White Card (Construction Induction) Practice Test — All Questions
21 questions
Under model Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws, what is the primary duty of a PCBU (person conducting a business or undertaking)?
- a.To ensure the health and safety of workers and others, so far as is reasonably practicable✓
- b.To eliminate all paperwork
- c.To pay workers extra for dangerous jobs
- d.To provide free lunches
A PCBU has the primary duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and anyone else who could be affected by the work. This includes safe systems of work, plant, training and facilities.
As a worker on a construction site, what are your main WHS duties?
- a.To take reasonable care for your own and others' safety, follow reasonable instructions and co-operate with WHS policies✓
- b.To carry out audits of the company
- c.To ignore instructions you disagree with
- d.To supervise everyone else
Workers must take reasonable care for their own safety and that of others, comply with reasonable safety instructions, and co-operate with the PCBU's health and safety procedures. Everyone shares responsibility for a safe site.
If you believe carrying out a task would expose you to a serious, imminent risk to your health or safety, WHS law generally allows you to:
- a.Leave the site permanently without telling anyone
- b.Do it anyway and hope for the best
- c.Refuse and never speak to your supervisor
- d.Cease or refuse the work and tell your supervisor so the risk can be addressed✓
Workers have the right to cease or refuse work that exposes them to a serious and imminent risk. You must notify your supervisor or PCBU so the hazard can be assessed and controlled before work continues.
Health and safety representatives (HSRs) and consultation on a site exist mainly to:
- a.Set workers' pay rates
- b.Give workers a say in health and safety matters that affect them✓
- c.Replace the site manager
- d.Slow down the work
WHS law requires the PCBU to consult with workers on matters that affect their health and safety. HSRs represent workers in that consultation, helping to identify hazards and improve safety.
In the hierarchy of control, which measure is the most effective way to deal with a hazard?
- a.Putting up a sign
- b.Telling workers to be careful
- c.Wearing PPE
- d.Elimination: removing the hazard completely✓
The hierarchy of control ranks elimination as most effective, followed by substitution, isolation and engineering controls, then administrative controls, with PPE as the least effective, last line of defence.
Where does personal protective equipment (PPE) sit in the hierarchy of control?
- a.It removes the hazard
- b.At the bottom, as the least effective control, used when higher controls cannot fully manage the risk✓
- c.At the top as the best control
- d.It is not part of the hierarchy
PPE is the lowest-ranked control because it only protects the individual and relies on being worn correctly. Higher-order controls that remove or reduce the hazard at source should always be considered first.
What is the correct order of the basic risk-management process?
- a.Review first, then ignore
- b.Assess the risk only if someone is hurt
- c.Control the risk, then look for hazards
- d.Identify the hazard, assess the risk, control the risk, then review the controls✓
The process is: identify hazards, assess the risks they pose, control the risks using the hierarchy of control, and then review the controls to make sure they are working. Reviewing keeps controls effective as work changes.
A 'hazard' on a construction site is best described as:
- a.A worker who is careless
- b.Only things that have already caused an injury
- c.The paperwork for a job
- d.Anything with the potential to cause harm, injury or illness✓
A hazard is any source or situation with the potential to cause harm, such as working at height, electricity, moving plant or dust. The 'risk' is the likelihood and severity of harm actually occurring from that hazard.
What is consistently one of the leading causes of death on Australian construction sites?
- a.Loud music
- b.Slippery floors only
- c.Falls from height✓
- d.Paper cuts
Falls from height are a leading cause of construction fatalities. Controls include edge protection, guard rails, safe scaffolds, and fall-arrest systems when higher-order controls are not reasonably practicable.
Before digging or excavating, what must you do about underground services such as gas, electricity and water?
- a.Locate them first, for example by using 'Before You Dig' information and on-site location, before excavation begins✓
- b.Assume there are none
- c.Dig quickly to avoid them
- d.Only check after you hit something
Striking underground services can cause electrocution, explosion or flooding. Services must be located and marked before excavation, using utility plans (such as the national Before You Dig service) and safe digging practices.
When working near overhead powerlines or with electrical leads on site, a key safety practice is to:
- a.Run leads through puddles
- b.Use damaged leads to finish faster
- c.Ignore the powerlines
- d.Keep clear of powerlines, use tested-and-tagged equipment and RCDs (safety switches), and never use damaged leads✓
Electricity is a major construction hazard. Maintain safe clearances from overhead lines, protect circuits with residual current devices (safety switches), use equipment that is tested and tagged, and remove damaged leads from service.
