Safety and Regulations
What the exam tests
Safety and Regulations tests whether you can keep crews legal and alive: OSHA/HIOSH rules, PPE, excavation, equipment, electrical, pesticide and hazardous-material handling, traffic control, and environmental permits. It also checks whether you know when a landscape job crosses into a regulated activity.
Core rules
- Use the hierarchy of controls: eliminate the hazard, engineer it out, administer procedures, then rely on PPE as the last line.
- Excavations 5 ft or deeper require protective systems (sloping, shoring, or shielding) and a competent person; even shallower trenches can require protection in unstable soil.
- Call 811 before digging. Protect utilities, maintain access/egress, and barricade open excavations.
- Follow OSHA/HIOSH for ladders, scaffolds, lockout/tagout, equipment guards, and traffic control. High-visibility clothing and proper signs are not optional.
- Pesticides: use only licensed applicators for restricted-use products, follow the label, observe restricted-entry intervals, and provide Worker Protection Standard training.
- Environmental permits: NPDES/SWPPP for disturbed areas over the threshold, dust and erosion controls, shoreline/SMA rules, and proper disposal of green waste and chemicals.
Worked example
A crew is trenching 4 ft for an irrigation main in loose, previously disturbed soil near a sidewalk. Reasoning: 4 ft is below the 5-ft trigger, but the soil is unstable, so a competent person must inspect and may require shoring or sloping. Call 811, mark utilities, keep spoil back from the edge, provide a ladder every 25 ft of lateral travel, and barricade the trench. If the sidewalk must close, use a traffic-control plan and pedestrian detour. Document the inspection. Do not let a worker 'just jump in' to hand-dig.
Traps
- Assuming 'only 4 ft' means no protection is needed.
- No competent person or no daily inspection.
- Digging before utility locate expires or without marks.
- Wearing loose clothing near equipment or skipping eye/hearing protection.
- Applying a restricted-use pesticide without the required license.
- Starting ground disturbance without erosion controls or a required SWPPP.