CSP Certified Safety Professional practice questions with answers

Answer: A) The employer can show that deenergizing would add hazards or is infeasible because of equipment design or operational limits

OSHA 1910.333(a)(1) requires live parts to be deenergized before employees work on or near them. The only exceptions are when deenergizing introduces additional or increased hazards or is infeasible because of equipment design or operational limitations. PPE, convenience and short task duration are not valid reasons.

• ACorrect. 1910.333(a)(1) requires deenergizing exposed live parts unless the employer can show that doing so introduces additional or increased hazards (for example, shutting down life support, emergency alarms or hazardous-location ventilation) or is infeasible because of equipment design or operational limitations (for example, testing that requires the circuit to be energized).
• BIncorrect. Under 1910.333(c)(2), qualified persons who work on energized parts must know how to use PPE and insulated tools. However, using PPE is not one of the conditions that allow skipping deenergization under (a)(1).
• CIncorrect. Inconvenience and schedule pressure are not among the reasons the standard accepts. Only increased hazards or infeasibility due to equipment design or operational limitations justify energized work.
• DIncorrect. A short task or a standby worker does not satisfy the (a)(1) exception. The employer must still show that deenergizing adds hazards or is infeasible.

Answer: A) The press stopping time, measured at about 90° of crankshaft rotation

For presence-sensing devices on mechanical power presses, Ds = 63 in/s × Ts, where Ts is the stopping time measured at about 90° of crankshaft rotation. The press must stop before a hand can reach the point of operation.

• ACorrect. The formula is Ds = 63 in/s × Ts, where Ts is the press stopping time measured at about the 90° position of crankshaft rotation. The press must stop before a hand moving at that speed can reach the hazard.
• BIncorrect. Object sensitivity affects the penetration depth factor (Dp) in the PSDI formula of 1910.217(h)(9)(v). It is a distance added to the result, not a value multiplied by hand speed, and it is not part of the (c)(3)(iii)(e) formula.
• CIncorrect. Stroke rate does not show how quickly the slide stops once the curtain is interrupted. The formula uses the measured stopping time.
• DIncorrect. Stroke length is a distance, not a time. Multiplying it by hand speed would not give a meaningful safety distance. The regulation uses stopping time.

Answer: A) The maximum intended load for that surface

29 CFR 1910.22(b) requires each walking-working surface to support the maximum intended load for that surface, not a fixed numeric value or a safety factor taken from another standard.

• ACorrect. 1910.22(b) states that each walking-working surface can support the maximum intended load for that surface, meaning the people, equipment and materials it will carry.
• BIncorrect. A four-to-one safety factor is a scaffold-type criterion. It is not the general walking-working surface requirement in 1910.22(b).
• CIncorrect. A 200-pound force is a guardrail top-rail strength criterion. It is not the load requirement for walking-working surfaces.
• DIncorrect. 1910.22(b) does not set one fixed uniform load. The requirement depends on the maximum intended load for each surface.

Answer: B) A ladder safety system or a personal fall arrest system

Under 1910.28(b)(9), a fixed ladder over 24 feet installed on or after Nov 19, 2018 needs a ladder safety system or personal fall arrest system. Cages and wells are being phased out and will not count as fall protection on any fixed ladder after Nov 18, 2036.

• AIncorrect. A cage or well alone is acceptable only on fixed ladders installed before November 19, 2018. New ladders cannot rely on cages or wells for fall protection.
• BCorrect. Section 1910.28(b)(9)(i)(B) requires every fixed ladder installed on or after November 19, 2018 that extends more than 24 feet to have a ladder safety system or a personal fall arrest system.
• CIncorrect. Rest platforms do not replace the required ladder safety or personal fall arrest system. Platform spacing is a separate requirement for ladder systems.
• DIncorrect. Cages with offset sections were an acceptable layout for older ladders. New ladders must have a ladder safety system or personal fall arrest system, and by November 18, 2036 every fixed ladder must have one.

Answer: A) Justify every expense from scratch

• ACorrect. Past budgets aren't automatically carried forward.
• BIncorrect. That's incremental budgeting.
• CIncorrect. That isn't the meaning.
• DIncorrect. Managers justify their requests.

Answer: C) The result is unlikely to be due to chance alone

• AIncorrect. That isn't what it means.
• BIncorrect. Significance isn't causation.
• CCorrect. It doesn't prove cause.
• DIncorrect. That isn't what it means.

Answer: A) End-of-life dismantling, removal and disposal of the system

Life cycle cost is the total cost of acquiring, operating, maintaining and finally disposing of equipment over its useful life. Sunk costs and benefits such as revenue are not part of it.

• ACorrect. Life cycle cost covers the whole service life of the equipment, from acquisition through operation and maintenance to phase-out. That includes dismantling, removal and disposal at the end of its life, net of any salvage value.
• BIncorrect. Money already spent on the old system is a sunk cost. It does not change between the alternatives, so it does not belong in a forward-looking life cycle cost comparison.
• CIncorrect. Revenue or productivity gains are benefits. They belong on the benefit side of a cost-benefit analysis, not in the life cycle cost of owning the equipment.
• DIncorrect. The buyer does not pay the vendor's design costs as a separate item. To the extent they are recovered at all, they are already in the purchase price, so adding them again would double-count.

Answer: B) The follower's ability and willingness to perform that specific task

In the Hersey-Blanchard model, the leader matches the style (directing, coaching, supporting or delegating) to the follower's readiness, meaning their ability and willingness to do the specific task.

• AIncorrect. The model rejects a single fixed style. Leaders are expected to change their behavior to fit the follower and the task.
• BCorrect. Readiness, meaning the follower's ability and willingness (competence and commitment) for a specific task, determines whether the leader directs, coaches, supports or delegates.
• CIncorrect. These three factors define situational favorability in Fiedler's contingency model, not in the Hersey-Blanchard model.
• DIncorrect. Position power is not what drives style selection in this model. The style is chosen by assessing the follower's readiness for the task.

Answer: D) Lost income and extra costs after a covered loss

• AIncorrect. That's an operating cost.
• BIncorrect. That's auto insurance.
• CIncorrect. Fines generally aren't insurable.
• DCorrect. It helps a business survive a shutdown.

Answer: A) Unlikely to be detected before it causes harm

• ACorrect. It raises the RPN.
• BIncorrect. That's a low detection rating.
• CIncorrect. That's occurrence, not detection.
• DIncorrect. That isn't the rating.

Answer: A) To set predetermined responses to specific foreseeable disruptions, such as a power outage or supplier failure, so critical operations can continue

A contingency plan prepares an organization to respond to specific foreseeable scenarios, such as outages or supplier failures, so critical operations can continue. Compliance documents, incident investigations and insurance do different jobs.

• ACorrect. A contingency plan uses 'what if' scenario planning to set responses to specific anticipated events in advance, so the organization can keep critical functions running.
• BIncorrect. A contingency plan is a broader planning tool, not a specific OSHA compliance document. Also, OSHA's emergency action plan rule applies only where a particular OSHA standard requires it.
• CIncorrect. This describes incident investigation and corrective-action tracking. Those look back at past events; contingency planning looks ahead to possible ones.
• DIncorrect. This describes risk transfer, or risk financing. Insurance pays for losses but does not lay out how the organization will respond to a disruption.

Answer: A) Chemical substances made or imported in the U.S.

• ACorrect. New chemicals need review before production.
• BIncorrect. That's OSHA.
• CIncorrect. That's FIFRA.
• DIncorrect. That's RCRA.

Answer: A) They can deposit in the deepest gas-exchange regions of the lung, and some may move to other organs

Because they are so small, engineered nanoparticles can deposit deep in the alveolar region and may move to other organs. They can also be more toxic per unit mass than larger particles of the same material.

• ACorrect. NIOSH notes that airborne engineered nanomaterials can be inhaled and deposited in the smallest, deepest areas of the lungs. Some may cross into the bloodstream and reach other organs.
• BIncorrect. Nanoscale particles are not efficiently filtered by the upper airways. A substantial fraction can reach the alveolar region, which is exactly why they are a concern.
• CIncorrect. NIOSH research shows that ultrafine particles such as TiO2 and carbon black cause more inflammation than fine particles on a mass-dose basis. This is partly because of their much larger surface area per unit mass.
• DIncorrect. Agglomerates are still respirable and can still cause lung responses. Agglomeration does not eliminate the hazard, so exposure controls are still needed.

Answer: A) Measure frequency-weighted rms acceleration in three axes at the hand grip and combine it with daily exposure time to obtain A(8)

Under ISO 5349-1, hand-arm vibration is assessed by measuring frequency-weighted rms acceleration in three axes at the hand contact point and normalizing it to an 8-hour daily exposure, A(8).

• ACorrect. In the ISO 5349-1 method, accelerometers measure rms acceleration in three orthogonal axes where the hand contacts the tool. Frequency weighting is applied and the vector sum is taken. The result is combined with daily exposure duration to give the 8-hour energy-equivalent value A(8).
• BIncorrect. Noise and vibration are separate physical agents. A sound level reading can't be converted into hand-transmitted acceleration.
• CIncorrect. A seat-pad accelerometer measures whole-body vibration, which is assessed under a different standard (ISO 2631). It does not capture vibration transmitted through the hands.
• DIncorrect. ISO 5349-1 uses frequency-weighted rms acceleration in three axes, normalized to an 8-hour day. A single-axis, unweighted peak displacement does not reflect the health risk or the full daily exposure.

Answer: A) Lowering working-memory load so learners can focus on how each solution step is built

Worked examples show the solution step by step, which lowers the working-memory load of problem-solving. This makes them most useful for novices early in skill acquisition.

• ACorrect. Step-by-step worked examples spare novices the heavy working-memory demands of unguided problem-solving, so they can attend to and build the solution method (schema).
• BIncorrect. This describes unguided or discovery problem-solving, which adds cognitive load for novices. Worked examples do the opposite by showing the solution steps.
• CIncorrect. Worked examples are most useful for novices. For learners with more prior knowledge the benefit shrinks or reverses (the expertise reversal effect).
• DIncorrect. Worked examples help most in the early stages of skill acquisition. Later, learners tend to stop attending to them and benefit more from independent practice.