COSS Essentials of Safety Management 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An employer is required to post OSHA citations at or near the location of the alleged violation for how long?
- 3 days
- 15 working days
- 3 working days
- Until the violation is corrected (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Until the violation is corrected
OSHA requires citations to be posted at or near the violation site until the violation is corrected or for three working days, whichever is longer.
Question 2: Which type of hazard control uses work practice changes and job rotation to reduce exposure without altering the physical environment?
- Engineering controls
- Administrative controls (Correct answer)
- Elimination controls
- Substitution controls
Correct answer: Administrative controls
Administrative controls modify how work is done — through scheduling, rotation, procedures, or training — rather than changing the physical hazard itself.
Question 3: A safety manager wants to prioritize corrective actions after a risk assessment. Which tool ranks risks based on probability and severity?
- Fishbone diagram
- Risk matrix (probability-severity matrix) (Correct answer)
- Pareto chart
- Process flow chart
Correct answer: Risk matrix (probability-severity matrix)
A risk matrix plots probability against severity to prioritize which hazards require the most urgent corrective action.
Question 4: What is the key difference between a 'safety audit' and a 'safety inspection'?
- Audits are conducted by OSHA; inspections are internal
- Audits evaluate the overall management system; inspections focus on specific physical conditions or compliance (Correct answer)
- Inspections require written reports; audits do not
- Audits occur annually; inspections occur only after incidents
Correct answer: Audits evaluate the overall management system; inspections focus on specific physical conditions or compliance
Safety audits assess the effectiveness of the safety management system as a whole, while inspections focus on identifying specific physical hazards or compliance deficiencies.
Question 5: Under OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard (HazCom 2012/GHS), Safety Data Sheets must contain how many sections?
- 8
- 12
- 16 (Correct answer)
- 24
Correct answer: 16
GHS-aligned Safety Data Sheets must contain exactly 16 standardized sections covering hazard identification, composition, first aid, handling, and other information.
Question 6: Which financial metric measures the total cost of accidents including indirect costs such as lost productivity, administrative time, and retraining?
- Experience modification rate (EMR)
- Total cost of risk (TCOR) (Correct answer)
- Workers' compensation premium
- DART rate
Correct answer: Total cost of risk (TCOR)
Total Cost of Risk (TCOR) captures both direct costs (medical, compensation) and indirect costs (lost productivity, investigation, training) of workplace incidents.
Question 7: A safety professional applies the 'Plan-Do-Check-Act' (PDCA) cycle to safety management. What does the 'Check' phase involve?
- Implementing the safety improvement plan
- Monitoring results and measuring performance against objectives (Correct answer)
- Identifying hazards and setting improvement goals
- Standardizing successful changes across the organization
Correct answer: Monitoring results and measuring performance against objectives
The 'Check' phase involves monitoring outcomes, measuring actual performance against planned objectives, and identifying gaps.
COSS Essentials of Safety Management 5
An employer is required to post OSHA citations at or near the location of the alleged violation for how long?