To keep workers safe around mobile plant such as excavators and trucks, sites commonly use:
- a.Exclusion zones, spotters and separation of pedestrians from moving plant✓
- b.Bright clothing only
- c.Workers standing behind reversing vehicles
- d.No controls at all
People being struck by mobile plant is a serious risk. Controls include exclusion zones, trained spotters, traffic management plans, reversing alarms and physically separating pedestrians from operating plant.
On an Australian site, a safety sign with a yellow background and black border and symbol usually means:
- a.It is safe to proceed
- b.Warning: caution, a hazard may be present✓
- c.Something you must do
- d.First-aid location
Yellow signs are warning signs alerting you to a hazard. Blue signs are mandatory (something you must do), red relates to prohibition or fire, and green shows emergency information such as first aid and exits.
Because much construction work is outdoors, an important but often overlooked hazard requiring protection is:
- a.Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun, managed with hats, clothing, sunscreen and shade✓
- b.Background noise from birds
- c.The colour of the sky
- d.The time of day only
Outdoor workers face a high risk of skin damage and skin cancer from UV exposure. Sun protection, such as broad-brimmed hats or brims on hard hats, long sleeves, sunscreen and shade, is an important control on construction sites.
Common personal protective equipment on a construction site includes:
- a.A hard hat, high-visibility clothing, safety boots and, where needed, eye and hearing protection✓
- b.Sandals and shorts
- c.Only gloves
- d.A backpack
Typical construction PPE includes head protection (hard hat), high-visibility clothing, sturdy safety footwear, and task-specific items such as eye protection, hearing protection, gloves and respiratory protection. PPE must be worn and maintained correctly to work.
Certain serious events, called notifiable incidents, must be reported. These include:
- a.A worker taking a lunch break
- b.A death, a serious injury or illness, or a dangerous incident, which must be reported to the WHS regulator✓
- c.Running out of coffee
- d.A minor scratch that needs no treatment
Notifiable incidents, such as a death, a serious injury or illness, or a dangerous incident, must be reported to the WHS regulator (for example SafeWork) immediately. The incident site should generally be left undisturbed until told otherwise, except to help the injured or make it safe.
Why is it important to report near misses as well as actual injuries?
- a.It is not important to report near misses
- b.Only to get someone in trouble
- c.A near miss reveals a hazard that could cause a real injury next time, so reporting it helps prevent future harm✓
- d.To increase paperwork for its own sake
A near miss is a warning that a hazard exists and could cause injury if it happens again. Reporting near misses lets the site fix the underlying problem before someone is actually hurt.
To be ready for a site emergency such as a fire or serious injury, you should know:
- a.Only where the car park is
- b.Only the lunch times
- c.The location of exits and assembly points, alarm and evacuation procedures, and where first aid is available✓
- d.Nothing; someone else will handle it
Emergency preparedness means knowing the evacuation routes, assembly points, alarm signals and first-aid arrangements before an emergency happens. This information is usually covered in the site induction.
A Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) is required for high-risk construction work. What is its purpose?
- a.To set out the high-risk work, the hazards, and the control measures, before the work starts✓
- b.To replace the need for training
- c.To advertise the company
- d.To record workers' wages
A SWMS identifies the high-risk construction work being done, the associated hazards and the control measures, and describes how the work will be carried out safely. It must be prepared before the work begins and followed on site.
Which of the following is an example of high-risk construction work that typically requires a SWMS?
- a.Reading a noticeboard
- b.Making a phone call
- c.Work where there is a risk of a fall, such as working at height, or working in a trench or near traffic✓
- d.Sweeping a floor
High-risk construction work includes activities such as a risk of a person falling, working in trenches or confined spaces, near traffic, or with asbestos or energised electrical installations. These require a SWMS before work starts.
Before starting work on a new construction site, you should first:
- a.Start work immediately
- b.Ignore the site office
- c.Wander around on your own
- d.Complete the site induction so you understand the site rules, hazards and emergency procedures✓
A site induction gives you the specific rules, hazards, emergency procedures and reporting arrangements for that site. Completing it before starting work is a standard requirement and helps keep you and others safe.