# Most Common OSHA Violation Seen?



## Ron The Plumber

What is the most common OSHA violation you see take place?

One I see most are ladder violations, using a 4' ladder while standing on the top step.


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## DecksEtc

Ron The Plumber said:


> One I see most are ladder violations, using a 4' ladder while standing on the top step.


The OSHA says you can't do that??? :whistling 

Man, I'm going to have to get a taller ladder then...  

:laughing:


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## ron schenker

Guys working on the roof not tied off


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## gtdail

How about taped up extension cords, missing ground plugs, no back braces on scaffolding. Are the OSHA inspectors tight in your guys areas?


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## Teetorbilt

Almost always electrical. Roofers are #2. Hardhats when roofers are slinging busted tiles everywhere.


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## Double-A

I would bet ground plugs and GFCI protection outside.

For plumbers, its confined space entry. I don't know of any plumber that calls out a 'spotter' when entering a crawl space, let alone writing up the paperwork that is supposed to be done to document the confined entry.


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## Fauker_9

Fall protection has been my #1, they havent bothered me with anything else, and trust me, they could have.


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## hatchet

The biggest one I see is ladders.. such as using an A-Frame leaned against a wall instead of folding it out. Safety glasses is another.
My guys are pretty good about being tied off on the roof mostly because I don't think any of them like heights.


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## Zack

PPE is one that I see most when I am working.


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## mdshunk

Hot work without PPE. Drilling and hammering without safety glasses. Entry into confined spaces without documented training.


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## ch0mpie

hard hats with the beak turned backwards and stickers on them, no glasses, and no gloves.


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## dougchips

Do any of you folks see OSHA on residental jobs? I have not seen or heard of them since I started. I use to be a good boy and carry my MSDS sheets for all my adhesives and caulking.


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## ch0mpie

Since many industrial/commercial construction sites require them for entrance to the site, I have a few osha certifications for my job as an inspector. In one of the classes which I had to take recently the instructor mentioned that osha was going to start targeting residential construction sites because of high injury rates.


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## Debookkeeper

Double-A said:


> I would bet ground plugs and GFCI protection outside.
> 
> For plumbers, its confined space entry. I don't know of any plumber that calls out a 'spotter' when entering a crawl space, let alone writing up the paperwork that is supposed to be done to document the confined entry.



1500.00 per ground plug and GFCI violation :whistling 

Oh - the plastic safety thingie on the chop saw, skil saw (can't remember which) 1500.00 too. :w00t:


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## TempestV

missing guards on table saws, using the top two steps on the step ladder

2 or 3 osha inspectors happen to call bozeman home, so you never know when they will show up. 

I grew up in ravalli county MT, I remember that word got out about OSHA being in the area for a week and all the log home places shut down until they left.


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## J DoubleD FLoor

Indecent exposure? am I the only one?


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## TempestV

It's amazing how fast a man can run to the trailer with a table saw when an osha inspector shows up on sight.

osha hits resedental around here pretty regularly. they drive around the subdivisions and look for violations. this summer we would put the tablesaw back away in the trailer when we weren't using it and pull it back out when we needed it again to avoid a $700 fee for a missing guard.

we were laughing about that if an osha inspecter sees it, it ain't ours, we can buy a new saw for less than the fine would cost.


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## plazaman

$7,000 Scaffolding Fine. 


Not fully planked, no constuction net, guard rails, bunch of other BS, and it was only 2 sections up on a residential site.


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## AtlanticWBConst

22 years in the trades in New England = Never seen a glimpse of OSHA on a residential site.... (fingers crossed) :sweatdrop: 

(We don't have guards on our table saws either :blush: )


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## Kristina

ron schenker said:


> Guys working on the roof not tied off


:thumbup1: What he said.


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## cbtexas

I second the roofers not being tied off.


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## rino1494

I see a OSHA inspector all the time.........he is my daddy-in-law.

He doesn't go out looking for violations for residential stuff. He mainly goes to them when he gets called out for a injury or fatality. He does alot of commercial inspections. Any job that cost more than $1 million requires regular inspections. They also get sent Dodge reports so they know what work is going on where.

BTW, alot of the times they come visit a site is because they have had a complaint. By law, they are required to come inspect if a complaint is filed. 9 times out of 10, the complaint is filed by a former or current disgruntled employee.


