Occupational Safety and Jobsite Practices
This section covers occupational safety and jobsite practice: fall protection, ladders, electrical safety, lockout/tagout, refrigerants, confined spaces, hot work, lifting, and housekeeping. The exam tests the control you should establish before the task starts.
Core hazards
Fall protection is required at 6 ft or more in construction, with guardrails, nets, or personal fall-arrest systems. Use ladders with three points of contact, extend them 3 ft above the landing, and do not stand on the top cap. On construction sites, use GFCI protection for temporary power and inspect cords. Lock out and tag out before servicing equipment with stored energy. Refrigerant work requires eye and face protection, gloves, ventilation, and recovery equipment.
Hot work and confined spaces
A hot-work permit controls welding, brazing, and grinding near combustibles. A fire watch may be required during and after work. Confined spaces require hazard evaluation, atmospheric testing, ventilation, an attendant, and a rescue plan if permit-required. Never use refrigerant or nitrogen to purge a space without controlling oxygen displacement.
Worked example
A technician must service a rooftop unit 15 ft above grade with no guardrail. The 6 ft construction fall-protection trigger is met. The correct control is a guardrail system or personal fall-arrest system with a properly anchored lanyard, plus safe roof access. A ladder alone is not fall protection at the edge. If the anchor cannot be verified, stop and establish a safe access plan.
Traps
Using a ladder as a work platform; defeating a safety switch; working alone in a permit space; brazing without a fire watch; and lifting a compressor without a mechanical aid.