Safety and Construction Quiz

Companies with strong safety cultures usually have lower:

• turnover

• productivity

• wages

• morale

Answer explanation

In this context, turnover refers to the rate at which employees leave a company and need to be replaced. High turnover can be costly and disruptive.

Companies with strong safety cultures tend to have lower turnover because employees feel safer, more valued, and more satisfied with their work environment.

A safe workplace encourages workers to stay, which reduces the need for constant hiring and training.

A strong safety culture does not decrease productivity, wages, or morale—those often improve when safety is prioritized.

An unplanned event that may or may not result in property damage is known as a(n):

• accident

• mistake

• incident

• potential injury

Answer explanation

An incident is an unplanned event that may or may not cause property damage or injury. It’s often used to describe near misses or situations that could have led to an accident but didn’t. Reporting incidents helps organizations identify hazards and prevent future accidents.

An accident is an unplanned event that results in injury or damage.

A mistake is a human error but doesn’t necessarily cause an event.

A potential injury refers to a situation that could cause harm but isn’t an event itself.

Poor lighting, excessive noise, and inadequate guards for moving parts are examples of:

• acceptable risks

• unsafe conditions

• unavoidable hazards

• unsafe acts

Answer explanation

Unsafe conditions are things around you that can cause accidents, like bad lighting, loud noise, or missing safety guards on machines. These are problems in the workplace that can often be fixed to keep everyone safe.

Unsafe acts are when people do things that are not safe.

Acceptable risks are risks that people decide are okay to take.

Unavoidable hazards are dangers that can’t be completely stopped but can be controlled.

The activity that consists of breaking a job into its component tasks and then analyzing each step for potential hazards is called a:

• job safety analysis

• hazardous incident simulation

• safety breakdown structure

• safety pre-assessment

Answer explanation

A job safety analysis is when you take a job and break it down into small steps. Then, you look at each step to find anything that could be dangerous. This helps keep people safe by spotting problems before they happen.

Hazardous incident simulation means practicing what to do in a dangerous situation.

Safety breakdown structure and safety pre-assessment are not the right terms for this process.

A measure of the probability, consequences, and exposure related to an event is referred to as:

• safety

• evaluation

• risk

• hazard

Answer explanation

Risk is how likely something bad might happen, how serious it would be if it did, and how often you might be around that danger. It helps us understand how careful we need to be.

Safety means being protected from danger.

Evaluation is checking or judging something.

Hazard is something that can cause harm.

What percentage of all accidental deaths in the construction industry are caused by slips, trips, and falls on walking and working surfaces?

• 5%

• 10%

• 15%

• 20%

The D-ring or support point on a safety harness should be placed:

• between the shoulder blades

• at the back of the neck

• around the waist

• over the rib cage

Answer explanation

The D-ring or support point on a safety harness should be placed between the shoulder blades on your back. This position helps keep you safely balanced and supported if you fall.

Putting it anywhere else, like at the neck, waist, or over the ribs, wouldn’t protect you properly and could cause injury.

Lanyards that have no shock-absorbing features are used for:

• workers under 150 pounds

• positioning

• working on scaffolds

• climbing ladders

Answer explanation

Lanyards without shock-absorbing features are used for positioning, which means helping workers stay safely in one spot while using both hands to do a job.

What is positioning?
Positioning is like using a safety belt to hold you in place on a ladder, scaffold, or other work surface so you can work comfortably and safely without falling.

Examples of positioning use:

• A worker on a scaffold uses a positioning lanyard to hold themselves steady while installing windows.

• Someone working on a utility pole attaches a positioning lanyard to keep their balance while handling tools.

• A worker climbs a ladder and hooks their lanyard to stay secure while reaching or working at height.

Because positioning lanyards don’t absorb the shock of a fall, they should only be used when the worker will not be exposed to a free fall.

The highest safe standing level on an extension ladder is the:

• second rung from the top

• third rung from the top

• fourth rung from the top

• fifth rung from the top

When standing on a scaffold, it is important to confirm that:

• a competent person on the ground is holding on to the scaffold

• the wheel brakes on the scaffold are locked in place

• the path is clear for the scaffold to be rolled into location

• only composite scaffolds are used when working near electricity lines

Answer explanation

When standing on a scaffold, it’s very important to make sure the wheels are locked so the scaffold doesn’t move or roll away while you’re working. This helps keep you safe and prevents falls or accidents.

Why?
If the wheels aren’t locked, the scaffold can slide or shift unexpectedly, causing you to lose balance or fall.

Other options explained:

• Having a person hold the scaffold is not safe or reliable.

• The path being clear is important, but the scaffold still needs to be locked to stay in place.

• Composite scaffolds are not the only type allowed near electricity; safety depends on many factors.