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## Crawdad

Ron The Plumber said:


> What is the most common OSHA violation you see take place?
> 
> One I see most are ladder violations, using a 4' ladder while standing on the top step.


Why do they put that step there, if you're not supposed to use it?



cbtexas said:


> I second the roofers not being tied off.


Has anyone ever seen a roofer, properly tied off?

That reminds me of a time, many moons ago, when the unemployment office had me call a company about an opening. They asked me if I minded working with heights. I said, no problem, as long as I have the proper safety equipment to tie off.. They never called me back. Imagine that.


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## A.W.Davis

I have seen a few things in my time

I hate seeing
Skilsaw gaurd pinned back with a 16 penny nail.
No saftey glasses when breaking tile flooring/countertops

I could go on and on but I am sick right now and have a very very short attention span right now.


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## Chris Johnson

No rebar caps, no safety rails on scaffold, not tying off scaffold, forklift operator getting of the machine while it's running and a load up in the air. 

and playing ice hockey without a jock strap


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## WhyNotFab

I've never seen anyone show up and say anything.. but I see plenty of ladders leaned against walls, scaffolding with no rails/nets, roofers not tied off, no safety glasses, saws with no guards, standing on top of ladder, etc. I've just always figured it was normal LOL.. now as I'm looking into becoming a contractor, I'm reading about OSHA here on the forums and I guess they just aren't as crazy about going out looking for violations here.


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## CATHEYCCSFUSA

#1 Safety Compliance Violation in Texas has got to be "No Certification Card(s)" on Person or even in a jobshack! What does the main office do with these 1,0000000000000's of Certification Cards that are usually hand delivered to them that never ever make it to the Superintendent or Project Manager onsite???

Must be selling them on the black market....ya think???


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## mudpad

Crawdad said:


> Has anyone ever seen a roofer, properly tied off?


Zoom in on this picture and you will see roofers properly tied off. It's not that hard to do.


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## concretemasonry

Being in a concrete products plant starting with the letter "A" that was between theoffice and thee inpesector's home we got frequent stops usually just before noon on Friday, so he could write out is daily report before going to the lake for the week-end.

If you have problems or are targeted in other ways, you have to deal with the imposition temporarily and not make the same mistake again. the inspectors are not looking for a fight and anything you can do makes it easier for the inspector if you are clean.

We ran a relatively clean operation with safety meeting documented and conducted by our insurance company. We always left one or two minor violations (ungrounded refrigerator in the garage/ shop or flattened copper on an air hose so he could find something easily). Once is a while, he did find something that may have just been a suggested or a minor violation that was helpful.

If he decided to come earlier, he would call and we had a chance to get donuts for his initial meeting with the plant superintendent. - Never paid a fine and just had to prove we made the corrections promptly (usually with photos). Once he wrote up an open chain conveyor drive and we just had to get an explanation from the equipment supplier that had already heard of the question/citation and had the answers.

Just do it right, never make the same mistake twice, provide records and postings and treat the guy as another person trying to do his job without challenging. I have seen disasters when some contractors refused admission or challenged the inspector instead of explaining why something was done or how it will be corrected. - That usually turned into a zoo or disaster.

I know it is easier in a plant, but there are only so many OSHA inspectors in an area and reputation go a long way.


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## CONCRETE MIKE

ch0mpie said:


> hard hats with the beak turned backwards and stickers on them, no glasses, and no gloves.


 I agee, i have a osha 500 instructor certification, and this is the most common next to no saftey vest around a open escavation, also rebar with no caps.


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## woodworkbykirk

residential
safety officers are very rare in residential, only see them in new developments when there are several builders putting up homes


-standing on the top of a ladder
-not wearing harnesses, on a roof or when above 8' 
-no hardhats
-safety glasses
-staging tied to building when its over 20' up
-guards on table saw( open box to new saw, take guard throw in back pile of junk at shop)


commercial
-the company i worked for had a in house safety inspector, would come on site every week to ensure hardhats were worn, harnessess and lanyards weren't damaged, ladders were safe

-hardhats on backwards
-safety glasses not worn
-me getting screamed at for not having harness on , when in a scissor lift


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## jlhaslip

> and playing ice hockey without a jock strap


that's not a safety violation, it's a Darwinism.


