Texas Contractor Exam — All Questions

A finish carpenter stands on the very top cap of a 6-foot stepladder to reach a ceiling box. What is wrong with this?

• a.OSHA prohibits using the top or top step of a stepladder as a step✓
• b.OSHA allows it only if a coworker braces the ladder from the front
• c.Nothing, because a stepladder's top cap carries the same duty rating
• d.OSHA allows it only on ladders rated Type IA for heavy-duty industrial use

29 CFR 1926.1053(b)(13) states plainly that the top or top step of a stepladder shall not be used as a step. Standing there raises the worker's center of gravity above the ladder's support and leaves nothing to hold, and no duty rating changes that geometry. Cross-bracing on the rear section may not be climbed either, unless the ladder was designed and built with steps on both the front and rear sections. The fix is a taller ladder or different access.

A worker finds a portable ladder with a cracked side rail. What does OSHA require be done with it?

• a.Repair it with a splint of scrap lumber and return it to the rack for reuse
• b.Keep using it only for climbs shorter than the height of the damaged rail
• c.Set it by the tool trailer and mention the crack at the next toolbox talk
• d.Mark or tag it 'Do Not Use' and withdraw it from service until it is repaired✓

29 CFR 1926.1053(b)(16) requires a portable ladder with structural defects to be immediately marked as defective or tagged 'Do Not Use' and withdrawn from service until repaired, and 1926.1053(b)(18) requires any repair to restore the ladder to its original design criteria. Leaving a cracked ladder where the next crew can grab it is precisely the failure the rule prevents. A field splint does not restore design strength, and a competent person must also inspect ladders periodically and after any damaging event.

A temporary stairway is built for access during construction. At what point does OSHA require it to have a handrail and a stair rail system?

• a.Once it has eight or more risers, which is roughly one full story of rise
• b.Once it has four or more risers or rises more than 30 inches, whichever is less✓
• c.Once it rises more than 6 feet, matching the general fall protection trigger
• d.Only once the stairway becomes a permanent part of the finished building

29 CFR 1926.1052(c)(1) requires stairways having four or more risers, or rising more than 30 inches, whichever is less, to be equipped with at least one handrail and one stair rail system along each unprotected side or edge. Stair rails installed after March 15, 1991 must be at least 36 inches high, and handrails and stair rail top rails must withstand at least 200 pounds. The rule governs temporary construction stairways, not only stairs that stay in the finished building.

To protect workers using 120-volt, 15- and 20-ampere receptacle outlets that are not part of a building's permanent wiring, an employer must:

• a.Post a sign warning that the outlets are temporary and test them once a year
• b.Rely on the breaker in the panel, which trips well before a shock can occur
• c.Use ground-fault circuit interrupters or an assured equipment grounding program✓
• d.Route every cord through a step-down transformer feeding 12-volt hand tools

29 CFR 1926.404(b)(1) gives employers exactly two choices on construction sites: approved ground-fault circuit interrupters on all 120-volt, single-phase, 15- and 20-ampere receptacles that are not part of the permanent wiring, or a written assured equipment grounding conductor program covering every cord set, receptacle, and cord-and-plug tool, with scheduled inspections and testing. An ordinary breaker protects conductors from overload; it does not open at the few milliamps that stop a heart.

A crew is moving equipment beneath an overhead line whose voltage nobody on site knows. How must the crew treat that line?

• a.As de-energized, because utilities cut power to lines above active job sites
• b.As safe to touch, since the black weatherproof covering insulates the wire
• c.As energized only during business hours, when the utility carries peak load
• d.As energized until the owner says otherwise and it is visibly grounded✓

29 CFR 1926.600(a)(6) requires that any overhead wire be considered an energized line until the person owning the line or the electrical utility indicates otherwise and the line has been visibly grounded. For lines rated 50 kV or below, at least 10 feet of clearance must be kept between the line and any part of the equipment or load, with more required at higher voltages. The dark covering on a distribution conductor is weatherproofing, not insulation rated for contact.

A helper hands you an extension cord with a split jacket and a missing ground pin. What is the correct action?

