CHST General MCQ 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the key difference between an 'incident' and an 'accident' in modern safety management terminology?
- Incidents involve property damage only; accidents involve injuries
- Incidents include near-misses and unplanned events; 'accident' implies randomness that safety professionals avoid (Correct answer)
- Accidents are OSHA-recordable; incidents are not
- Incidents are investigated internally; accidents are reported to OSHA
Correct answer: Incidents include near-misses and unplanned events; 'accident' implies randomness that safety professionals avoid
Modern safety science uses 'incident' because it encompasses near-misses and unplanned events, while 'accident' implies unpredictability and undermines the idea that events are preventable.
Question 2: Under OSHA's scaffolding standard (29 CFR 1926.451), what is the maximum height a scaffold's working level can be constructed without full fall protection?
- 4 feet
- 6 feet
- 8 feet
- 10 feet (Correct answer)
Correct answer: 10 feet
Fall protection is required on scaffolds when the working level is 10 feet or more above the ground or lower level for construction work.
Question 3: Which type of hazard analysis technique uses an inductive approach to identify what could go wrong by asking 'What if?' questions?
- Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)
- Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
- What-If Analysis (Correct answer)
- Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP)
Correct answer: What-If Analysis
What-If Analysis is an inductive technique where a team brainstorms by posing 'What if?' questions to identify potential hazard scenarios and their consequences.
Question 4: A construction supervisor notices a worker wearing a hard hat that has been painted. What is the safety concern?
- Painted hard hats violate OSHA regulations directly
- Paint solvents can degrade the shell material and reduce impact protection (Correct answer)
- The color change makes it harder to identify the worker's role
- Painted hard hats cannot be inspected for cracks visually
Correct answer: Paint solvents can degrade the shell material and reduce impact protection
Solvents and chemicals in paint can penetrate and weaken the polycarbonate or ABS shell of a hard hat, compromising its impact and penetration resistance.
Question 5: What is the primary purpose of a pre-task planning (PTP) meeting before beginning a new phase of work?
- To assign overtime pay and schedule breaks
- To identify task-specific hazards and agree on controls before work begins (Correct answer)
- To review the project budget and materials needed
- To satisfy union contract requirements for daily meetings
Correct answer: To identify task-specific hazards and agree on controls before work begins
Pre-task planning brings workers and supervisors together before starting work to identify hazards specific to that task and establish agreed-upon controls.
Question 6: When evaluating the effectiveness of safety training, which level of Kirkpatrick's model assesses whether behavior changed on the job?
- Level 1 – Reaction
- Level 2 – Learning
- Level 3 – Behavior (Correct answer)
- Level 4 – Results
Correct answer: Level 3 – Behavior
Kirkpatrick's Level 3 (Behavior) evaluates whether trainees apply what they learned back on the job, measuring actual transfer of training to the work environment.
Question 7: Under OSHA's respiratory protection standard (29 CFR 1910.134), what must be completed before a worker is assigned a respirator?
- A written JHA and site safety plan review
- Medical evaluation, fit testing, and training (Correct answer)
- A written permit signed by the project manager
- Completion of a 10-hour OSHA construction course
Correct answer: Medical evaluation, fit testing, and training
Before respirator use, OSHA requires a medical evaluation to confirm the worker can safely wear the respirator, followed by fit testing and training on its proper use.
CHST General MCQ 5
What is the key difference between an 'incident' and an 'accident' in modern safety management terminology?