CHST CHST - Construction Health and Safety Technician Incident Investigation and Reporting Questions and Answers 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which analysis tool uses a diagram shaped like a fish skeleton to identify multiple root causes of an incident?
- Fault tree analysis
- Ishikawa (fishbone) diagram (Correct answer)
- 5-Whys method
- Job hazard analysis
Correct answer: Ishikawa (fishbone) diagram
The Ishikawa or fishbone diagram visually maps cause-and-effect relationships to identify multiple contributing factors to an incident.
Question 2: Under OSHA's recordkeeping rule, which of the following is NOT considered a 'first aid' treatment and therefore makes a case recordable?
- Use of nonprescription medications at nonprescription strength
- Application of butterfly bandages
- Use of prescription medications (Correct answer)
- Removal of splinters by tweezers
Correct answer: Use of prescription medications
Use of prescription medications (beyond a single dose on the day of injury) exceeds first aid and makes the case OSHA recordable.
Question 3: A construction worker fractures a finger on a Monday and is placed on restricted work duties for the remainder of the week. How should this be classified on the OSHA 300 Log?
- Other recordable case
- Days away from work case
- Restricted work or job transfer case (Correct answer)
- First aid only — not recordable
Correct answer: Restricted work or job transfer case
When an injury results in restricted work or job transfer rather than days away, it is recorded as a restricted work case on the OSHA 300 Log.
Question 4: Which incident investigation technique involves repeatedly asking 'why' until the fundamental system failure is identified?
- Barrier analysis
- Change analysis
- 5-Whys analysis (Correct answer)
- Failure mode and effects analysis
Correct answer: 5-Whys analysis
The 5-Whys technique iteratively asks 'why' at each level of cause until the root systemic failure is uncovered.
Question 5: When investigating a near-miss event involving a scaffold plank failure, the investigator should FIRST:
- Repair the scaffold and resume work
- Photograph and preserve the scene before disturbance (Correct answer)
- Interview the injured worker in the presence of management
- Submit the OSHA 301 form within 7 days
Correct answer: Photograph and preserve the scene before disturbance
Preserving the scene through photographs and physical evidence before any disturbance is the critical first step in a valid incident investigation.
Question 6: A supervisor fails to report a recordable injury to the safety department for 10 days. Which OSHA standard is most likely violated?
- 29 CFR 1926.20 — General safety and health provisions
- 29 CFR 1904.29 — Forms (Correct answer)
- 29 CFR 1904.14 — Recording criteria for cases involving medical removal
- 29 CFR 1904.32 — Annual summary
Correct answer: 29 CFR 1904.29 — Forms
29 CFR 1904.29 requires that OSHA 300 Log entries be made within 7 calendar days of learning that a recordable incident occurred.
Question 7: Which of the following best describes a 'contributing cause' in incident investigation terminology?
- The single factor that directly caused the incident
- A condition that increased the likelihood or severity of the incident but alone would not have caused it (Correct answer)
- An administrative failure that is always preventable
- The unsafe act committed by the injured worker
Correct answer: A condition that increased the likelihood or severity of the incident but alone would not have caused it
A contributing cause is a factor that worsened or enabled the incident but is distinguished from the direct cause by the fact that it alone was insufficient to produce the outcome.
CHST CHST - Construction Health and Safety Technician Incident Investigation and Reporting Questions and Answers 3
Which analysis tool uses a diagram shaped like a fish skeleton to identify multiple root causes of an incident?