• a.Remove it from service; worn or damaged cords may not be used✓
• b.Wrap the split with electrical tape and keep the cord in service today
• c.Use it only for light strings, which draw very little current per outlet
• d.Use it only with double-insulated tools, which need no grounding pin

29 CFR 1926.416(e)(1) states that worn or frayed electric cords or cables shall not be used, and the same paragraph bars fastening extension cords with staples or hanging them from nails. The equipment grounding conductor is one of the two paths that keeps a tool's metal housing at ground potential, so a missing pin defeats the protection. Tape restores appearance, not insulation value. A double-insulated tool has no ground pin, but that does not make a damaged cord safe for any use.

Which statement about paying for required personal protective equipment on a construction site is correct?

• a.The employer may deduct half the cost of any PPE from the worker's paycheck
• b.The employer generally pays, with a narrow exception for safety-toe boots✓
• c.The worker buys all PPE, since it leaves the site with the worker each night
• d.The general contractor pays for its own crew and bills each subcontractor back

29 CFR 1926.95(d) requires PPE used to comply with the construction standards to be provided by the employer at no cost to employees, and the employer must pay for replacement PPE unless the employee lost or intentionally damaged it. The narrow exceptions include non-specialty safety-toe footwear and non-specialty prescription safety eyewear, provided the employer lets those items be worn off the job site. Payroll deductions for required PPE are not permitted.

Under OSHA's construction noise standard, protection against noise must be provided once exposure exceeds what level across an 8-hour day?

• a.70 dBA, roughly the level of ordinary conversation across a small room
• b.115 dBA, the level the standard allows for a quarter hour or less
• c.90 dBA, with shorter durations permitted at correspondingly higher levels✓
• d.140 dBA, the peak level at which hearing damage becomes instantaneous

Table D-2 in 29 CFR 1926.52 permits 90 dBA for 8 hours, 95 dBA for 4 hours, 100 dBA for 2 hours, and 115 dBA for a quarter hour or less. When exposures exceed the table, feasible administrative or engineering controls must be tried first, and hearing protection provided if controls cannot bring levels down; a continuing, effective hearing conservation program is required wherever the levels are exceeded. State plans may adopt stricter requirements.

A crew will use a handheld power saw to cut concrete block outdoors. What does Table 1 of OSHA's respirable crystalline silica standard give the employer?

• a.A set of controls, work practices, and respirator use for that task✓
• b.A schedule of penalty amounts assessed for each hour of uncontrolled cutting
• c.A list of the states in which silica dust must be monitored by an outside lab
• d.A calculation showing how much silica dust a saw makes per linear foot cut

29 CFR 1926.1153(c) lets an employer follow Table 1, which pairs each listed construction task, including handheld power saws, with the engineering controls, work practices, and respiratory protection required for it, such as a water delivery system that continuously feeds water to the blade. Fully and properly implementing the Table 1 entry relieves the employer of assessing exposure for that task. The employer must still keep a written exposure control plan and designate a competent person.

A remodeler is hired to replace the windows in a house built in 1962. What must be addressed before painted and existing building materials are disturbed?

• a.Only the local permit, since federal environmental rules cover new work alone
• b.Only a written warning to the homeowner, delivered on the first day of work
• c.Only the age of the wiring, since lead paint was banned nationally in 1950
• d.Lead-safe work practices for pre-1978 paint and a check for asbestos materials✓

The EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting rule covers paid renovation that disturbs paint in housing and child-occupied facilities built before 1978: the firm must be EPA-certified, the work led by a certified renovator, and lead-safe work practices followed, with window replacement specifically covered. Materials such as pipe insulation, floor tile, and joint compound in older buildings may also contain asbestos, which brings in OSHA's asbestos standard and federal renovation and demolition requirements. Residential lead paint was banned in 1978, not 1950.

A worker will need a tight-fitting respirator for a dusty task. What must happen before he wears it on the job?

• a.He must sign a waiver releasing the employer from any future lung claims
• b.He must buy a respirator that fits him, since fit is a personal matter
• c.He must be medically evaluated, fit tested, and trained on its use✓
• d.He must shave only if his beard interferes with reading the exposure gauge

OSHA's respiratory protection requirements, applied to construction through 29 CFR 1926.103, call for a written program, a medical evaluation before use, fit testing for tight-fitting facepieces, and training on proper use, limitations, and maintenance. Facial hair crossing the sealing surface breaks the seal, so it is not permitted with a tight-fitting respirator. Required respirators are employer-provided at no cost, and no waiver a worker signs can substitute for any of these steps.

A serious hazard exists on a job site, but no specific OSHA standard addresses it. What allows OSHA to cite the employer anyway?

• a.The Hazard Communication Standard, which reaches every hazard on the site
• b.The General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act✓
• c.The employer's own written safety manual, once it has been filed with OSHA
• d.The state building code adopted by the local jurisdiction where the site sits

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act requires each employer to furnish employees a place of employment free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm. OSHA relies on it when a recognized hazard exists and no specific standard covers the situation. A company's own manual is an internal document rather than a federal enforcement tool, and hazard communication reaches chemical hazards specifically.

A worker dies in a fall on a job site. Within what time must the employer report the death to OSHA?

• a.Within 24 hours, the same window that applies to a hospitalization
• b.Within 7 calendar days, when the OSHA 300 log entry is also due
• c.Only in the annual summary posted at the beginning of the next year
• d.Within 8 hours of the death, by phone or OSHA's online reporting form✓

29 CFR 1904.39 requires an employer to report a work-related fatality to OSHA within 8 hours, using the toll-free number or the online reporting application; a voicemail or a fax does not satisfy the rule. A death is reportable if it occurs within 30 days of the work-related incident. The 24-hour window belongs to hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of an eye, and entering a case on the injury and illness log is a separate recordkeeping duty.

Which of these work-related events must be reported to OSHA within 24 hours?

• a.An in-patient hospitalization, an amputation, or the loss of an eye✓
• b.Any injury that keeps a worker off the job for more than three days
• c.Any first-aid case treated in the site trailer by a trained coworker
• d.Any near miss in which nobody was actually injured on the site

29 CFR 1904.39 requires reporting an in-patient hospitalization, an amputation, or the loss of an eye within 24 hours, where the event occurs within 24 hours of the work-related incident. OSHA counts an in-patient hospitalization as a formal admission for care or treatment, not an admission only for observation or diagnostic testing. Lost-time and first-aid cases run through the injury and illness records instead, and near misses are not reportable events.

An employer required to keep OSHA injury and illness records must post the annual summary, Form 300A, during what period?

• a.For the two weeks that follow the company's fiscal year-end close
• b.From the first day of the year until the last day of that same year
• c.From February 1 through April 30 of the year following the records✓
• d.For thirty days after any OSHA inspection of the establishment

29 CFR 1904.32 requires the annual summary to be posted no later than February 1 of the year following the year covered by the records and kept in place until April 30, in a conspicuous place where employee notices are customarily posted, and not altered, defaced, or covered by other material. The 300A reports totals, unlike the 300 log's case-by-case detail. Posting is separate from the duty to report severe events to OSHA right away.

OSHA classifies a violation as willful when the employer:

• a.Missed the hazard despite running a documented weekly inspection program
• b.Knowingly disregarded the requirement or was plainly indifferent to safety✓
• c.Was cited for the same condition at another site within the past five years
• d.Left a condition uncorrected past the abatement date in a final citation

A willful violation is one the employer committed with intentional, knowing disregard of the requirement or with plain indifference to employee safety. A serious violation involves a substantial probability of death or serious physical harm from a condition the employer knew or should have known about, while an other-than-serious violation relates directly to safety but would not likely cause death or serious harm. A prior citation for a substantially similar condition describes a repeat violation, and blowing an abatement date is a failure-to-abate.

An employee believes a serious hazard exists on his site and wants OSHA to look at it. What does federal law provide?

• a.He may complain only through his employer's internal safety committee
• b.He may complain to OSHA only after giving the employer 30 days' notice
• c.He may complain, but the employer may reassign him to less-desirable work
• d.He may request an inspection, and may not be fired for doing so✓

Section 8(f)(1) of the OSH Act lets employees or their representatives request an inspection by giving notice of a violation or an imminent danger, and Section 11(c) makes it unlawful to discharge or in any manner discriminate against an employee for filing a complaint or exercising any right afforded by the Act. A worker who believes he was retaliated against may file a complaint with the Secretary of Labor within 30 days of the retaliation. No advance notice to the employer is required.

