MMC Safety & Compliance in Maintenance 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which regulation requires maintenance employers to provide and ensure the use of appropriate personal protective equipment at no cost to employees?
- 29 CFR 1910.132 (Correct answer)
- 29 CFR 1910.1000
- 29 CFR 1910.95
- 29 CFR 1910.212
Correct answer: 29 CFR 1910.132
29 CFR 1910.132 covers general PPE requirements, including employer responsibility to provide PPE based on hazard assessment at no cost to employees.
Question 2: A maintenance manager notices that technicians routinely bypass machine guards to speed up lubrication tasks. What is the most appropriate corrective action?
- Allow the practice since lubrication is low risk
- Redesign the lubrication points to be accessible without removing guards (Correct answer)
- Post a warning sign near the machine
- Increase the lubrication frequency to reduce guard removal
Correct answer: Redesign the lubrication points to be accessible without removing guards
Engineering controls — redesigning access points so guards are never bypassed — is the preferred hierarchy-of-controls solution.
Question 3: Under the OSHA PSM standard (29 CFR 1910.119), which of the following maintenance activities requires a written procedure?
- Changing a light bulb in the facility
- Replacing a pressure relief valve on a covered process vessel (Correct answer)
- Painting equipment housings
- Routine visual inspections
Correct answer: Replacing a pressure relief valve on a covered process vessel
PSM requires written maintenance procedures for equipment critical to process safety, such as pressure relief valves on covered process vessels.
Question 4: What does the term 'near miss' mean in safety compliance for maintenance?
- An incident that caused minor injury
- An unplanned event that did not result in injury or damage but had the potential to do so (Correct answer)
- A situation where two pieces of equipment nearly collided
- A close call during equipment startup after maintenance
Correct answer: An unplanned event that did not result in injury or damage but had the potential to do so
A near miss is an unplanned event with no harm outcome but the potential for injury, damage, or loss — and should always be reported and investigated.
Question 5: A facility's hot work permit system requires which of the following before welding can begin in a maintenance area?
- Verbal approval from the area supervisor only
- Written permit, area inspection for flammables, fire watch, and defined expiration time (Correct answer)
- Safety officer's signature on the work order
- Fire extinguisher placed within 50 feet
Correct answer: Written permit, area inspection for flammables, fire watch, and defined expiration time
A complete hot work permit includes a written permit, pre-work area inspection, designated fire watch, and a specific time window during which work is authorized.
Question 6: Which industrial hygiene principle is used to evaluate whether noise levels in a maintenance shop require hearing protection?
- Threshold Limit Value — Ceiling (TLV-C)
- Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) and Time-Weighted Average (TWA) (Correct answer)
- Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH)
- Short-Term Exposure Limit (STEL)
Correct answer: Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) and Time-Weighted Average (TWA)
OSHA uses PEL and TWA (an 8-hour average) to determine if noise at 90 dBA or above requires a hearing conservation program and PPE.
Question 7: A contractor performs maintenance on a client facility. Who bears primary responsibility for ensuring the contractor follows the site's safety rules?
- The contractor's home-office safety department
- The client facility owner/employer under OSHA multi-employer worksite doctrine (Correct answer)
- The local OSHA area office
- The general contractor of the original construction
Correct answer: The client facility owner/employer under OSHA multi-employer worksite doctrine
OSHA's multi-employer citation policy holds the controlling employer (facility owner) responsible for ensuring contractors working on their site comply with applicable safety standards.
MMC Safety & Compliance in Maintenance 3
Which regulation requires maintenance employers to provide and ensure the use of appropriate personal protective equipment at no cost to employees?