NCCER CSSS cheat sheet

Construction safety standards are in 29 CFR 1926; 29 CFR 1910 applies where 1926 has no specific standard, such as OSHA recordkeeping under 29 CFR 1904.

OSHA must be notified within 8 hours of a work-related fatality and within 24 hours of an in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye.

A recordable case is entered on the OSHA 300 Log within 7 calendar days after the employer learns of it; the 300A summary is posted from February 1 through April 30.

Recordable cases include death, days away, restricted work or transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness, or significant injury diagnosed by a physician.

A competent person, per 1926.32(f), can identify existing and predictable hazards and has authority to take prompt corrective measures.

A qualified person, per 1926.32(m), has a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing, or extensive knowledge and experience.

Written programs are required for hazard communication, respiratory protection, energy control, silica exposure control, and permit-required confined spaces when those hazards apply.

OSHA inspection priorities are imminent danger, fatality/catastrophe, complaints/referrals, programmed inspections, then follow-up inspections.

Hierarchy of controls order: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, then personal protective equipment; PPE is the least effective control.

Risk is commonly scored as severity of potential harm multiplied by likelihood of occurrence; controls must reduce one or both factors.

The Focus Four construction hazard categories are falls, struck-by, caught-in or between, and electrocution.

A job hazard analysis breaks a task into steps, identifies hazards for each step, and sets controls before work begins.

Hazard sources include task steps, equipment, environment, materials, worker actions, inspections, near-miss reports, SDSs, and injury logs.

Control selection rule: eliminate or substitute first, use engineering controls before administrative controls, and use PPE as the last line of defense.

Confined-space entry testing must confirm oxygen between 19.5 and 23.5 percent, combustible gas below 10 percent LEL, and toxics below exposure limits.

Excavations 5 feet or deeper require a protective system unless a competent person determines the excavation is entirely in stable rock.

Scaffolds must be inspected by a competent person before each work shift and after alterations, damage, or events that could affect structural integrity.

A competent person must inspect excavations daily before work, after rainstorms, and after other events that may increase hazards.

Inspection types include daily walkarounds, weekly formal inspections, monthly audits, focused inspections, and follow-up verifications.

Inspection checklists should be mapped to applicable 1926 subparts and site rules and should record location, condition, responsible person, and due date.

Findings are ranked by risk: imminent danger or stop-work, major, and minor; imminent-danger findings require immediate control before work continues.

An audit collects evidence through observation, worker interviews, document review, and measurement, not only a walkthrough observation.

A finding is closed only after the assigned person corrects it and an inspector verifies the correction; repeat findings indicate a system weakness.

Leading indicators are proactive measures such as inspection completion, near-miss reports, training, and corrective-action closure; lagging indicators include injuries and citations.

Immediate incident response: provide care, secure the scene, isolate remaining hazards, notify management, preserve evidence, and identify witnesses.

Work-related fatalities are reported to OSHA within 8 hours; in-patient hospitalizations, amputations, and loss of an eye are reported within 24 hours.

A recordable injury or illness is entered on the OSHA 300 Log within 7 calendar days after the employer learns of the case.

Witnesses should be interviewed separately using open-ended questions; investigators must distinguish direct observations from assumptions and opinions.

Root-cause methods include 5 Whys, fishbone diagrams, and causal-factor trees; the goal is systemic causes, not blame of the injured worker.

Evidence includes photographs, sketches, measurements, equipment logs, training records, witness statements, and chain-of-custody records.

An incident report states who, what, when, where, task, equipment, injury, event sequence, contributing factors, and corrective actions.

A near miss is investigated like an incident because the same causes could produce injury or damage under slightly different conditions.

Emergency action plan elements include reporting procedures, evacuation routes, employee accounting, rescue and medical duties, and contacts for further information.

Site-specific emergency information includes muster points, alarm signals, communication methods, local emergency numbers, hospital route, and site access directions.

Drills should be followed by a critique of notification, evacuation time, accounting, communication, and deficiencies, with corrective actions documented.

First-aid and CPR-trained personnel and supplies must be available; emergency eyewash is required where eyes may be exposed to corrosive materials.

Fire prevention includes hot-work permits, combustible-material control, extinguisher access, and evacuation when fire is beyond incipient stage.

Severe-weather planning identifies shelter locations, monitoring methods, warning reception, and accounting procedures for workers and visitors.

Only trained employees may use an extinguisher on a small incipient-stage fire; otherwise employees evacuate, activate the alarm, and call emergency services.

Muster points must be safe, known to all workers, and used to account for employees, contractors, and visitors after evacuation.

Training must be delivered in a language and literacy level workers understand; comprehension is verified by explanation or demonstration, not attendance alone.

Required training examples include fall protection, hazard communication, respiratory protection, ladders, scaffolds, confined spaces, excavations, PPE, and emergency action.

Fall protection training covers fall hazards, correct procedures, equipment use and limitations, inspection, and rescue; retraining occurs when deficiencies are observed.

Hazard communication training covers chemical hazards, labels, safety data sheets, pictograms, safe use, and emergency procedures before exposure.

Toolbox talks are short, task-specific, and interactive; documentation includes date, topic, presenter, and attendees.

A competent person is trained and authorized to identify hazards and correct them; a qualified person has recognized credentials or extensive knowledge and experience.

New-employee orientation covers site rules, emergency procedures, PPE, hazard reporting, and stop-work authority.

Retraining is triggered by changes in worksite, equipment, or procedures, or when worker behavior shows misunderstanding or unsafe practice.

PPE is selected from the hazard assessment, inspected before use, fitted to the worker, and removed from service when defective.

Head, eye, face, foot, hearing, and high-visibility protection follow 1926 subpart E and site rules; PPE does not replace feasible engineering or administrative controls.

Fall protection is required at 6 feet or more above a lower level for most construction operations under 1926.501.

Personal fall arrest anchors must support 5,000 pounds per worker or be designed by a qualified person with a safety factor of at least two.

Scaffold work requires a competent person, fully planked platforms, guardrails, safe access, and adherence to load limits.

Excavations 5 feet or deeper require a protective system; ladders for egress are required in trenches 4 feet or deeper and within 25 feet lateral travel.

Electrical controls include GFCI protection, assured equipment grounding conductor programs, lockout/tagout, and keeping nonqualified workers away from energized parts.

Crane work requires a certified operator, qualified rigger and signal person, pre-lift planning, and an exclusion zone under the load.

Supervisor safety duties include enforcing rules, providing resources, correcting hazards, coaching workers, documenting actions, and modeling safe behavior.

Visible management commitment is shown through participation, resource allocation, accountability, and use of leading indicators rather than injury rates alone.

A just culture encourages reporting and learning while distinguishing human error, at-risk behavior, and reckless conduct for fair accountability.

Worker participation includes safety committees, pre-task planning, near-miss reporting, and stop-work authority when imminent danger exists.

Discipline should be consistent and progressive, focus on behavior and conditions, and be balanced with recognition for safe performance.

Communication methods include toolbox talks, hazard alerts, feedback, coaching, and crew meetings that invite worker input.

Supervisors build credibility by wearing required PPE, following procedures, and applying the same rules to themselves and to workers.

Safety culture can be measured through surveys, interviews, observation, near-miss reporting rates, training completion, and housekeeping quality.

Stop-work authority means any worker or supervisor can halt work for imminent danger; work resumes only after the hazard is controlled.