves are needed. Conveyors or automated vehicles with proper safeguards.

   Rules and guidance: 29 CFR 1910.178 [GI]

8. Fall Protection – Training Requirements

   • 1,273 violations, FY 2026 preliminary · 2,216 FY 2025 final (No. 7)

   Start here (eliminate / engineer first): Training does not remove the hazard. Passive systems (guardrails, covers) reduce how much depends on training. Do that first.

   Rules and guidance: 29 CFR 1926.503 [CON]

9. Eye and Face Protection

   • 1,120 violations, FY 2026 preliminary · 1,965 FY 2025 final (No. 9)

   Start here (eliminate / engineer): Guards on tools, shields and screens around grinding and cutting, enclosed processes, welding curtains.

   Rules and guidance: 29 CFR 1926.102 [CON]

10. Machine Guarding – General Requirements

    • 1,072 violations, FY 2026 preliminary · 1,498 FY 2025 final (No. 10)

    Start here (eliminate): Automate loading and unloading so hands never go near the point of operation.

    Rules and guidance: 29 CFR 1910.212 [GI]

The full PDF adds, for each item, why it really happens, the rules in plain words, controls in hierarchy order, a 30-minute self-audit, who owns it and a toolbox talk starter.

Download the free PDF (49-page PDF)

Sources, as cited in the guide

1. OSHA / Safety+Health, “OSHA's Top 10 Most Cited Standards, Oct. 1, 2025 through Aug. 31, 2026” (presentation slides, preliminary data). https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/OSHA-Top-10.pdf
2. Safety+Health, “Fall Protection remains atop OSHA's annual 'Top 10' list of most frequently cited standards” (Sept. 2026). https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/fall-protection-remains-atop-oshas-annual-top-10-list-of-most-frequently-cited-standards/
3. National Safety Council, “OSHA Reveals Top 10 Workplace Safety Violations for 2026” (Sept. 15, 2026). https://www.nsc.org/newsroom/osha-reveals-top-10-workplace-safety-violations
4. Occupational Health & Safety, “OSHA's Top 10: Cline Details Where Compliance Problems Are Showing Up” (Sept. 15, 2026). https://ohsonline.com/articles/2026/09/15/oshas-top-10-cline-details-where-compliance-problems-are-showing-up.aspx
5. OSHA, “Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards” (FY 2025 list). https://www.osha.gov/top10citedstandards
6. Safety+Health, “OSHA reveals final 'Top 10' data for FY 2025” (Apr. 29, 2026). https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/osha-reveals-final-top-10-data-for-fy-2025/
7. Safety+Health, “OSHA's Top 10” FY 2025 in-depth coverage (most-cited paragraphs and industries). https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/27597-the-most-frequently-cited-standards-in-fy-2025/
8. Federal Register, Hazard Communication Standard compliance date extension (Jan. 15, 2026). https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/01/15/2026-00653/hazard-communication-standard
9. OSHA, HCS 2024 compliance date extension notice. https://www.osha.gov/hazcom/rulemaking/extension
10. OSHA, On-Site Consultation Program. https://www.osha.gov/consultation
11. 29 CFR 1926.501, Duty to have fall protection. https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1926/1926.501
12. 29 CFR 1926.502, Fall protection systems criteria and practices. https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1926/1926.502
13. 29 CFR 1926.503, Training requirements (fall protection). https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1926/1926.503
14. 29 CFR 1910.28, Duty to have fall protection and falling object protection (general industry). https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.28
15. 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication. https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.1200
16. 29 CFR 1910.147, The control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout). https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.147
17. 29 CFR 1926.451, Scaffolds: general requirements. https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1926/1926.451
18. 29 CFR 1926.1053, Ladders. https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1926/1926.1053
19. 29 CFR 1910.23, Ladders (general industry). https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.23
20. 29 CFR 1910.134, Respiratory protection. https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.134
21. 29 CFR 1910.178, Powered industrial trucks. https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.178
22. 29 CFR 1926.102, Eye and face protection (construction). https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1926/1926.102
23. 29 CFR 1910.133, Eye and face protection (general industry). https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.133
24. 29 CFR 1910.212, General requirements for all machines. https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.212