OSHA 10-Hour Construction — All Questions

Under the OSH Act of 1970, what is the primary purpose of OSHA?

• a.To provide workers' compensation insurance to injured employees
• b.To assure safe and healthful working conditions by setting and enforcing standards✓
• c.To set minimum wage rates for construction workers
• d.To license contractors before they can bid on public projects

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 created OSHA to assure safe and healthful working conditions for workers by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance. Wages, licensing, and workers' compensation are handled by other agencies.

Which of the following is a worker right protected under OSHA?

• a.The right to receive information and training about hazards in their language✓
• b.The right to refuse any assignment they personally dislike
• c.The right to set their own safety standards on the job
• d.The right to be paid double time for hazardous work

Workers have the right to receive information and training about job hazards, methods to prevent harm, and the OSHA standards that apply, provided in a language and vocabulary they can understand. OSHA rights do not include refusing disliked tasks or setting personal standards; premium pay is not an OSHA right.

The General Duty Clause of the OSH Act requires employers to do what?

• a.Provide health insurance to all full-time employees
• b.Report every minor first-aid injury to OSHA within 24 hours
• c.Furnish a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious harm✓
• d.Guarantee that no worker will ever be injured on the job

Section 5(a)(1), the General Duty Clause, requires each employer to furnish a place of employment free from recognized hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm. It applies especially when no specific standard covers a hazard. It is not an absolute guarantee against all injury.

How can a worker file a complaint to request an OSHA inspection of their workplace?

• a.Only by hiring a private attorney to sue the employer
• b.Only after they have already been injured on the job
• c.Only through their state governor's office
• d.By contacting OSHA online, by phone, by mail, or in person, and it can be kept confidential✓

Workers can file a complaint with OSHA online, by phone, by fax/mail, or in person at a local office, and can request that their name be kept confidential. A worker does not need to be injured first, and it is illegal for the employer to retaliate against a worker for filing a complaint.

If an employer receives an OSHA citation, what are they generally required to do?

• a.Post the citation at or near the location of the violation and correct the hazard by the abatement date✓
• b.Immediately shut down the entire company permanently
• c.Ignore it unless a worker was seriously injured
• d.Pay the fine directly to the workers who reported it

After a citation is issued, the employer must post it at or near the place where the violation occurred and abate (correct) the hazard by the deadline listed. Employers may contest citations, but they cannot simply ignore them. Penalties are paid to OSHA, not to individual workers.

Which four hazards make up OSHA's 'Focus Four,' the leading causes of construction fatalities?

• a.Fire, flood, noise, and heat
• b.Falls, electrocution, struck-by, and caught-in/between✓
• c.Slips, trips, lifting, and repetitive motion
• d.Chemicals, radiation, dust, and vibration

The Focus Four are Falls, Electrocution, Struck-By, and Caught-In/Between. These four categories account for the majority of construction worker deaths, so OSHA outreach training emphasizes recognizing and controlling them.

In construction, at what height does OSHA generally require fall protection for workers?

• a.10 feet
• b.4 feet
• c.6 feet✓
• d.20 feet

For most construction work, OSHA requires fall protection at heights of 6 feet or more above a lower level. (Note the general industry trigger is 4 feet and scaffolds is 10 feet, but construction's general threshold is 6 feet.) Falls are the number one cause of construction deaths.

A worker is struck by a load swinging from a crane. Which Focus Four hazard category does this fall under?

• a.Struck-by✓
• b.Caught-in/between
• c.Electrocution
• d.Falls

Struck-by hazards occur when a worker is hit by a moving, flying, falling, or swinging object such as a suspended crane load, vehicle, or flying debris. A caught-in/between hazard, by contrast, involves being squeezed, pinched, or crushed between objects.

Which practice best helps prevent electrocution on a construction site?

• a.Using metal ladders near overhead power lines to save time
• b.Removing the grounding prong from a plug so tools fit any outlet
• c.Working on energized circuits without turning off the power
• d.Using ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) and maintaining safe distances from power lines✓

Using GFCIs, keeping a safe clearance from overhead and buried power lines, and following lockout/tagout to de-energize circuits are key ways to prevent electrocution. Removing grounding prongs, using metal ladders near lines, or working live all increase the danger.

A worker enters an unprotected trench that has not been sloped, shored, or shielded. Which Focus Four hazard is the greatest concern?

• a.Struck-by from passing traffic
• b.Caught-in/between from a trench collapse (cave-in)✓
• c.Electrocution from static electricity
• d.Falls from the trench edge

An unprotected trench presents a caught-in/between hazard because a cave-in can bury and crush a worker in seconds. Trenches deeper than 5 feet generally require a protective system such as sloping, shoring, or a trench shield unless made entirely of stable rock.

Who is generally responsible for providing required personal protective equipment (PPE) to workers at no cost?

• a.The employer✓
• b.The individual worker
• c.The equipment manufacturer
• d.The local building inspector

With few exceptions (such as ordinary work boots the worker keeps), the employer must provide required PPE at no cost to workers and ensure it is used and maintained properly. PPE is considered the last line of defense, used after engineering and work-practice controls.

In the hierarchy of hazard controls, where does personal protective equipment (PPE) rank?

