OSHA conducted its very popular "Top 10 Violations" program at the National Safety Congress on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Richard Fairfax, OSHA's director of enforcement programs delivered the updated numbers to a packed audience, adding that there were 23 fatalities in the preceding week alone.

Ladder violations increased for the third year in a row. According to Business & Legal Reports, machine guarding violations might have been high because OSHA specifically checks for these during inspections, as well as hazard communication violations. Among hazard communication issues, the top three violations were no written program, MSDSs and lack of training. Lack of training also was specified by Fairfax as the biggest issue for powered industrial trucks, or forklifts. Fairfax also said scaffolding has been a major focus area for OSHA.

OSHA adjusted the numbers upward as it updated its database. These statistics are from federal OSHA and do not include state-plan states.

The top 10 violations for 2006 (as of September 30) are:

1. Scaffolding (violation 1926.451) – 9,012
2. Hazard Communication (v. 1910.1200) – 6,704
3. Fall Protection (v. 1926.501) – 6,378
4. Respiratory Protection (v. 1910.134) – 4,332
5. Lockout/Tagout (v. 1910.147) – 3,659
6. Powered Industrial Trucks (v. 1910.178) – 3,080
7. Electrical Wiring (v. 1910.305) – 2,953
8. Machine Guarding (v. 1910.212) – 2,749
9. Ladders (v. 1926.1056) – 2,329
10. Electrical General (v. 1910.303) – 2,178