Electrical accidents in the workplace can have horrific consequences. They can cause burns, shocks, electrocution and death. Electricity’s status as a serious workplace hazard has earned it two positions on OSHA’s top ten most-cited standards list for fiscal year 2015. Standard 1910.305, which covers wiring methods, was in the eighth spot. Standard 1910.3031, General requirements, was the tenth most-cited.
Employees like engineers, electricians, and other professionals who deal with electricity directly -- including working on overhead lines, cable harnesses, and circuit assemblies – are at obvious risk, but so are office staffers, sales people and others who work with electricity indirectly. The range of potentially exposed workers is reflected in the many different types of facilities that were cited for violations of 1910.303.