Inspection, Enforcement, and Compliance
Inspection process
Know that inspections may be announced or unannounced, that inspectors have authority to access records and areas, and that findings are characterized by significance. Understand the difference between a violation and a finding, and between a notice of violation and an immediately effective order in serious cases.
Enforcement tools
Be able to name the escalating tools: notice of violation, civil penalty, order, suspension, and revocation. Know that a licensee may request a hearing on an enforcement action and that the burden rests with the licensee. A frequent trap is assuming that correcting a violation eliminates the enforcement consequence; correction affects severity and penalty, not whether a violation occurred.
Self-identification and reporting
Understand that prompt identification and correction, and self-disclosure, are considered favorably, and know that deliberate concealment is treated severely. Distinguish events requiring immediate notification from those requiring written reports within a stated period.
Worked example
A licensee discovers an overexposure during its own audit and reports it promptly. The correct answer credits self-identification and prompt corrective action as mitigating, while still recognizing that a violation occurred and that reporting obligations remain. Answers that say no violation occurred because it was self-reported are wrong.