PTS COSS Roles and Responsibilities 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A COSS discovers that the agreed possession does not match the actual work location — the job is 200 metres beyond the confirmed limit. What should they do?
- Move the work party to the correct location within the limit
- Contact the signaller to request an extension of the possession before moving the party (Correct answer)
- Extend cautiously and mark the new limit with a red flag
- Ask the gang leader to confirm the location with the project manager
Correct answer: Contact the signaller to request an extension of the possession before moving the party
The COSS must contact the signaller to formally extend the possession before moving the work party beyond the confirmed limits.
Question 2: Why is it essential that the COSS counts all workers back out of a possession before handing it back?
- To complete the payroll timesheet accurately
- To ensure no person remains on the line when train movements resume (Correct answer)
- To confirm overtime hours for the shift
- To verify all tools have been collected
Correct answer: To ensure no person remains on the line when train movements resume
A headcount ensures every worker is accounted for and no one is left on the line before train movements are reinstated.
Question 3: When a COSS sets up a look-out arrangement, what is the minimum warning time the look-out must be able to provide?
- 15 seconds
- The time determined by the line speed and local conditions, as specified in the safe system of work (Correct answer)
- 30 seconds regardless of line speed
- Two minutes in all circumstances
Correct answer: The time determined by the line speed and local conditions, as specified in the safe system of work
The minimum warning time depends on line speed and local conditions and must be sufficient for all workers to reach a place of safety, as defined in the safe system of work.
Question 4: What must a COSS do if they are required to leave the work site temporarily while the possession is still active?
- Appoint the most experienced worker to stand in
- Suspend work, withdraw all personnel to a place of safety, and retain the possession until returning (Correct answer)
- Hand the possession back and reapply when they return
- Delegate the COSS role to the gang leader
Correct answer: Suspend work, withdraw all personnel to a place of safety, and retain the possession until returning
The COSS cannot transfer their role to an unauthorised person; work must stop and workers must move to safety while the COSS is absent.
Question 5: What is the purpose of the 'protection document' that a COSS must carry during a possession?
- To prove personal liability insurance
- To provide a formal record of the protection arrangements, limits, and authority granted by the signaller (Correct answer)
- To record defects found during the possession
- To act as a permit-to-work for confined space entry
Correct answer: To provide a formal record of the protection arrangements, limits, and authority granted by the signaller
The protection document records the possession authority, limits, and protection arrangements agreed with the signaller, and must be carried throughout.
Question 6: A COSS identifies an unplanned hazard — a fallen tree across the cess — during a possession. What is the correct first response?
- Ask gang members to move the tree before work continues
- Assess the risk; if it affects safety, stop work and report it to the person in charge before proceeding (Correct answer)
- Mark the hazard with a cone and continue working at reduced pace
- Photograph the hazard and submit a report at the end of the shift
Correct answer: Assess the risk; if it affects safety, stop work and report it to the person in charge before proceeding
Any unplanned hazard that may affect safety must be assessed and, if necessary, work stopped and the hazard reported before continuing.
Question 7: A COSS is asked to take over a possession from another COSS mid-shift. What must occur before the handover is complete?
- The outgoing COSS simply gives the protection document to the incoming COSS
- Both COSSs must conduct a joint briefing, confirm limits, and the incoming COSS must formally accept the possession from the signaller (Correct answer)
- The incoming COSS signs the attendance sheet and begins work
- The project manager authorises the handover by countersigning the work order
Correct answer: Both COSSs must conduct a joint briefing, confirm limits, and the incoming COSS must formally accept the possession from the signaller
Possession handover between COSSs requires a joint briefing to transfer full situational awareness, after which the incoming COSS formally accepts the possession with the signaller.
PTS COSS Roles and Responsibilities 5
A COSS discovers that the agreed possession does not match the actual work location — the job is 200 metres beyond the confirmed limit.
What should they do?