COSS OSHA Standards and Compliance 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under OSHA's electrical standard (29 CFR 1910 Subpart S), the minimum safe approach distance for unqualified workers near exposed energized conductors operating at 50 volts or more is defined as the:
- Flash protection boundary
- Limited approach boundary (Correct answer)
- Restricted approach boundary
- Prohibited approach boundary
Correct answer: Limited approach boundary
The limited approach boundary is the minimum distance unqualified workers must maintain from exposed energized conductors.
Question 2: OSHA's Excavation Standard (29 CFR 1926 Subpart P) requires a competent person to classify soil before excavation work begins. Type A soil, the most stable, must NOT have which characteristic?
- Unconfined compressive strength above 1.5 tsf
- Previously disturbed or fissured condition (Correct answer)
- Clay or silty clay composition
- Water content below saturation
Correct answer: Previously disturbed or fissured condition
Soil that has been previously disturbed, fissured, or subject to vibration cannot be classified as Type A under OSHA's excavation standard.
Question 3: Under 29 CFR 1910.217, mechanical power presses must have point-of-operation guarding or a safety device. Which of the following is NOT an acceptable point-of-operation safeguard?
- Two-hand control device
- Presence-sensing device
- Warning light system (Correct answer)
- Die enclosure guard
Correct answer: Warning light system
A warning light system is not an accepted point-of-operation safeguard because it does not physically prevent contact with the hazard.
Question 4: OSHA requires that employers post the 'OSHA Job Safety and Health: It's the Law' poster in a conspicuous location. Failure to display this poster is classified as what type of violation?
- Serious
- Willful
- Other-than-serious (Correct answer)
- Repeat
Correct answer: Other-than-serious
Failure to post the OSHA notice is typically cited as an other-than-serious violation because it doesn't directly cause injury.
Question 5: An employer receives an OSHA citation. Under the OSH Act, the employer must contest the citation within how many working days of receipt?
- 10 working days
- 15 working days (Correct answer)
- 30 calendar days
- 45 calendar days
Correct answer: 15 working days
Employers must file a Notice of Contest within 15 working days of receiving the citation to challenge it before the OSHRC.
Question 6: Under OSHA's scaffolding standard for construction (29 CFR 1926.451), scaffold platforms more than 10 feet above the ground must have guardrails AND personal fall arrest systems when the scaffold width is less than:
- 18 inches
- 45 inches (Correct answer)
- 21 inches
- 30 inches
Correct answer: 45 inches
When a scaffold platform is less than 45 inches wide and more than 10 feet high, both guardrails and PFAS are required.
Question 7: OSHA's ergonomics efforts in general industry are currently addressed primarily through which mechanism after the 2001 ergonomics rule was repealed?
- 29 CFR 1910.900 ergonomics standard
- General Duty Clause citations for recognized ergonomic hazards (Correct answer)
- State OSHA ergonomics regulations only
- Voluntary NIOSH ergonomic guidelines with OSHA enforcement
Correct answer: General Duty Clause citations for recognized ergonomic hazards
OSHA uses the General Duty Clause to cite employers for serious ergonomic hazards since the federal ergonomics standard was repealed in 2001.
COSS OSHA Standards and Compliance 4
Under OSHA's electrical standard (29 CFR 1910 Subpart S), the minimum safe approach distance for unqualified workers near exposed energized conductors operating at 50 volts or more is defined as the: