OSHA 30 Construction flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

General Duty Clause

Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act requires each employer to furnish a workplace free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.

Eight-hour fatality reporting

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

Construction standards Part 1926

Construction work in the United States is regulated by OSHA under Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1926, while general industry falls under Part 1910.

Six-foot fall protection trigger

Under 29 CFR 1926.501(b), construction employees exposed to falls of 6 feet or more to a lower level must be protected by a guardrail system, safety net, or personal fall arrest system.

Guardrail height requirement

The top edge of a guardrail system must be 42 inches, plus or minus 3 inches, above the walking surface, with a midrail located at approximately 21 inches.

Personal fall arrest anchorage

An anchorage for personal fall arrest must support at least 5,000 pounds per attached employee, or be designed with a safety factor of at least two by a qualified person.

Hole cover strength

Covers installed over floor holes must be secured against displacement and must be able to support at least twice the weight of employees, equipment, and materials placed on them.

Struck-by flying object

A struck-by flying object hazard comes from items such as nails, chips, or sparks driven through the air; safety glasses with side shields and hard hats are baseline protection.

Swing radius barricade

The rotating superstructure of a crane or excavator creates a struck-by and pinch hazard, so its swing radius must be barricaded to keep employees out of the area.

Never under suspended load

Employees are prohibited from working or walking beneath a suspended load; tag lines are used to control the load from a position outside the fall zone.

Caught-in versus caught-between

Caught-in or caught-between incidents cause injury by crushing, pinching, squeezing, or amputating a worker between parts of equipment, structures, or collapsing material such as a trench wall.

Excavation protective system depth

Trenches 5 feet or deeper require a protective system unless the competent person determines the excavation is in stable rock; shallower trenches must still be evaluated.

Spoil pile set-back

Excavated material, equipment, and stored supplies must be kept at least 2 feet back from the edge of a trench or excavation to reduce surcharge loading and collapse risk.

GFCI on construction sites

29 CFR 1926.404 requires ground-fault circuit interrupters or an assured equipment grounding conductor program for all temporary 15- and 20-ampere receptacles on construction sites.

Assume lines energized

Overhead power lines are presumed energized until the serving utility confirms de-energization and visibly grounds the lines; equipment must stay outside minimum approach distances.

Ten-foot rule for equipment

For energized lines rated 50 kilovolts or below, equipment must maintain at least 10 feet of clearance unless the line is de-energized, grounded, or isolated as required.

Lockout tagout verification

De-energizing electrical equipment requires locking out the energy source, attaching a tag, and verifying the absence of voltage with a tester before any work begins.

Employer-paid PPE

29 CFR 1926.95 requires employers to provide required personal protective equipment at no cost, except non-specialty safety-toe footwear and non-specialty prescription eyewear.

Hard hat requirement

Hard hats must be worn where employees are exposed to head injury from falling or flying objects, or from electrical shock or burns, as required by 29 CFR 1926.100.

Respirator fit testing

Employees required to use tight-fitting respirators must pass a medical evaluation, be fit tested at least annually, and be trained in proper use and limitations.

Silica permissible exposure limit

The construction silica standard, 29 CFR 1926.1153, sets a permissible exposure limit of 50 micrograms per cubic meter as an 8-hour time-weighted average, with an action level of 25.

Hearing conservation trigger

A hearing conservation program is required when noise exposure exceeds an 85 dBA 8-hour time-weighted average; the permissible exposure limit for construction is 90 dBA.

Asbestos PEL construction

29 CFR 1926.1101 sets an asbestos permissible exposure limit of 0.1 fibers per cubic centimeter averaged over an 8-hour shift for construction work.

Scaffold fall protection height

Employees working on scaffolds 10 feet or more above a lower level must be protected by guardrail systems or by a personal fall arrest system.

Ladder four-to-one rule

Portable ladders must be set with the base 1 foot out from the vertical support for every 4 feet of working length, producing an angle of about 75 degrees.

Extension ladder three-foot extension

Extension ladders used for access must extend at least 3 feet above the landing surface, unless a grab rail or other adequate handhold is provided.

Trench egress within 25 feet

Trenches 4 feet or deeper must have a ladder, stairway, or ramp for egress positioned so that lateral travel from any worker to the exit is no more than 25 feet.

Soil class maximum slopes

Maximum allowable excavation slopes are 1.5 to 1 for Type A soil, 1 to 1 for Type B, and 0.75 to 1 for Type C; Type C soil must never be benched.

Competent person daily inspection

A competent person must inspect excavations and protective systems before each shift, after rainstorms, and after any event that could affect the stability of the excavation.

Crane load chart limits

A crane must never lift beyond the rated capacity listed on its load chart for the specific configuration, and capacity decreases as lifting radius and boom length increase.

Crane power line approach

Under 29 CFR 1926.1408, cranes must keep at least 20 feet from energized lines up to 350 kilovolts unless the line is de-energized, grounded, or isolated under an approved plan.

Lumber stack height limit

Stored lumber must not be stacked more than 20 feet high, and must not exceed 16 feet in height when the material is to be handled manually.