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## NJ Brickie

There is a few posts mentioning hard hats on backward. That is not necessarily a violation. If the hat was manufactured in a way that allows the guts of the hat to be installed in either direction it may be worn in either direction. Wearing the hat backward with the guts backward is a violation.


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## FStephenMasek

ron schenker said:


> Guys working on the roof not tied off


 Or wearing the harnesses, but with the lanyard dangling, not connected to anything!
________
Black Silver Surfer Vaporizer


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## BuildersII

As much as I think OSHA can have some ridiculous regs (I was on a commercial site that was threatened a monster fine for using a solid cinderblock to step into the trailer with), some of this stuff is pretty important. It's easy to forget just how dangerous the trades are. Every now and then you see the guy working at the lumber yard with a hook for a hand and you remember.

Do I think table saw and miter saw guards are useless? Yeah.

Do I think using an A-frame ladder leaned up against a wall is safe? Usually.

Do I think roof strap mounts should be manadatory on new houses and people should be strapped while working on a roof? Yes. The cost of failure is too high.

Oh, and here's a prevalent one:

Do I think walking across a 2"x12"x16' poorly seated plank while carrying heavy materials up an incline with mud on your boots across a 6' ravine from the excavators is ridiculously dangerous? Hell yes. Take the hour it would take to build a 4' walkway out of 3/4" OSB over some flat laid 2x12's. Nobody doing grunt labor can afford an injury because their boss wants to shave time and money by cutting safety corners. (sorry, worked for a drywaller building firewalls, and had to carry 200 sheets up a damn plank)

By the way, does anyone know of a roof strap mount that is low profile and can be added to a finished roofs?


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## Crawdad

mudpad said:


> Zoom in on this picture and you will see roofers properly tied off. It's not that hard to do.


Almost 3 years later, there's a pic of roofers tied off...

I guess that shows how often it happens.


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## woodworkbykirk

funny this topic is up, just this week the local building office has started sending out one or two safety officers to just go out and drive around. if they see any construction going on the officer will get out and issue $100 fines to any worker doing something that looks unsafe. 2nd offense is $500.

im all for saftey but one persons opinion to whats safe compared to what workers feel comfortable doing are entirely different. 

do i hope this helps prevent injuries yes!!!!. do i hope this isnt another piss off cash grab by the city to generate revenue to pay for city services , yess!!... bad enough my city will ticket and tow any car parked on the side of the road overnight which impedes snow removal even if there is no snow on the ground or in the forecast!


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## junior437t

NJ Brickie said:


> There is a few posts mentioning hard hats on backward. That is not necessarily a violation. If the hat was manufactured in a way that allows the guts of the hat to be installed in either direction it may be worn in either direction. Wearing the hat backward with the guts backward is a violation.


I work as a coal mine inspector in the state of West Virginia. I realize this topic is concerning OSHA but construction work that deals in any way with coal is under the jurisdiction of our office. Construction is starting to pickup around the mining industry and I see contractors coming in from outside of WV. If you are working on any of these types of jobs in WV, you can be cited personally for wearing a hardhat backwards. They are tested and approved with the bill to the front, regardless of whether the liner can be placed in other positions. Many of them can be placed sideways but it is not approved that way. The employer can be cited for any tool, equipment or safety equipment that is not being used as tested and approved by the agencies that test and approve.


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## jdmartin

Not OSHA, but slightly in the same vein, I've heard the EPA is working hard and heavy in the next big town over from where I've been lately. I hear they are dropping big fines as big as $30,000, but that may just be rumor. The problem is that they are targeting residential. One of the main things they are looking for is dirt on the street where trucks have been pulling into the muddy lot and back out onto the road. Apparently when it dries it turns to dust, the dust contains silica (sp?) and that works your lungs over pretty good. At least that's how it was explained to me. I guess this planet just ain't fit to live on.

They've also been fining for not removing spilled concrete from the site, and burning trash.

I know this is off the OSHA topic, but talk of govt agencies on the jobsite reminded me of this.


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## mudpad

Crawdad said:


> Almost 3 years later, there's a pic of roofers tied off...
> 
> I guess that shows how often it happens.


