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20 multiple-choice questions and 13 flashcards on Focus Four — Caught-In or Between, about 7% of the OSHA 30 bank. Every one carries a written rationale.
Focus Four — Caught-In or Between is one of 10 chapters in CoStudy's OSHA 30 (Construction) bank, and it holds 20 of the bank's 300 multiple-choice questions — roughly 7% of the total. That proportion is not arbitrary: chapters follow the certifying body's published exam outline, and the number of questions in each is set by that domain's published weight, so the share of your practice time this chapter takes matches the share of the real exam it accounts for.
Studying by chapter is worth doing once you have a diagnostic score. A single overall percentage tells you whether you are close; it does not tell you which domain is dragging. Working a weak chapter in isolation, and re-testing it in isolation, is the fastest way to move a score that has stalled — and it is why the mock exams in CoStudy report by domain rather than as one number.
5 questions drawn from this chapter, with the full rationale shown — the controlling principle behind the right answer, and why each wrong option tempts and fails.
Trench protective system required at:
Answer: B — 5 feet
A/C/D) Wrong. B) Correct — competent person can determine <5 ft if unstable.
A worker is fatally injured when a wall panel being set by a forklift swings and pins him against a stacked pallet. This event is BEST categorized as which of the Focus Four?
Answer: C — Caught-in or between, because he was squeezed between two solid objects
C) Correct — the distinguishing feature of caught-in or between is that the injury results from being squeezed, pinched, or crushed between two objects rather than from the impact of a moving object alone. A) Struck-by involves injury from the impact itself, not compression between objects. B) No electrical contact occurred. D) No one fell to a lower level.
Soil classified as 'Type C' is:
Answer: D — The least stable cohesive/granular soil
A is reversed (Type A is most stable). B/C are wrong.
Excavated spoil is being piled right at the edge of an open trench so the loader has a short haul. What is the MOST important objection?
Answer: B — The added weight loads the wall and material can roll back into the trench
B) Correct — spoil and other loads must be kept back from the edge, typically at least two feet, because the added weight loads the wall and loose material falls on workers below. A) Sight lines matter but are not the cave-in mechanism. C) Cost is not a safety objection. D) Equipment access is an inconvenience, not the hazard that kills.
Machine guarding under 29 CFR 1910.212 protects against:
Answer: A — Caught-in/between and pinch-point injuries from moving parts
Machine guarding addresses moving-part hazards.
4 cards from the 13 in this chapter.
Daily trench inspection by:
Competent person — before workers enter + after rain/water accumulation/changing conditions.
Protective systems for trenches?
Sloping (cut back at angle), benching (steps), shoring (supports), shielding (trench box). Type depends on soil + depth.
When must a competent person inspect an excavation?
Daily before each shift, as needed during the shift, and after every rainstorm or other hazard-increasing occurrence. Workers must be removed if a hazard is found.
Name the three general methods of protecting workers in an excavation.
Sloping or benching the sides • Shoring to support the walls • Shielding with a trench box. Benching is not permitted in Type C soil.
These are a sample. The full Focus Four — Caught-In or Between chapter runs 33 items with per-chapter progress tracking, on the web and in the iOS app.