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Certified Residential Contractor/Business & Finance

Jobsite Safety (OSHA)

13% of this exam

OSHA's construction standards (29 CFR 1926) and recordkeeping rules (Part 1904) are tested almost entirely through numbers: trigger heights, depths, distances, and reporting clocks. The open-book skill is knowing which subpart holds which number.

Core concepts

Fall protection has three thresholds

General construction work: 6 feet. Scaffolds: 10 feet. General industry (not construction): 4 feet. Misreading which context the question asks is the classic trap.

Excavations are a system

5 feet or deeper requires a protective system (sloping, shoring, shielding) unless solid rock; 4 feet or deeper requires egress within 25 feet of lateral travel; a competent person inspects daily and after rain.

The reporting clock is short

Fatalities go to OSHA within 8 hours. Hospitalizations, amputations, and eye losses within 24 hours. The 300A injury summary posts February 1 to April 30.

Competent vs qualified

A competent person can identify hazards AND has authority to correct them; a qualified person has the education/experience to solve specific technical problems. Questions test the distinction.

Key facts to know cold

Fall protection (construction)6 ft — 1926.501; scaffolds 10 ft
Excavation protective system5 ft or deeper — 1926.652
Trench egressWithin 25 ft lateral travel when 4 ft deep — 1926.651
Ladder extension3 ft above landing — 1926.1053
Fatality / hospitalization reporting8 hours / 24 hours — 1904.39
Form 300A postingFeb 1 – Apr 30 — 1904.32

See it drawn out

Fig — OSHA fall-protection trigger heights
  1. General industry walking-working surfaces4 ft

    The non-construction baseline — a favorite wrong answer.

  2. Construction work above a lower level6 ft

    Guardrails, safety nets, or personal fall arrest required.

  3. Scaffold platforms10 ft

    The scaffold standard has its own, higher trigger.

Fig — Excavation depth thresholds
  1. Ladder, stairway, or ramp access required4 ft

    Within 25 ft of lateral travel for workers in the excavation.

  2. Protective system required5 ft

    Sloping, shoring, or shielding — unless cut entirely in stable rock.

  3. Engineer-designed system required20 ft
Fig — OSHA incident reporting clock
  1. Hour 0Incident occurs
  2. +8 hoursFatality reported to OSHA
  3. +24 hoursIn-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye reported

Where it lives in your books

The real exam is open book. Knowing which book and which tab answer this domain is worth as much as memorizing it.

regulation

OSHA 1926

OSHA questions are number questions: heights, depths, distances, and hours. Tab the big subparts and trust the printed number over your memory.

11 recommended tabs

Lookup strategy

  • · Tab by subpart: L scaffolds, M fall protection, P excavations, X ladders. The subpart letters are printed on the page edges.
  • · Reporting and posting rules are in Part 1904, not 1926 — a separate tab saves a frantic search.

Reading isn't learning. Retrieval is.

37 questions in this domain, each with an explanation and source.