GCC Construction Safety and Risk Management 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following is an example of an engineering control for reducing silica dust exposure on a construction site?
- Using wet methods or local exhaust ventilation on grinding equipment (Correct answer)
- Requiring workers to wear N95 respirators
- Posting warning signs near dusty operations
- Rotating workers to limit individual exposure time
Correct answer: Using wet methods or local exhaust ventilation on grinding equipment
Engineering controls like wet methods and LEV eliminate or reduce the hazard at the source, which is preferred over PPE.
Question 2: Under OSHA's silica standard for construction (29 CFR 1926.1153), what is the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for respirable crystalline silica?
- 50 micrograms per cubic meter as an 8-hour TWA (Correct answer)
- 100 micrograms per cubic meter as an 8-hour TWA
- 250 micrograms per cubic meter as an 8-hour TWA
- 10 micrograms per cubic meter as an 8-hour TWA
Correct answer: 50 micrograms per cubic meter as an 8-hour TWA
OSHA's silica PEL for construction is 50 μg/m³ as an 8-hour time-weighted average.
Question 3: A worker falls into a trench and is buried to the waist. What is the FIRST action responders on the surface should take?
- Call emergency services and stop all nearby heavy equipment vibration (Correct answer)
- Immediately dig by hand to free the worker
- Begin CPR through the soil
- Attempt to pull the worker out by the arms
Correct answer: Call emergency services and stop all nearby heavy equipment vibration
Calling 911 and stopping vibration from equipment prevents further cave-in and is the safest immediate action.
Question 4: What does the hierarchy of controls prioritize FIRST when addressing a workplace hazard?
- Elimination of the hazard (Correct answer)
- Administrative controls
- PPE
- Engineering controls
Correct answer: Elimination of the hazard
The hierarchy of controls places elimination at the top because physically removing the hazard provides the greatest protection.
Question 5: A scaffold collapses injuring three workers. Under OSHA's severe injury reporting rule, the contractor must report the hospitalization within:
- 24 hours of learning of the hospitalization (Correct answer)
- 8 hours of the incident
- 72 hours of the incident
- The next business day
Correct answer: 24 hours of learning of the hospitalization
OSHA requires employers to report any in-patient hospitalization within 24 hours of learning of the event.
Question 6: What is the primary goal of a pre-task safety plan (sometimes called a Daily Huddle or Tailgate Talk)?
- To review specific hazards and controls for that day's work tasks with the crew (Correct answer)
- To document weekly injury statistics for the safety officer
- To train new workers on long-term safety policies
- To satisfy monthly OSHA recordkeeping requirements
Correct answer: To review specific hazards and controls for that day's work tasks with the crew
Pre-task plans are short, daily briefings focused on the specific hazards and mitigation steps for that day's activities.
Question 7: Which risk assessment metric is calculated by multiplying the likelihood of an event by its consequence severity?
- Risk score (risk matrix rating) (Correct answer)
- Residual risk index
- Exposure frequency rate
- Incident rate
Correct answer: Risk score (risk matrix rating)
A risk score is the product of likelihood and consequence, used in a risk matrix to prioritize hazard controls.
GCC Construction Safety and Risk Management 3
Which of the following is an example of an engineering control for reducing silica dust exposure on a construction site?