OSHA 10 Construction Study Guide: Focus Four Hazards, Fall Protection and Final Exam Prep

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, known as the OSH Act, created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA sets and enforces workplace safety and health standards and provides training and education. For construction work the governing standards are in Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1926.[1][2]

The OSHA 10-Hour Construction Outreach course is a voluntary orientation that teaches workers to recognize and prevent hazards. It is not a certification and does not by itself meet a job-specific training requirement. A final test is given at the end of the course, and the passing score (commonly 70 percent) is set by the authorized training provider, not by OSHA.[1][3]

• Workers have the right to a safe and healthful workplace.[1]
• Workers have the right to training in a language and vocabulary they understand.[1]
• Workers have the right to review records of work-related injuries and illnesses.[1]
• Workers have the right to get copies of safety data sheets (SDSs) for the chemicals they work with.[1]
• Workers have the right to file a complaint asking OSHA to inspect their workplace.[1]
• Workers may exercise all of these rights without retaliation or discrimination.[1]

OSHA groups the leading causes of construction deaths into the Construction Focus Four. Most of the OSHA 10 course time is spent on these four hazard categories because together they account for the large majority of fatal injuries on construction sites.[3]

In construction, fall protection is required on a walking or working surface with an unprotected side or edge 6 feet or more above a lower level. This 6-foot trigger, set in 1926.501, is the single most tested number in the course.[4]

• Scaffolds: on a scaffold more than 10 feet above a lower level, workers must be protected from falling.[4]
• A scaffold must support its own weight plus at least 4 times the maximum intended load, and a competent person must inspect it before each work shift.[4]
• Ladders (the 4-to-1 rule): a non-self-supporting (extension) ladder must be set up at a 4-to-1 ratio, with the base set out about one-quarter of the ladder's working length from the wall.[4]
• A ladder used for access must extend at least 3 feet above the upper landing surface, or be secured with a grasping device if it cannot.[4]

The main electrical hazards on a site are electric shock and electrocution, burns, and fire or explosion. Contact with overhead power lines and with energized live parts are major causes. A ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) shuts off power quickly when it detects a small current leak, about 5 milliamperes. It protects against ground faults but not against line-to-line contact.[4]

• Overhead lines: for unqualified workers and equipment near overhead power lines of 50 kV or below, keep a minimum clearance of 10 feet.[4]
• Head protection: hard hats are required where there is a danger of head injury from impact, falling or flying objects, or electrical shock.[4]
• Traffic and equipment: workers exposed to public vehicle traffic must wear high-visibility or reflective warning vests. Use spotters, backup alarms, and stay out of a machine's swing radius and blind spots to avoid struck-by incidents.[4]
• Machine guards must protect workers from rotating parts, nip points, and flying chips or sparks.[4]

Trenching and excavation is a caught-in or -between hazard, since an unprotected wall can cave in and bury a worker. A protective system is required in a trench or excavation 5 feet or deeper, unless a competent person examines the ground and finds no indication of a possible cave-in. An excavation deeper than 20 feet requires a protective system designed by a registered professional engineer.[4]

The employer must provide and ensure the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) where hazards require it, including head protection (hard hats), eye and face protection, hearing protection, foot protection, and hand protection. PPE is the last line of defense, used when the hazard cannot be removed by other means.[4]

• A safety data sheet (SDS) uses a standardized 16-section format, so the same information appears in the same place on every sheet.[4]
• GHS pictograms on labels convey hazards at a glance, such as flame, corrosion, or health hazard, backing up the signal word and hazard statements.[4]
• Silica: the OSHA permissible exposure limit (PEL) for respirable crystalline silica is 50 micrograms per cubic meter as an 8-hour average, with an action level of 25 micrograms per cubic meter. Silica exposure can cause silicosis and lung cancer.[4]