Safety Definitions
The Definition of Non-Compliance
Non-compliance in workplace safety is a failure to meet a required regulatory standard, internal policy, or safety procedure.
Non-compliance in workplace safety is a failure to meet a required regulatory standard, internal policy, or safety procedure.
A failure to meet a required regulatory standard, internal policy, or safety procedure. Non-compliance can range from a minor paperwork gap to a serious violation that puts workers at risk, and it's the term regulators and auditors use to describe any deviation from what's legally or procedurally required.
A facility that hasn't updated its lockout/tagout procedures to reflect new equipment is in non-compliance with OSHA's 29 CFR 1910.147 standard, even if no incident has occurred yet.
Non-compliance is the broader condition of not meeting a requirement. A violation is what a non-compliance is called once a regulatory body like OSHA has formally identified and cited it during an inspection. All violations involve non-compliance, but not all non-compliance results in a citation.
Typically an organization documents the gap, develops a corrective action plan with a timeline and responsible owner, implements the fix, and verifies it closed the gap. If identified during a regulatory inspection, there may also be penalties, deadlines, or follow-up inspections involved.
Generally, OSHA holds employers responsible for maintaining a compliant workplace under the General Duty Clause and specific standards. However, individual employees can face internal disciplinary action if they knowingly bypass safety procedures, and in rare cases of willful, egregious violations, personal liability can apply.
Regular internal audits, gap analyses against current regulations, mock OSHA inspections, and third-party compliance reviews are the most common tools. Many companies also use compliance management software to track regulatory changes and flag when a requirement no longer matches current practice.
Not necessarily. Some non-compliance is administrative — a missing log entry or an expired certification — with no immediate safety impact, while other cases represent an active hazard. Either way, it should be corrected, since administrative gaps often signal weaker oversight elsewhere in the program.
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