A general contractor's superintendent walks past an unguarded floor opening created and used by a subcontractor's crew. Under OSHA's multi-employer citation policy:

• a.Only the subcontractor may be cited, because only its employees are exposed
• b.Only the owner may be cited, because the owner holds title to the property
• c.The general contractor may also be cited as the controlling employer✓
• d.No one may be cited until an injury actually occurs at that floor opening

OSHA's multi-employer citation policy recognizes creating, exposing, correcting, and controlling employers, and more than one of them may be cited for the same hazardous condition. A general contractor with general supervisory authority over the site is typically a controlling employer, expected to exercise reasonable care to detect and correct hazards even where the exposed workers belong to a subcontractor. Citations turn on the hazard and the employer's role, not on whether anyone was hurt.

Under 29 CFR 1926, what is the employer's basic duty regarding worker safety training?

• a.To instruct each employee in recognizing and avoiding unsafe conditions✓
• b.To send every employee to a 30-hour outreach course before starting work
• c.To post the standards in the site trailer, which satisfies the training duty
• d.To train the foremen, who then decide what their own crews need to know

29 CFR 1926.21(b)(2) requires the employer to instruct each employee in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions and in the regulations applicable to the work environment, and 1926.20(b) requires an accident prevention program with frequent and regular inspections by competent persons. A competent person is one who can identify existing and predictable hazards and has authority to take prompt corrective action. OSHA's 10- and 30-hour outreach courses are useful but are not a federal requirement for construction work.

Site grading cannot begin until clearing has been under way for two days, and the two crews then work along together. Which network relationship describes this?

• a.Finish-to-start, because grading may begin only after clearing is entirely finished
• b.Start-to-finish, because the finish of grading is what controls the start of clearing
• c.Start-to-start with a two-day lag, because grading starts after clearing has started✓
• d.Finish-to-finish, because the two activities are required to be completed on the same day

In an activity-on-node network, a start-to-start link ties the start of the successor to the start of the predecessor, and the two-day wait is expressed as a lag on that link. Finish-to-start would force clearing to be 100 percent complete first, which is not what the sequence describes. Finish-to-finish ties the two completions together, and start-to-finish is a rarely used relationship that does not fit here.

Touch-up painting and final cleaning run alongside each other, but cleaning cannot be finished until painting is finished. Which network relationship is this?

• a.Finish-to-finish, because the finish of the painting controls the finish of the cleaning✓
• b.Start-to-start, because the two activities are required to begin work on the same day
• c.Finish-to-start, because cleaning may not begin until the painting is entirely complete
• d.Start-to-finish, because the start of the cleaning is what controls the finish of painting

A finish-to-finish link constrains the completion of the successor to the completion of the predecessor while allowing the two activities to overlap. Finish-to-start would prohibit any overlap, which contradicts the description. Start-to-start would tie the beginnings rather than the endings, and start-to-finish reverses the logic entirely.

In a CPM network, a lag placed on the finish-to-start link between concrete placement and form stripping represents:

• a.An overlap that lets form stripping begin before the concrete placement is finished
• b.A reserve of money set aside in case the concrete work overruns its budgeted cost
• c.A note telling the field crew that stripping the forms is optional on this project
• d.Required waiting time, such as concrete curing, between the two activities✓

A lag is imposed delay between two linked activities and it consumes schedule time exactly as an activity duration does, so cure time is normally modeled as a lag rather than as work. An overlap that pulls the successor earlier is a lead, sometimes written as a negative lag, which is the opposite of what is described. Lag is a time value, not a contingency fund, and it never makes an activity optional.

In CPM calculations, what does the backward pass through the network produce?

• a.The early start and early finish of every activity, working forward from the project start date
• b.The late start and late finish of every activity, working back from the project finish date✓
• c.The cost of each activity, which is then loaded onto the schedule to forecast cash flow
• d.The actual dates each activity was performed, taken from the daily field reports

The forward pass runs left to right and computes each activity's early start and early finish; the backward pass runs right to left from the project completion and computes each activity's late start and late finish. Comparing the two sets of dates is what yields float. Cost loading and as-built date collection are separate exercises that do not come out of the network passes.

A project has three paths: A-B-C at 4, 6, and 5 days; A-D-C at 4, 9, and 5 days; and A-E-F-C at 4, 2, 3, and 5 days. How long is the critical path?

• a.15 days
• b.29 days
• c.18 days✓
• d.14 days

Total each path and take the longest: A-B-C is 4 + 6 + 5 = 15 days, A-D-C is 4 + 9 + 5 = 18 days, and A-E-F-C is 4 + 2 + 3 + 5 = 14 days. The critical path is the longest of the three at 18 days, so 18 days is the shortest time in which the project can finish. Choosing 14 picks the shortest path, and 29 comes from adding every activity's duration once instead of totaling paths.

An activity has an early start of day 12, an early finish of day 17, a late start of day 19, and a late finish of day 24. What is its total float?

• a.12 days
• b.7 days✓
• c.24 days
• d.5 days

Total float is late start minus early start, or equivalently late finish minus early finish: 19 - 12 = 7 days, and 24 - 17 = 7 days, which confirms the answer. The 5-day figure is the activity's duration (17 - 12), not its float. The 12 and 24 figures are simply the early start and late finish dates read straight off the calculation.

Activity A takes 6 days and begins on day 0. B (3 days) and C (8 days) both follow A finish-to-start. D (4 days) begins only after both B and C finish. What is the project duration?

• a.21 days
• b.13 days
• c.18 days✓
• d.14 days

The forward pass gives A finishing on day 6, B finishing on day 9, and C finishing on day 14. D is a merge point, so it starts at the later of its two predecessors, day 14, and finishes on day 18. Taking the B branch instead of the later C branch yields 13, stopping at C's finish yields 14, and adding all four durations yields 21.

Free float for a scheduled activity is best defined as:

• a.The number of days an activity may be delayed before the contract completion date moves
• b.The money remaining in an activity's budget after its own labor and material costs are paid
• c.The number of days an activity may be delayed before its assigned crew leaves for another job
• d.The number of days an activity may be delayed before a successor's early start is pushed out✓

Free float is the slack an activity owns outright: it can absorb that much delay without disturbing the early start of any following activity. Total float, by contrast, is the delay available before the project completion date moves, and it is usually shared along a chain of activities, so one activity consuming it takes it away from the others. Float is a measure of time, not of budget or crew availability.

Why does every activity on the critical path have zero total float?

• a.Because the critical path is the longest path, so any delay on it pushes out the finish date✓
• b.Because the scheduler assigns zero float to those activities by hand when the baseline is set
• c.Because those activities are the most expensive line items in the project's cost-loaded budget
• d.Because critical activities are always performed first, before any other work can be started

Zero float is a calculated result, not a setting. Because the critical path is the longest route through the network, its early dates and late dates come out identical on the forward and backward passes, leaving no slack anywhere along it. That is why a one-day delay to a critical activity becomes a one-day delay to the project. Cost and sequence position have nothing to do with it.

A non-critical activity that carries six days of total float finishes four days late. What is the most likely effect on the project?

• a.The project finish date slips by four days, because every late finish moves the completion date
• b.The project finish date is pulled in two days, because unused float transfers to other work
• c.The schedule must be rebaselined, because a late finish invalidates the approved baseline
• d.The project finish date holds, and the activity's remaining total float drops to two days✓

Delay inside an activity's available float is absorbed by the network and does not move the completion date, but it does consume the cushion: six days of float minus four days of delay leaves two days. That matters, because a path with little float left can become critical after a further slip. Float is never converted into an earlier finish, and a routine slip within float does not require rebaselining.

A critical-path activity finishes five days late and the contract completion date cannot move. What is the project manager's most appropriate response?

• a.Wait to see whether the activities that follow happen to beat their planned durations
• b.Crash or overlap remaining critical activities, and price the cost of that acceleration✓
• c.Move the delay onto non-critical activities in the software so the finish date is restored
• d.Shorten non-critical activities instead, since those are the ones that carry available float

A slip on the critical path becomes a project slip immediately, so recovery has to come from the remaining critical work, either by crashing it with added resources or by fast-tracking it through overlap. Both cost money, so the impact should be quantified and communicated rather than absorbed silently. Shortening non-critical activities buys nothing, because they were not controlling the finish date, and editing the logic to hide the delay misrepresents the schedule.

What distinguishes a baseline schedule from an as-built schedule?

• a.The baseline is the approved plan of record; the as-built records when work actually happened✓
• b.The baseline is drawn by hand; the as-built is that same plan redrawn in scheduling software
• c.The baseline covers only the first month of work; the as-built covers the rest of the project
• d.The baseline is issued by the owner's architect; the as-built is issued by that same architect

The baseline is the schedule accepted at the start of the job and frozen as the yardstick for measuring progress; the as-built is the record of the dates on which work was actually started and completed. Comparing the two is how delay is measured and how time-extension claims are proved, which is also why milestones and the baseline should not be quietly revised. Neither document is defined by who drew it or by the software used.

