COSS Essentials of Safety Management 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following BEST describes the concept of 'defense in depth' in safety management?
- Relying on a single, robust control to eliminate all risk
- Using multiple independent layers of protection so that failure of one does not cause an incident (Correct answer)
- Defending against OSHA citations with legal counsel
- Training employees in defensive driving techniques
Correct answer: Using multiple independent layers of protection so that failure of one does not cause an incident
Defense in depth employs multiple independent layers of controls so that if one layer fails, others remain to prevent harm.
Question 2: Under workers' compensation systems in the US, the doctrine of 'exclusive remedy' means:
- Employees can choose between workers' comp and a civil lawsuit
- Workers' compensation is the sole remedy for work-related injuries, barring employees from suing the employer in tort (Correct answer)
- Employers must provide the most expensive medical treatment available
- Only injuries occurring on company property are covered
Correct answer: Workers' compensation is the sole remedy for work-related injuries, barring employees from suing the employer in tort
Exclusive remedy limits injured workers to workers' compensation benefits in exchange for guaranteed coverage, preventing most civil suits against employers.
Question 3: A safety professional is using fault tree analysis (FTA). What is the TOP event in an FTA?
- The first unsafe act identified in the analysis
- The undesired event or accident being analyzed (Correct answer)
- The root cause at the bottom of the tree
- The most common near-miss reported by employees
Correct answer: The undesired event or accident being analyzed
In FTA, the top event is the undesired outcome being analyzed; the tree then traces downward to identify contributing causes and failures.
Question 4: Which OSHA recordkeeping form is used to record each work-related injury or illness requiring medical treatment beyond first aid?
- OSHA Form 300 (Correct answer)
- OSHA Form 300A
- OSHA Form 301
- OSHA Form 174
Correct answer: OSHA Form 300
The OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) is used to record qualifying work-related injuries and illnesses throughout the year.
Question 5: What is the PRIMARY purpose of a safety committee in an organization?
- To replace the role of the safety manager
- To investigate all incidents independently of management
- To provide a collaborative forum for employee and management involvement in safety decisions (Correct answer)
- To conduct OSHA compliance audits
Correct answer: To provide a collaborative forum for employee and management involvement in safety decisions
Safety committees bring together employees and management to collaboratively identify hazards, review incidents, and recommend safety improvements.
Question 6: A company's total recordable incident rate (TRIR) is calculated using 200,000 as the base. What does the 200,000 represent?
- The maximum number of employees a company can have
- The equivalent of 100 full-time workers working 40 hours/week for 50 weeks (Correct answer)
- The number of work hours in a calendar year for the entire US workforce
- OSHA's threshold for mandatory reporting
Correct answer: The equivalent of 100 full-time workers working 40 hours/week for 50 weeks
200,000 represents 100 full-time equivalent workers (100 × 40 hours × 50 weeks), enabling rate comparison across organizations of different sizes.
Question 7: Which principle states that for every serious injury, there are many minor injuries, near misses, and unsafe acts forming a pyramid below it?
- Pareto Principle
- Heinrich's Triangle (Accident Triangle) (Correct answer)
- Domino Theory
- Systems Safety Theory
Correct answer: Heinrich's Triangle (Accident Triangle)
Heinrich's Triangle (Bird's Triangle in updated versions) illustrates that serious incidents are underlain by a larger number of minor incidents and near misses.
COSS Essentials of Safety Management 4
Which of the following BEST describes the concept of 'defense in depth' in safety management?