Fewer Than 1 in 8 OSHA Citations at U.S. Manufacturing Plants Get a Second Look, SDS Manager’s Study Finds

SDS Manager followed 139,777 OSHA citations at U.S. manufacturing plants. Only 12% got a return visit, and nearly 1 in 18 of those was cited again.

DOVER, DE, UNITED STATES, October 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — SDS Manager‘s Recurrence of Cited OSHA Standards report followed 139,777 citations at 28,339 plants. When OSHA did return, nearly 1 in 18 was cited again for the exact same rule, led by machine guarding and lockout/tagout.

When OSHA cites a manufacturing plant, the case closes once the employer certifies the fix. Whether that fix holds is something OSHA’s own records rarely show, according to a new study released today by SDS Manager, a provider of safety data sheet and EHS management software.

Recurrence of Cited OSHA Standards: U.S. Manufacturing Plants, 2015–2022 followed 139,777 first citations at 28,339 plants under federal OSHA. Only 16,831 of them (12.0%) were followed by a qualifying OSHA return visit within about three years. For the other 122,946, the public record can’t say whether the hazard stayed fixed.

When OSHA did come back, 916 citations (5.4%) were cited again for the identical paragraph of the same standard.

From first citation to repeat citation, U.S. manufacturing plants, cases closed 2015–2022. Source: SDS Manager, Recurrence of Cited OSHA Standards (2026).

Key findings
Most citations are never rechecked. 88.0% of first citations (122,946) had no qualifying OSHA return visit within about three years. Where a visit did happen, the typical gap after case closure was 522 days.
Nearly 1 in 18 comes back. At the first qualifying return visit, 5.4% of citations were cited again for the identical rule (95% range 5.0% to 6.0%). Counting every qualifying visit in the window, the share rises to 6.5%.
OSHA’s Repeat label tells a smaller story. Only 361 of the 16,831 pairs carried OSHA’s formal Repeat classification, against 916 citations of the same rule.
Machine guarding and lockout/tagout lead. Of 106 rules with enough data to rank, 1910.212(a)(1) machine guarding was cited again most often, in 23.3% of cases.
Most return visits are partial. 90.4% of return visits were partial inspections, and 82.2% were triggered by complaints or referrals. Counting only complete-scope return visits, the share cited again rises to 7.4%.

Machine guarding and lockout/tagout are the OSHA standards most often cited again
The top of the ranking is dominated by controls that must be maintained every shift, not installed once.

Share cited again at OSHA’s next visit, top 10 rules. Source: SDS Manager, Recurrence of Cited OSHA Standards (2026).

Rules are ranked only with at least 30 followed citations. The ranking describes inspected plants and is not a measure of how dangerous a hazard is. The full ranking of all 106 rules is in the report’s appendix.

Partial return inspections mean the true repeat rate is likely higher than 5.4%
Most return visits look only at what prompted them. A complaint about a forklift won’t re-examine a machine guard, and a follow-up that checks abatement says nothing about whether the hazard came back a year later. That’s why the study treats the 5.4% as a floor on recurrence.

Across the pre-registered alternative definitions the study tested, the main share stays between 4.2% and 7.4%.

Recurrence was also similar across manufacturing. The share cited again was 5.4% in metal, machinery and equipment, 5.9% in wood, paper, chemical and plastics, and 4.8% in food, textile and apparel. Their 95% ranges overlap, so none can be called higher or lower. The pattern follows rules and controls, not one industry.

Three checks after every OSHA citation
Because OSHA rarely comes back, the report recommends that plants re-verify fixes themselves. Each check takes under an hour:

Re-verify the cited condition. After the case closes, check the exact paragraph you were cited for, at the machine or task named in the citation. If it fails, treat it as a new finding.
Check the same rule elsewhere. Within a month, look at other lines, shifts or buildings with the same equipment or task, and extend the corrective action beyond the cited spot.
Keep the evidence with the case. At closure, file photos, work orders and training records that show the fix. A certified fix without evidence can’t be shown to a later inspector.

Source: SDS Manager, Recurrence of Cited OSHA Standards (2026).

About the study
The study used the U.S. Department of Labor’s official OSHA inspection and violation files for 2003 to 2025, downloaded in October 2026. It covers private manufacturing employers (NAICS 31–33) under federal OSHA, with cases closed between 2015 and 2022. Counting rules were written down before any results were seen.

OSHA has no permanent plant ID, so plants were rebuilt from inspection addresses and names. A random sample of 100 plant matches was checked by hand, and none was wrong. 95% ranges come from resampling whole plants 2,000 times.

The figures describe OSHA’s records for the plants it chose to inspect. They don’t measure how safe any individual plant is, and a citation with no return visit is treated as unknown, never as fixed. The report names, ranks or accuses no company.

About SDS Manager
SDS Manager helps organizations manage safety data sheets and chemical safety compliance. Its EHS Solutions bring incident management, risk management, and audit into one connected system. Learn more at sdsmanager.com.

Tasmim Wahed
SDS Manager
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Facebook
X

Media gallery