What is the purpose of a three-week look-ahead, or short-interval, schedule?

• a.To replace the CPM schedule with a simpler bar chart that the owner reviews once a month
• b.To record what each crew accomplished over the previous three weeks for payment purposes
• c.To list the change orders the owner is expected to approve over the next three weeks
• d.To detail near-term work so crews, materials, and access are ready in time✓

A look-ahead takes the next few weeks of the master schedule and expands them into crew-level detail so that constraints such as missing submittals, undelivered material, or blocked access get cleared before the work is due to start. It supplements the CPM schedule rather than replacing it, and it is the backbone of lean planning methods such as the Last Planner weekly work plan. It looks forward, not backward at completed quantities.

Resource leveling a construction schedule means:

• a.Setting every activity's duration to the same number of days so progress is easier to track
• b.Paying every trade working on the project the same hourly rate to simplify payroll accounting
• c.Shifting the timing of work so that crew and equipment demand stays within available limits✓
• d.Grading the site so that material can be stockpiled at a uniform elevation near the building

A logically correct schedule can still demand twenty carpenters in one week and four in the next. Resource leveling moves activities, usually into their available float first, so that the demand curve for labor and equipment fits what the company can actually supply. Leveling that has to move critical work will extend the project, which is the trade-off the planner has to weigh.

Which statement best compares fast-tracking with crashing as a way to accelerate a project?

• a.Fast-tracking overlaps sequential work and adds rework risk; crashing adds resources and cost✓
• b.Fast-tracking adds labor and overtime cost; crashing simply reorders work at no added cost
• c.Fast-tracking shortens the critical path; crashing lengthens it to absorb the extra crews added
• d.Fast-tracking applies only to design work; crashing applies only to sitework and foundations

Fast-tracking starts an activity before its predecessor is complete, which costs little directly but risks rework when the earlier work changes after the follow-on has begun. Crashing shortens durations by adding crews, shifts, or equipment, which is a direct cost increase and can also reduce productivity through crowding. Both are applied to critical activities, since only those control the finish date.

A superintendent puts the framing crew on sixty-hour weeks for a month to recover schedule. What should the project manager expect?

• a.Output per hour rises steadily as the crew settles into the longer working week
• b.Payroll cost stays flat, because overtime hours are paid at the same regular hourly rate
• c.Output per hour is unchanged, so the only real consequence is the overtime premium paid
• d.Output per hour falls and error and injury rates rise, while payroll cost climbs✓

Sustained overtime produces well-documented productivity loss: fatigue reduces output per hour, rework and errors increase, and accident rates climb, so the schedule gain is smaller than the added hours suggest. The premium rate also raises unit labor cost. Short bursts of overtime can be effective, but weeks of it is one of the more expensive ways to buy schedule.

What is the schedule of values on a construction project?

• a.A list of the equipment the company owns, valued for the surety that issued the bond
• b.A breakdown of the contract sum into line items used to bill progress each month✓
• c.A ranked list of the subcontractors on the job, ordered by the value of their contracts
• d.A record of the material prices quoted by suppliers before the bid was submitted

The schedule of values allocates the total contract amount across the work's components, and the monthly application for payment reports a percent complete against each of those line items to justify the amount requested. A realistic allocation matters, because an owner reviews it for front-loading and because the percent complete claimed on each line is what the architect verifies before certifying payment.

The budgeted cost of the work actually performed on a job is $410,000, and the actual cost of that same work is $455,000. This means:

• a.The job is ahead of schedule, because more work was performed than had been planned
• b.The job has a favorable cost variance of $45,000, since earned value exceeds the budget
• c.The job has an unfavorable cost variance of $45,000, since the work cost more than budgeted✓
• d.The contractor has overbilled the owner by $45,000 on the current application for payment

Cost variance is earned value minus actual cost: $410,000 - $455,000 = -$45,000, and a negative result is unfavorable, meaning the completed work cost $45,000 more than it was budgeted to cost. The comparison says nothing about schedule, which is measured by comparing earned value against planned value instead. Overbilling is a billing question, not a cost-performance measurement.

In earned value terms, a negative schedule variance tells the project manager that:

• a.The work performed has cost more money than had been budgeted for that same work
• b.The owner has fallen behind in paying the last two applications for payment submitted
• c.The remaining work will finish under budget, because unspent contingency is still available
• d.Less work has been earned to date than the schedule planned to have earned by now✓

Schedule variance compares the budgeted value of work performed with the budgeted value of work planned for the same date, so a negative figure means the job is behind the planned production curve. Cost overruns show up in cost variance, which compares earned value with actual cost instead. Neither measure reports on the owner's payment behavior or on contingency that has not been spent.

Why does a contractor assign cost codes to labor hours and supplier invoices on a job?

• a.So actual costs land in the same categories the estimate used to price them✓
• b.So payroll taxes are withheld at the correct rate for each trade working on the site
• c.So the building official can trace which subcontractor performed each inspected item
• d.So the surety can confirm that the payment bond covers every material supplier used

Cost codes are the common language between the estimate and the accounting system: hours and invoices are coded to the same work categories the estimator priced, so the project manager can see which categories are running over and by how much while there is still time to react. Without consistent coding, a job report shows only a total, which tells you that money was lost but not where.

A long-lead item such as electrical switchgear appears on the submittal log. Why does the project manager push that submittal early?

• a.Because the specifications require the first submittal on any project to be an electrical item
• b.Because the owner cannot be billed for stored equipment until its submittal is approved
• c.Because review, fabrication, and delivery can run months, and a late release delays the job✓
• d.Because the building official will not issue the permit until that submittal is reviewed

The submittal log tracks required submittals against the dates the material is needed on site, working backward through delivery, fabrication, and design-team review time. For major equipment that chain can run many months, so a submittal released late becomes a critical-path delay no amount of field effort can recover. Submittal review is a contract process between the contractor and the design team, not a permitting requirement.

Which submittal type is prepared by the fabricator or subcontractor to show how an assembly will actually be made and installed for this project?

• a.Product data, consisting of the manufacturer's printed catalog sheets for a stock item
• b.A shop drawing, showing dimensions, connections, and fabrication details for this job✓
• c.A sample, consisting of a physical piece of the material submitted for color and texture
• d.A mill certificate, reporting the tested properties of the steel sent to the fabricator

Shop drawings are project-specific documents drawn by the fabricator or installer that translate the design documents into what will actually be built, including field dimensions and connection details. Product data are the manufacturer's standard literature for a catalog item, and samples are physical pieces submitted so appearance can be judged. All three are submittals, but only the shop drawing is created for the particular job.

The architect returns a shop drawing stamped 'reviewed, no exceptions taken.' What does that stamp mean for the contractor?

• a.The contractor is relieved of responsibility for dimensions and field conditions on that work
• b.The item is approved as a change order, and the contract sum is adjusted for its added cost
• c.The architect now guarantees the fabricator's work and pays for errors found in the field
• d.The submittal conforms to design intent, but the contractor remains responsible for accuracy✓

Standard contract language limits the design team's submittal review to checking conformance with the design concept and the information in the contract documents. It does not transfer responsibility for quantities, dimensions, field measurements, fabrication methods, or coordination with other trades, all of which stay with the contractor. A reviewed submittal also does not change the contract sum; only a change order does that.

Which package does the contractor typically turn over to the owner at project closeout?

• a.The bid-day estimate, the subcontractor quotes, and the internal job-cost reports
• b.The certified payroll records, the daily reports, and the safety training rosters
• c.As-built drawings, operation and maintenance manuals, and system warranties✓
• d.The original permit application, the approved plan set, and the paid supplier invoices

Closeout transfers to the owner what is needed to operate and maintain the building: as-built drawings marked to show what was actually installed and where, operation and maintenance manuals for the equipment, and the manufacturer and installer warranties. Estimates, job-cost reports, and payroll records are the contractor's internal or statutory records and are not part of the owner's turnover package.

What is accomplished at the preconstruction meeting held before work begins?

• a.Communication lines, submittal and payment procedures, site rules, and access are established✓
• b.The final punch list is walked and the remaining corrective items are assigned to the trades
• c.The contract sum is renegotiated once the contractor has seen the actual site conditions
• d.The building official reviews the drawings and issues the permit for the proposed work

The preconstruction meeting brings owner, design team, contractor, and key subcontractors together to agree on how the project will be run: who talks to whom, how RFIs and submittals will be processed, when pay applications are due, and how deliveries, laydown areas, parking, and site access will work. Weekly coordination meetings then carry those procedures through construction. Pricing is settled before award, and punch-list work belongs at the end of the job.

