CMRT Maintenance Safety Procedures 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An arc flash hazard analysis determines an incident energy level of 8 cal/cm² at the working distance. What minimum arc flash PPE category is required per NFPA 70E?
- PPE Category 1 (minimum 4 cal/cm² arc rating)
- PPE Category 2 (minimum 8 cal/cm² arc rating) (Correct answer)
- PPE Category 3 (minimum 25 cal/cm² arc rating)
- PPE Category 4 (minimum 40 cal/cm² arc rating)
Correct answer: PPE Category 2 (minimum 8 cal/cm² arc rating)
PPE Category 2 has a minimum arc rating of 8 cal/cm², which exactly meets the incident energy level of 8 cal/cm² and is therefore the minimum required category.
Question 2: Under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.132, who is responsible for providing PPE to employees at no cost when it is required for safety?
- The employee, since PPE is considered personal property
- The employer, except for everyday clothing and items the employee controls away from work (Correct answer)
- The equipment manufacturer, as part of the equipment's safe-use requirements
- The insurance carrier covering the workplace
Correct answer: The employer, except for everyday clothing and items the employee controls away from work
OSHA requires employers to provide required PPE at no cost to employees, with limited exceptions for items like ordinary safety-toe footwear used away from the workplace.
Question 3: What does the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) Section 8 provide that is most directly useful to a maintenance technician handling a chemical?
- First aid measures and emergency response procedures
- Exposure limits and required engineering controls and PPE (Correct answer)
- Physical and chemical properties such as boiling point and vapor pressure
- Regulatory compliance information and transportation requirements
Correct answer: Exposure limits and required engineering controls and PPE
SDS Section 8 (Exposure Controls/Personal Protection) specifies permissible exposure limits, threshold limit values, and the controls and PPE needed to protect workers.
Question 4: A fall protection plan is required under OSHA for general industry maintenance work when a worker is exposed to a fall of:
- 4 feet or more to a lower level
- 6 feet or more to a lower level (Correct answer)
- 8 feet or more to a lower level
- 10 feet or more to a lower level
Correct answer: 6 feet or more to a lower level
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.28 requires fall protection for general industry workers whenever they are exposed to a fall of 4 feet or more, except walking-working surfaces where the 4-foot trigger applies.
Question 5: Which type of respirator protection is appropriate when the oxygen content of the atmosphere is unknown or below 19.5%?
- A half-face air-purifying respirator with combination cartridges
- A powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) with HEPA filters
- A self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) or supplied-air respirator (Correct answer)
- A dust mask rated N95 or higher
Correct answer: A self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) or supplied-air respirator
Air-purifying respirators cannot be used in oxygen-deficient atmospheres; only atmosphere-supplying respirators (SCBA or supplied-air) provide breathable air independent of the ambient atmosphere.
Question 6: During a maintenance task, a technician must work on a hydraulic system that stores energy in an accumulator. According to LOTO procedures, the accumulator energy must be:
- Labeled with a caution tag indicating stored pressure
- Isolated and bled down to zero energy before work proceeds (Correct answer)
- Monitored with a pressure gauge throughout the task
- Reduced to 50% of operating pressure as an acceptable safe level
Correct answer: Isolated and bled down to zero energy before work proceeds
OSHA's energy control standard requires that all stored energy — including hydraulic accumulator pressure — be released, restrained, or otherwise rendered safe before servicing begins.
Question 7: What is the correct sequence for donning and doffing PPE to minimize self-contamination when working with hazardous chemicals?
- Don outer gloves last; doff inner gloves last
- Don from most contaminated layer inward; doff from least contaminated layer outward
- Don from innermost to outermost layers; doff from outermost to innermost layers (Correct answer)
- The sequence does not matter as long as all PPE is worn and removed in a clean area
Correct answer: Don from innermost to outermost layers; doff from outermost to innermost layers
You don PPE from inner layers outward (base layer first, gloves last) and doff in reverse — removing the most contaminated outer items first to prevent transferring contamination to skin or clothing.
CMRT Maintenance Safety Procedures 3
An arc flash hazard analysis determines an incident energy level of 8 cal/cm² at the working distance.
What minimum arc flash PPE category is required per NFPA 70E?