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Safety violations on construction sites aren鈥檛 uncommon鈥攋ust look at these statistics:

• Over in the EU during 2019 took place in the construction industry, making it .
• During that same time, due to safety violations took place on construction sites in the EU.
• In 2020, the US had 4,764 fatal workplace accidents鈥� to the construction and extraction industries.

We鈥檒l discuss recent OSHA safety violations issued to construction companies and what you can do to avoid them.

Free eBook:聽Guide to a digitised QHSE organisation

What violations are most commonly cited by OSHA?

OSHA issued over 22,000 citations in the construction industry last year鈥攖hat鈥檚 more than every other industry combined. And the fines that came from those citations totalled over $80 million.

Let鈥檚 explore the in construction work cited by OSHA and what you can do to prevent them on your job sites.

These safety violation examples include:

1. Slips, trips, and falls

describes an employer鈥檚 duty to provide fall protection to prevent slips, trips, and falls. These safety violations often occur when construction sites lack proper fall protection equipment, have people working on uneven surfaces, or don鈥檛 provide training on how to use the equipment.

Out of 5,616 citations under this standard in 2021, 5,346 were issued to construction companies. In addition, OSHA handed out 2,101 citations for unsafe ladder use鈥攖he organisation issued less than 60 of these citations to every other industry combined. These two citations cost construction companies over $34 million in one year.

You can avoid these safety violations by:

• Keeping your construction site organised and well lit
• Providing workers with fall protection systems
• Implementing guard rails in areas with significant drops
• Training workers on how to safely mount and dismount ladders

2. Being struck by an object

The second safety violation most commonly cited by OSHA is 鈥渟truck by鈥� accidents. This can mean workers being hit by machinery or falling materials, equipment, etc. There are various regulations in place to help prevent these safety violations, particularly regarding personal protective equipment (PPE).

1,497 out of 1,514 citations for the lack of eye and face protection and 844 out of 865 citations for the lack of head protection given out in 2021 were in the construction industry. These citations for improper PPE cost construction companies over $7 million throughout the year.

You can help prevent 鈥渟truck by鈥� safety violations by:

• Properly securing materials, tools, and equipment
• Providing workers with high-visibility clothing
• Stacking materials so they can鈥檛 slide off
• Training equipment operators to only work in areas with a clear line of sight

Check this checklist:聽Workplace Safety Inspection

3. Being caught between objects

After 鈥渟truck by鈥� safety violations comes 鈥渃aught between鈥� accidents. These safety violations lead to workers getting injured from being caught between equipment, vehicles, and materials. These accidents commonly occur when project managers and general contractors fail to follow OSHA鈥檚 general safety provisions and safety training standards.

Safety violations in those two categories resulted in 397 and 865 citations for construction companies last year, leading to almost $6 million in fines.

You can avoid 鈥渃aught between鈥� safety violations by:

• Teaching the importance of maintaining awareness of your surroundings
• Providing protective systems for excavations and trenches
• Stopping workers from wearing loose clothing/items on the construction site
• Emphasising the dangers of working between immovable objects and equipment

4. Shocks and electrocution

Finally, we have safety violations that lead to shocks and electrocution, resulting in injuries from minor burns to permanent nerve damage, death, and everything in between. While these safety violations are significantly less common than the three listed above, they can lead to easily preventable accidents on construction sites.

OSHA issued 48 citations for the improper use of lockout/tagout and 206 citations for wiring methods, components, and equipment that presented shock and electrocution hazards, resulting in just over $600,000 in fines for construction companies.

You can prevent these safety violations by:

• Providing workers with proper PPE
• Training workers about the dangers of energised equipment and machinery
• Using lockout/tagout whenever performing maintenance
• Ensuring that all wiring methods and components are up to code

More to read:聽10 construction safety tips to improve your HSE performance

Avoid safety violations on your construction sites

To avoid safety violations and ensure everyone鈥檚 safety on your construction sites, it鈥檚 important to understand the risks and how accidents happen. Training and education are as vital to your operations as providing workers with the proper tools and PPE to get the job done safely.

For more strategies to avoid common safety violations in construction work, check out these construction safety tips. You can also download our free ebook: Guide to a Digitised QHSE Organisation to learn how to reduce workplace injuries by improving your safety management and QHSE processes.

Construction companies that want to avoid safety violations and ensure everyone鈥檚 safety on site need to standardise their QHSE (quality, health, safety, and environment) processes. That鈥檚 where we come in.

With 91桃色鈥檚 incident reporting solution LB Aproplan, you can minimise risks and standardise QHSE by:

• Reporting and maintaining documentation of every on-site incident
• Storing all of your QHSE information in one place
• Tracking every measure you take to improve on-site safety
• Applying preventative measures to continually improve your safety procedures

Better safe than sorry鈥�get your personalised demo here.

For more strategies to avoid common safety violations in construction work, check out these construction safety tips. You can also download our free ebook: Guide to a Digitised QHSE Organisation to learn more about improving QHSE processes in your organisation.