How do the roles of the project manager and the site superintendent typically divide on a general contractor's job?

• a.The project manager directs the crews in the field; the superintendent handles owner billings
• b.The project manager runs contracts, submittals, and cost; the superintendent runs field work✓
• c.The project manager works for the owner; the superintendent works for the general contractor
• d.The project manager approves inspections; the superintendent issues change orders to the subs

The project manager is the commercial and contractual lead, handling subcontracts, submittals, RFIs, change orders, billings, and cost reporting. The superintendent is the field lead, sequencing crews day to day, running site logistics and safety, and calling for inspections. Both work for the general contractor, and the split of duties is why the two must communicate constantly.

What distinguishes quality control from quality assurance on a construction project?

• a.Quality control applies to subcontracted work; quality assurance applies to self-performed work
• b.Quality control is performed by the building department; quality assurance by the architect
• c.Quality control happens at closeout; quality assurance happens during the bidding phase
• d.Quality control inspects and tests the finished work; quality assurance is the system that prevents defects✓

Quality control is the inspection and testing of work that has been performed, catching defects after the fact. Quality assurance is the planned program of procedures, qualified personnel, approved submittals, and mockups intended to keep the defects from occurring in the first place. Both are the contractor's responsibility and both run throughout the job, independently of the building department's code inspections.

Why does a specification require a mockup panel of the exterior wall before production work starts?

• a.To let the owner decide whether the exterior wall assembly should be deleted from the scope
• b.To satisfy a requirement that a sample of the assembly be tested in an approved laboratory
• c.To set an approved standard of workmanship and appearance the finished work must match✓
• d.To give the estimator a way to measure labor hours for pricing a future change order

A mockup, sometimes called a benchmark sample, is built and reviewed so that the owner and design team can accept the intended color, texture, joint treatment, and workmanship before the trade goes into production. Once accepted, it becomes the physical standard against which the remaining work is judged, which settles arguments that drawings and words cannot. It is a workmanship standard, not a laboratory test or a pricing exercise.

Eight months after the owner moved in, a rooftop unit fails. Is that a punch list item or a warranty claim?

• a.A warranty claim, because the failure appeared after acceptance during the warranty period✓
• b.A punch list item, because any defect discovered after occupancy belongs on the punch list
• c.A punch list item, because the unit was installed before substantial completion was reached
• d.A change order, because the owner has already paid out the retainage held on the contract

A punch list captures incomplete or defective work identified at substantial completion, and it must be cleared before final payment. A warranty claim covers a failure that shows up later, during the warranty period that typically begins at substantial completion, and it is handled under the warranty terms and the manufacturer's coverage rather than by withholding contract funds. A latent failure months after occupancy falls in the second category, not the first.

How does a construction manager at risk differ from a construction manager acting as the owner's agent?

• a.The at-risk manager advises for a fee; the agent signs the trade contracts and carries the risk
• b.The at-risk manager holds trade contracts and guarantees a price; the agent advises the owner✓
• c.The at-risk manager is licensed by the state; the agent works with no license requirement
• d.The at-risk manager works only on public projects; the agent works only on private projects

A construction manager at risk holds the trade contracts and usually commits to a guaranteed maximum price, so it carries construction risk much as a general contractor does. A construction manager as agent is the owner's professional adviser: it manages the process for a fee, and the owner holds the trade contracts and the risk. The distinction determines who is exposed when the work costs more than expected.

On a commercial project, the installation of ductwork, exhaust fans, and heating equipment falls under which model code?

• a.The International Mechanical Code, which covers heating, ventilating, and cooling✓
• b.The International Plumbing Code, which covers piped water and drainage systems and fixtures
• c.The International Fire Code, which covers fire protection systems and hazardous operations
• d.The International Energy Conservation Code, which sets envelope and system efficiency rules

The International Codes are a coordinated family, each covering a different subject: the IBC for buildings generally, the IRC for one- and two-family dwellings, the IMC for mechanical systems, the IPC for plumbing, the IECC for energy, and the IFC for fire safety, with electrical work governed by the National Electrical Code. Mechanical installation is the IMC's subject. The IECC does set equipment efficiency levels, but it is not the installation code.