OSHA violations are one of the worst fears of any given organization in the US. The most common knowledge is that these occur whenever a workplace provides inadequate safety to its employees, leading to injuries or illnesses at work.
OSHA violations can lead to hefty fines as well as the loss of goodwill, lower employee morale, higher turnover – impacting your bottom line in the process. Thus, providing safety in the workplace is crucial to prevent injuries as well as hefty fines.
That being said, let’s take a look at what are considered violations, what are the six types of OSHA violations in the workplace, and how an OSHA recordkeeping software should be considered to improve safety in the workplace.
What is considered an OSHA violation in the workplace?
As previously mentioned, many believe that OSHA violations in the workplace occur only when injuries or accidents take place. However, the reality is much different as there is a type of violation that is not directly related to health or safety.
For instance, using ladders that have 13-inch rungs instead of 12 inches can cause OSHA inspectors to verbally inform the organization about it, and most of the time, there are no fines or citations for these violations. However, using a facility management software can alleviate these issues as it can help reduce incidents and ensure proper maintenance management. Moreover, bundling an OSHA recordkeeping application is a must to reduce violations – more on that later.
Types of OSHA violations in the workplace
Overall, there are six types of OSHA violations organizations must be aware of and must steer clear of to ensure compliance and reduce workplace injuries.
De Minimus violations
This is the least serious form of violation and does not impose fines on organizations – they are not directly related to workplace safety or the health of the employees. Its example is given above, and OSHA inspectors can verbally inform organizations about it and list it in the inspection file.
Other-than-Serious violations
The violations that don’t cause extreme cases like death or serious injury but are related to workplace safety or employee health fall under this category. A maximum of $13,494 can be fined for such a violation.
Serious Violations
OSHA issues serious violations when organizations know or must be aware of factors that hamper employee safety or health but don’t take corrective actions regarding them. Once again, inspectors can fine up to $13,494 for each violation.
Willful Violations
This is one of the more serious OSHA violations in the workplace, as organizations know that there are issues that jeopardize workplace safety but intentionally don’t take any corrective actions to rectify them. The maximum fine for each violation is $134,937, and if an employee dies, it’s up to $10,000, six months imprisonment, or both.
Repeated Violation
As the name suggests, a repeated violation is cited to organizations that are found to repeat a previous violation or one which is quite similar to it. These are usually detected during inspections, and the maximum fine for these is up to $134,937. Although, organizations can oppose the original violation and inspectors cannot cite a repeated violation while the former is waiting for a decision from OSHA.
Failure to Abate Prior Violation
This is another type of violation that occurs because of a previous violation, however, this is cited when organizations fail to rectify the initial violation. Whenever organizations are cited regarding OSHA violations in the workplace, those include dates by when they must rectify the issues. When organizations fail to do so within the deadline, they are cited for such violations.
How an OSHA recordkeeping software can reduce injuries, and in turn, violations
OSHA compliance can be quite cumbersome if organizations choose to do it on their own. Many are employing safety professionals to ensure workplace safety, however, even they need help since OSHA guidelines are regularly updated. Here’s where CloudApper Safety can help organizations with OSHA.
CloudApper Safety is an OSHA recordkeeping software that can streamline compliance, remove the administrative burden, and reduce significant costs and injuries at work right from a mobile device. It can be used to keep all of OSHA’s required documentation in a centralized location, helping them go paperless and searching for specific information faster. Moreover, organizations can assign trainees, trainers, and keep documentation of the sessions within the application with its training management module.
One of Safety’s highlights is that it enables workers to share the most effective safety practices with their colleagues using the application using their smartphone. Workers can also use the incident reporting module to report accidents, injuries, and even near misses along with photos, helping the management to work on corrective actions faster.
This helps to reduce response times and make operations more efficient. Also, the management can reduce workplace incidents by conducting internal audits with the information from the incident reporting tool – working on corrective actions more effectively. All of this helps to provide a safe workplace for your employees – boosting their morale and your bottom line.
Reduce workplace injuries, streamline OSHA compliance, and remove the administrative burden with CloudApper Safety.
