OSHA Emphasis Programs
Emphasis programs are how OSHA focuses its limited inspectors on the deadliest, most common hazards. Under a National, Local, or Strategic Emphasis Program, OSHA proactively schedules inspections at worksites in high-risk industries — rather than waiting for a complaint or an accident. Below are the major programs and how many inspections have been conducted under each.
Falls are the leading cause of death in construction. OSHA targets unprotected edges, roofs, ladders, and scaffolds where workers can fall to a lower level.
Targets machinery without proper guarding or lockout/tagout, where workers can lose fingers, hands, or limbs to moving parts.
Unprotected trenches can collapse and bury workers in seconds. OSHA targets excavation work lacking sloping, shoring, or trench boxes.
Cutting, grinding, or drilling concrete, stone, and masonry releases fine silica dust that causes silicosis and lung cancer.
Targets workplaces — construction, battery plants, firing ranges — where airborne lead threatens workers and can be carried home to families.
Forklifts and other powered industrial trucks tip over, strike workers, and crush feet. OSHA targets operation, training, and maintenance.
Targets electrocution, arc-flash, and shock hazards from contact with power lines, energized equipment, and unsafe wiring.
Prolonged exposure to high noise causes permanent hearing loss. OSHA targets workplaces without hearing-conservation programs.
Asbestos fibers cause mesothelioma and lung disease decades after exposure. OSHA targets demolition, renovation, and abatement work.
Targets indoor and outdoor work in high heat without water, rest, shade, and acclimatization, which causes heat stroke and death.
One of construction's "Fatal Four." Targets workers struck by vehicles, falling objects, or swinging equipment.
Targets improperly built, unstable, or unguarded scaffolds — a frequent source of construction falls and collapses.
Accumulated dust from grain, wood, metal, and other materials can trigger catastrophic explosions. OSHA targets dust control and housekeeping.
Targets the high-fatality oil and gas field-services industry — well sites, drilling, and servicing operations.
Among the most dangerous jobs in America. Targets felling, equipment, and struck-by hazards in timber operations.
A carcinogen produced by welding, electroplating, and painting. OSHA targets exposure controls and monitoring.
Targets underground construction hazards — ground collapse, atmospheric hazards, and confined spaces in tunnel work.
Targets ergonomic injuries, workplace violence, and bloodborne pathogens in nursing homes and residential care facilities.
Targets patient-handling injuries, workplace violence, and infectious-disease exposure in hospitals and healthcare settings.
Targets field sanitation, machinery, and heat hazards facing farmworkers across agricultural operations.
Broad construction-industry targeting covering commercial, residential, and general building work where the "Fatal Four" hazards concentrate.