I was doing it three years ago, just didnt see the post! :clap:


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## HenryWilter

Scaffolding


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## diversified svs

right now i have a contractor in town doing the roof on the municipal pool, seen yesterday carrying shingles up a ladder over shoulder, then 5 or 6 on roof with no tie off or hardhats, two guys with saws cutting out rotten plywood with no glasses or ear plugs, Foreman wearing white hardhat sitting on tailgate of truck facing other way eating while parked under the edge of roof so he can throw tolls up. Definitely not the kind of guys I would feel sorry for if OSHA came a looking for donations


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## SamM

woodworkbykirk said:


> -not wearing harnesses, on a roof or when above 8'


That must have been a company specific rule. I took fall arrest this march and they said it was 10' you need a harness. 

Biggest saftey violation I see is stupid stuff with scaffolding. Like the guy who was 25' up, on top of the scaffold on a 12" plank, on top of a bucket, stretching reach the eaves. :blink:


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## diversified svs

this had 9 or 10 foot formed walls, about 30 or 35 foot wide at the floor with about 6/12 or so roof....... definitely asking for it, I don't drop a dime on anyone :thumbsup: but just the same I do not feel sorry for those who get caught:clap: if all were on the same level, then we could compare quality over price and have a much better world out there, to bad to many people come into the business speaking quality and end up sucking it up for the price:no:


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## mw31

diversified svs said:


> right now i have a contractor in town doing the roof on the municipal pool, seen yesterday carrying shingles up a ladder over shoulder, then 5 or 6 on roof with no tie off or hardhats, two guys with saws cutting out rotten plywood with no glasses or ear plugs, Foreman wearing white hardhat sitting on tailgate of truck facing other way eating while parked under the edge of roof so he can throw tolls up. Definitely not the kind of guys I would feel sorry for if OSHA came a looking for donations


Why does it matter what color his hardhat is?


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## jproffer

LOL...as far as who gets the fine, it doesn't. 

He may have thrown the "white" in there because usually (maybe not even usually, but sometimes) the foreman and other management will wear white hats and the labor will wear some other color.


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## alecdeshotels

We stay pretty safe on our sites, but when I volunteer elsewhere I see people using power tools without goggles or earplugs all the time. I almost never see hard hats on volunteer sites even when others are roofing. Low budget community service projects are the worst. The supervisors don't know safety standards, and no one wants to pay for the equipment or step up and make someone use it.


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## MrRoofer

#1 - PPE, specifically glasses.


Regarding fall protection, specifically *sloped* roofing; there is only one workable application for a rope and harness on a roof, and that would be a straight gable. Even that is less ideal than good scaffolding. For the most part the rope itself represents a severe hazard on several levels.

Scaffolding is the only way to _*properly*_ employ fall protection in sloped roofing. There is a reason why this method is employed moreso than any other with regard to the rest of the civilized planet.

Roping is better than no fall protection, just so I am clear, however it creates as many problems as it solves, if not more. It would be nice to see those issues considered by the safety industry, rather than having them currently turning a blind eye and mandating a 'deal with it' type of attitude, but I don't think it will ever happen.

Ra ra ra!


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## Mike's Plumbing

I got nailed by OSHA about ten years ago for turning on water in the street for a 4 story hotel on a dead end street. No cones and no vest......no other building on the entire street.

The funny thing is I waved to the guy to say hello, I had no idea he was an OSHA guy. I found out later he showed up because of a phone call they got about the roofers not being tied off putting steel on.

He showed up to take photos and nail them. When he got there he saw me turning the water. He got out of his car with his camera and pointed it at me. I smiled and waved at him thinking he was a newspaper reporter.:laughing:

The owner of the plumbing company thought it was funny to see a photo of my waving and smiling for the OSHA official.:blink:

The fine was fricking insane because the company was really large....I think it was something like 20,000 but they settled for 10,000.

Expensive photographer.:blink:

Mike


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## rbamf

fall protection


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## vos

FramingPro said:


> no stickers, cmon they are getting ridiculous now


what's the reason behind no stickers? I know ever show I watch the workers have tons of stickers.


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## DrewD

The reasoning I was always told for no stickers was that it can hide cracks in the hard hat. If you were wearing a hard hat with a big crack in it, it would be considered defective and essentially would result in the same fine as not having one on. Again this is what I was always told as to why no stickers.


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