Managing Safety and Health — OSHA 30 practice questions

Which pair BEST distinguishes leading from lagging indicators?

1. Recordable injury counts are leading; near-miss reports are lagging
2. Insurance premiums are leading; hazard inspections are lagging
3. Days away counts are leading; toolbox talk attendance is lagging
4. Near-miss reports are leading; recordable injury counts are lagging

Answer: D — Near-miss reports are leading; recordable injury counts are lagging

D) Correct — leading indicators measure preventive activity before harm; lagging indicators count outcomes after harm. A) Direction reversal of the correct definition. B) Premiums are a downstream cost measure and inspections are preventive, so this is backwards. C) Days away is an outcome and toolbox talks are preventive, so this is also reversed.

During a job hazard analysis, a step is identified with no feasible engineering control. What comes NEXT?

1. Skip to PPE and document the engineering control as complete
2. Discontinue the analysis and proceed with the original method
3. Apply administrative controls such as work practice changes, then PPE as needed
4. Escalate the entire project to the controlling employer for redesign

Answer: C — Apply administrative controls such as work practice changes, then PPE as needed

C) Correct — the hierarchy continues downward in order, with PPE as the final layer. A) Skipping a level and mislabeling records misrepresents the control status. B) Abandoning the analysis defeats its purpose. D) Handing off to another employer does not analyze or control the step.

A toolbox talk is delivered on trench safety. What documentation practice is MOST useful?

1. Record only the supervisor's name and the length of the talk
2. File the talk without attendance because it was informal
3. Record attendance but discard the topic to save file space
4. Record the topic, date, and attendees plus hazards raised

Answer: D — Record the topic, date, and attendees plus hazards raised

D) Correct — useful records tie the subject and date to specific attendees and capture worker feedback for follow-up. A) Omitting attendees leaves no evidence of who was trained. B) Informality does not remove the value or expectation of records. C) Attendance without a topic proves nothing about content.

Which method is LEAST likely to reveal hazards that workers encounter daily?

1. Walking the site with the crews performing the work
2. Reviewing near-miss and incident reports for patterns
3. Reviewing the company's written policy manual alone
4. Conducting job hazard analyses on high-risk tasks

Answer: C — Reviewing the company's written policy manual alone

C) Correct — a manual describes intent, not field conditions, so it is the weakest single source for real exposures. A) Direct observation with workers surfaces actual practice. B) Reports reveal recurring failure patterns. D) Task-level analysis is designed for exactly this purpose.

Which sequence lists the hierarchy of controls from most to least effective?

1. PPE, administrative controls, engineering controls, substitution, elimination
2. Engineering controls, elimination, PPE, substitution, administrative controls
3. Elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, PPE
4. Substitution, PPE, elimination, engineering controls, administrative controls

Answer: C — Elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, PPE

C) Correct — the hierarchy moves from removing the hazard to protecting the individual worker. A) Direction reversal placing the weakest control first. B) Scrambles the order and elevates PPE above substitution. D) Also scrambled, with PPE ranked second.

A contractor writes a safety manual but never asks crews for input on hazards. Which program element is MOST clearly missing?

1. Hazard prevention and control measures
2. Program evaluation and improvement steps
3. Worker participation in finding hazards
4. Education and training for the crews

Answer: C — Worker participation in finding hazards

C) Correct — workers closest to the task see hazards first, and meaningful participation is a core program element. A) Controls may exist; the gap described is about who was consulted. B) Evaluation reviews results, which is not what the scenario describes. D) Training could still be occurring under this scenario.

A general contractor has authority over site conditions and knows a sub's scaffold is defective. Which role fits the general contractor?

1. Controlling employer, owing a duty of reasonable care
2. Exposing employer, because the scaffold is on its project
3. Creating employer, because it hired the subcontractor
4. No role, because the scaffold belongs to another company

Answer: A — Controlling employer, owing a duty of reasonable care

A) Correct — general supervisory authority makes it a controlling employer expected to exercise reasonable care in detecting and correcting violations. B) Exposure depends on its own employees being near the hazard. C) Hiring a sub does not create the physical hazard. D) Ownership of the equipment does not erase supervisory duties.

A newly promoted foreman is designated the competent person for excavations but cannot stop work. What is the MAIN deficiency?

1. The foreman has not been on the job long enough to be promoted
2. The foreman needs a state license to inspect excavations
3. The designation lacks the authority to take prompt corrective action
4. The designation should have gone to a qualified person instead

Answer: C — The designation lacks the authority to take prompt corrective action

C) Correct — corrective authority is part of the definition; without it the designation is hollow. A) Tenure is not the defining criterion. B) Invented licensing requirement. D) Excavation inspection is assigned to a competent person, not a qualified person.

Which action should occur FIRST at the scene of a serious incident?

1. Photograph the equipment that was involved
2. Secure the scene and care for the injured worker
3. Interview the crew supervisor on duty
4. Begin drafting the corrective action plan

Answer: B — Secure the scene and care for the injured worker

B) Correct — protecting people and preventing a second incident precedes evidence gathering. A) Photos matter but come after the scene is safe. C) Interviews follow scene control and medical care. D) Corrective actions require facts that have not been collected yet.

A subcontractor's workers are exposed to an unguarded floor opening that another sub created. Which statement is accurate?

1. The exposing employer may be cited even though it did not create the hazard
2. Only the general contractor can be cited on a multi-employer site
3. Only the creating employer can ever be cited for a given hazard
4. No citation is possible until the creating employer refuses to fix it

Answer: A — The exposing employer may be cited even though it did not create the hazard

A) Correct — an employer whose workers are exposed has duties regardless of who created the condition. B) Assuming the general contractor alone bears responsibility is the classic misconception. C) More than one employer can be cited for the same condition. D) Liability does not wait on another employer's refusal.

State the hierarchy of controls in order of effectiveness.

Elimination • Substitution • Engineering controls • Administrative controls and safe work practices • Personal protective equipment (least effective, last resort).

The Construction Focus Four hazards?

Falls, struck-by, caught-in/between, electrocution. Cause >60% of all construction fatalities. Required focus in OSHA training.

How does a qualified person differ from a competent person?

A qualified person has a recognized degree, certificate, professional standing, or extensive knowledge and experience demonstrating ability to solve problems in the subject; a competent person identifies hazards and has authority to correct them.

What is the goal of an incident investigation, and what should it focus on?

To find root causes and prevent recurrence, not to assign blame. It examines the sequence of events, contributing conditions, and management system failures.