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45 multiple-choice questions and 13 flashcards on Focus Four — Falls, about 15% of the OSHA 30 bank. Every one carries a written rationale.
Focus Four — Falls is one of 10 chapters in CoStudy's OSHA 30 (Construction) bank, and it holds 45 of the bank's 300 multiple-choice questions — roughly 15% 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.
10 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.
A worker on a portable ladder needs both hands to install a fixture while leaning well outside the side rails. What is the BEST response?
Answer: C — Reposition the ladder so the body stays within the side rails
C) Correct — overreaching shifts the center of gravity outside the rails and causes tipovers; the fix is to move the ladder or change the access method. A) Footing help does not counteract a tipping moment from overreach. B) A ladder rung is not an approved anchorage for arrest. D) Ladders have their own requirements; they are not exempt from safe-use rules.
A crew cuts a floor opening for future ductwork and covers it with plywood. What else must be done?
Answer: C — Mark the cover so it is seen and secure it against displacement
C) Correct — a hole cover must be secured so it cannot shift and marked so no one removes it unknowingly; it must also support expected loads. A) A loose cover is exactly the failure mode the rule targets. B) Cones and paperwork are true-but-insufficient; neither prevents displacement. D) Concealment without securing or marking creates a hidden hazard.
Fall protection in construction is consistently among OSHA's most frequently cited standards. What does this MOST strongly suggest to a site supervisor?
Answer: B — Fall hazards need planning before work starts, not after inspection
B) Correct — persistent citation frequency mirrors real injury data and argues for planning fall protection into each task in advance. A) Cynical and false; citations follow observed field conditions. C) Falls kill on low-rise and residential work as well. D) Dismisses a well-documented hazard pattern.
Who must inspect a supported scaffold before each work shift?
Answer: D — A competent person authorized to correct hazards found
D) Correct — the standard assigns pre-shift scaffold inspection to a competent person with authority to take prompt corrective action. A) Experience alone does not make someone a competent person. B) Assuming the general contractor alone owns the duty misstates who must inspect. C) Engineers design certain scaffolds but are not required for routine shift inspections.
Steel erection connectors must be protected from falls at heights of:
Answer: C — 15 ft (Subpart R)
Wrong-standard / off-by-one. 1926 Subpart R sets 15 ft for connectors; controlled decking zone option to 30 ft.
What is the MAIN limitation of a safety monitoring system?
Answer: C — It depends entirely on one person watching and warning others
C) Correct — the system has no physical component, so a single lapse in attention leaves workers unprotected. A) Invented certification requirement. B) There is no such duration rule. D) The monitor warns; physical restraint is not the function.
A personal fall arrest system (PFAS) anchorage must be capable of supporting:
Answer: C — 5,000 lb per worker (or designed by a qualified person with 2x safety factor)
5,000 lb or twice the maximum arresting force.
A worker will use an extension ladder to reach a roof edge. What is required at the top?
Answer: C — The side rails must extend about three feet above the landing surface
C) Correct — side rails extend roughly three feet above the upper landing so the worker has something to hold while transitioning. A) Securing matters, but gutters are not a structural anchor and this ignores the extension rule. B) Stopping level with the edge removes the handhold entirely. D) Guardrails are not built around ladder tops as a substitute.
Which component set describes a complete personal fall arrest system?
Answer: C — Anchorage, connectors, and a full body harness
C) Correct — the system is anchorage plus connecting means plus a full body harness that distributes arrest forces. A) Body belts are not acceptable for fall arrest because they concentrate force on the abdomen. B) These are passive perimeter components, not a personal system. D) These are alternative or supplemental measures, not arrest equipment.
Body belts in a personal fall arrest system are:
Answer: D — Not acceptable as part of a PFAS since January 1, 1998 — a full-body harness is required
Common misconception that belts are OK. Since 1998 only full-body harness is allowed in PFAS.
4 cards from the 13 in this chapter.
What is a controlled access zone and when is it used?
An area where leading-edge or overhand bricklaying work may proceed without guardrails or PFAS, with entry limited to authorized workers and bounded by a control line. It must be under a safety monitoring system where applicable.
At what height is fall protection required for workers on a scaffold, and what platform width generally applies?
Fall protection is required above 10 feet on scaffolds. Platforms must generally be at least 18 inches wide and fully planked, with gaps no more than 1 inch between units.
Focus Four #1: Falls — leading cause of construction death?
Falls are the #1 cause — ~33-40% of construction fatalities. Triggers: roofs, ladders, scaffolds, openings.
Fall protection trigger height — construction?
6 feet (residential + commercial). Different from general industry (4 ft). Steel erection has separate rules (15 ft).
These are a sample. The full Focus Four — Falls chapter runs 58 items with per-chapter progress tracking, on the web and in the iOS app.