• a.It is the first and most preferred control method
• b.It is equal in preference to eliminating the hazard
• c.It is the last line of defense, used when other controls cannot fully protect the worker✓
• d.It is only used during OSHA inspections

PPE is the least preferred control and the last line of defense. Employers should first try to eliminate or substitute the hazard, then use engineering controls, then administrative/work-practice controls, and finally rely on PPE to protect against remaining risk.

Which components make up a personal fall arrest system (PFAS)?

• a.Only a hard hat and safety glasses
• b.A guardrail and a warning sign
• c.A ladder and a tool belt
• d.An anchorage, a full-body harness, and a connector such as a lanyard or lifeline✓

A personal fall arrest system consists of an anchorage, a full-body harness worn by the worker, and a connecting device such as a shock-absorbing lanyard or self-retracting lifeline (sometimes remembered as the ABCs: Anchorage, Body harness, Connector). Body belts are no longer allowed for fall arrest.

When should a worker inspect PPE such as a hard hat or fall protection harness?

• a.Only once when it is first purchased
• b.Before each use, checking for cracks, damage, or wear✓
• c.Only after it has already failed
• d.Only when an OSHA inspector requests it

PPE should be inspected before each use for cracks, dents, frays, damage, or excessive wear, and damaged equipment must be removed from service. A cracked hard hat or frayed harness webbing may fail when it is needed most, so routine inspection is essential.

Under the Hazard Communication Standard, what document provides detailed information about a chemical's hazards, handling, and first-aid measures?

• a.The Safety Data Sheet (SDS)✓
• b.The employee's pay stub
• c.The building permit
• d.The daily time card

The Safety Data Sheet (SDS) provides 16 standardized sections of information about a hazardous chemical, including its hazards, safe handling, storage, PPE, and emergency/first-aid measures. Employers must keep SDSs accessible to workers and train them on how to read them under the Hazard Communication (HazCom) Standard.

Which construction activity is a common source of hazardous respirable crystalline silica dust?

• a.Sweeping a clean office floor
• b.Painting a wall with a roller
• c.Cutting, grinding, or drilling concrete, brick, or stone✓
• d.Installing carpet tiles

Cutting, grinding, drilling, or crushing concrete, brick, stone, and mortar releases respirable crystalline silica, which can cause silicosis, lung cancer, and other diseases. Controls include wet methods, vacuum dust collection, and respirators as required by OSHA's silica standard.

Why is disturbing older building materials that may contain asbestos or lead a serious health concern?

• a.They make tools rust more quickly
• b.They can release fibers or dust that cause long-term diseases when inhaled or ingested✓
• c.They only affect the appearance of the finished work
• d.They are harmless once the building is more than 20 years old

Disturbing asbestos-containing materials can release fibers that cause lung diseases and cancer, and disturbing lead-based paint can release lead dust that harms the nervous system and other organs. Both require specific work practices, controls, and often trained/certified workers before disturbance.

Under the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) used in HazCom, what is the purpose of pictograms on a chemical label?

• a.To show the price of the chemical
• b.To indicate the manufacturer's phone number
• c.To display the delivery date
• d.To quickly communicate the type of hazard through a standardized symbol✓

GHS pictograms are standardized symbols inside a red diamond that quickly convey hazard types, such as flame for flammables, skull and crossbones for acute toxicity, or a health-hazard symbol. Along with signal words, hazard statements, and precautionary statements, they help workers recognize dangers at a glance.

When using a portable straight or extension ladder to access an upper level, how far should the ladder extend above the landing surface?

• a.It should stop exactly level with the landing
• b.At least 3 feet above the landing surface✓
• c.At least 10 feet above the landing surface
• d.It should never extend above the landing

A portable ladder used to access an upper landing should extend at least 3 feet above the landing surface so the worker has a secure handhold when stepping on or off. The ladder should also be set at a 4-to-1 angle (1 foot out for every 4 feet of height) and secured.

Before working in a trench 5 feet or deeper, what must generally be in place unless the trench is made entirely of stable rock?

• a.A protective system such as sloping, benching, shoring, or a trench shield✓
• b.A fresh coat of paint on the walls
• c.At least three workers standing inside at all times
• d.A ladder placed 50 feet away

Trenches 5 feet or deeper generally require a protective system (sloping, benching, shoring, or shielding) designed to prevent cave-ins, unless the excavation is entirely in stable rock. A competent person must inspect the excavation daily and as conditions change, and a safe means of egress must be within 25 feet of workers.

Who is required to inspect a supported scaffold before each work shift and after any event that could affect its integrity?

• a.Any available worker regardless of training
• b.The equipment rental company by phone
• c.A competent person qualified to identify scaffold hazards✓
• d.No inspection is required once the scaffold is built

A competent person — someone capable of identifying hazards and authorized to correct them — must inspect the scaffold before each work shift and after any occurrence that could affect its structural integrity. Supported scaffolds generally require guardrails or fall protection when working 10 feet or more above a lower level.

What is a safe practice when using hand and power tools on a construction site?

• a.Remove machine guards to make the tool easier to use
• b.Carry a power tool by its cord to keep hands free
• c.Use a tool with a cracked or damaged handle to finish the job faster
• d.Keep guards in place and remove damaged or defective tools from service✓

Safe tool use means keeping guards in place, using the right tool for the job, and tagging out or removing damaged tools from service. Removing guards, carrying tools by the cord, or using cracked tools all create struck-by, laceration, and electrical hazards.