CHST CHST - Construction Health and Safety Technician Safety Training and Communication Questions and Answers 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A worker refuses to perform a task they believe is imminently dangerous. Under the OSH Act, the employer:
- Cannot discipline the worker for refusing work they reasonably believe poses imminent danger of death or serious injury (Correct answer)
- May terminate the worker immediately for insubordination
- Must report the worker's refusal to OSHA within 24 hours
- Can require the worker to perform the task while additional PPE is sourced
Correct answer: Cannot discipline the worker for refusing work they reasonably believe poses imminent danger of death or serious injury
The OSH Act's Section 11(c) protects workers from retaliation for refusing imminently dangerous work when a reasonable person would agree the danger exists.
Question 2: Which statement BEST describes the purpose of a safety inspection checklist used during a site walkthrough?
- To provide a consistent, systematic method for identifying and documenting hazardous conditions (Correct answer)
- To replace the need for worker safety training by catching all hazards post-hoc
- To assign fault to specific subcontractors before an inspection begins
- To satisfy OSHA recordkeeping requirements in lieu of injury logs
Correct answer: To provide a consistent, systematic method for identifying and documenting hazardous conditions
Checklists standardize the inspection process, reduce the chance of overlooking known hazards, and create a documentation trail for corrective actions.
Question 3: During a safety training needs assessment, a CHSTidentifies that lost-time injuries are concentrated in the fall hazard category. The MOST appropriate next step is to:
- Analyze which job tasks, crews, and locations are associated with the fall injuries to target training and controls (Correct answer)
- Immediately purchase new fall arrest equipment for all workers without further analysis
- Suspend all work at height until an OSHA inspection is requested
- Send a generic fall prevention email to the entire workforce
Correct answer: Analyze which job tasks, crews, and locations are associated with the fall injuries to target training and controls
A targeted root-cause analysis of fall incidents identifies specific gaps in training, equipment, or procedures that can be addressed with focused interventions.
Question 4: The 'Catch and Fix' or 'STOP' observation programs used in construction are examples of:
- Behavior-based safety (BBS) programs that observe and reinforce safe work practices (Correct answer)
- OSHA enforcement programs conducted by compliance officers
- Incident investigation protocols following a recordable injury
- Environmental monitoring programs for air quality on job sites
Correct answer: Behavior-based safety (BBS) programs that observe and reinforce safe work practices
BBS programs like STOP use structured peer observations to identify at-risk behaviors and reinforce safe ones before incidents occur.
Question 5: According to ANSI Z490.1 (Criteria for Accepted Practices in Safety, Health, and Environmental Training), a training program should include all of the following EXCEPT:
- Automatic certification of workers after a single session regardless of demonstrated competency (Correct answer)
- Identification of the target audience and their learning needs
- Clearly stated learning objectives tied to observable behaviors
- A method for evaluating whether learners met the objectives
Correct answer: Automatic certification of workers after a single session regardless of demonstrated competency
ANSI Z490.1 requires demonstrated competency for certification; automatic certification without assessment violates this standard.
Question 6: A construction safety manager wants to promote a positive safety culture. Which leadership behavior is MOST impactful?
- Visibly participating in site safety walkthroughs and addressing hazards found during them without blame (Correct answer)
- Posting safety statistics on the bulletin board and waiting for improvement
- Delegating all safety responsibilities entirely to the safety department
- Rewarding crews only for zero-injury months to incentivize reporting suppression
Correct answer: Visibly participating in site safety walkthroughs and addressing hazards found during them without blame
Visible leadership commitment and non-punitive hazard correction are among the strongest predictors of positive safety culture.
Question 7: When creating training materials for low-literacy construction workers, which instructional design strategy is MOST effective?
- Use images, demonstrations, and hands-on practice with minimal reliance on written text (Correct answer)
- Provide dense written manuals and require workers to read them independently
- Conduct all training via online modules with lengthy text passages
- Administer a reading comprehension test before any safety training is delivered
Correct answer: Use images, demonstrations, and hands-on practice with minimal reliance on written text
Visual and hands-on methods bypass literacy barriers and align with how adults with limited reading skills best acquire and retain safety information.
A worker refuses to perform a task they believe is imminently dangerous.
Under the OSH Act, the employer: