Sheet 09Domain 1 of 5 · Safety Program Implementation
Incidents, JHAs and the chain of command for the STSC
You decide what an incident turns into: a line in the log, or a change in how the next crew does the work. This sheet pairs incident investigation with job hazard analyses (JHAs), permits and escalation, because all four exist to keep a hazard from coming back.
An investigation works at two depths. The immediate cause is what happened at the moment; the root cause is why the job allowed it. The table below takes one case down to both.
Two documents carry most of the prevention work. The JHA looks at a task before anyone starts it; the investigation report explains why a task went wrong. The job hazard analysis sheet covers who writes one and what goes in it.
Escalation brings in a second employer. On a shared site the hazard may belong to another contractor's crew, and OSHA sorts the employers there into four roles: the one that created the hazard, the one whose workers are exposed, the one hired to correct it and the one that controls the site. OSHA's multi-employer worksite policy explains what each one owes.
Talking point 02
Immediate cause and root cause
One incident, investigated to two depthsscroll →
Point
Immediate cause
Root cause
Question it answers
What happened at the moment of injury?
Why was that act or condition possible?
Example: a skid steer backs over a laborer's foot
The operator reversed with a worker in the blind spot
Loaders and foot traffic share one lane through the laydown yard
Fix it points to
Separate this worker and this machine today
Re-plan the yard so the two never share a path
Who usually owns the fix
The crew and foreman on shift
Site management, since it changes how the job is planned
Talking point 03
Three documents that get confused
Job hazard analysis (JHA)
Written for a task before it is done the first time, and kept for reuse while the task stays the same.
Pre-task plan
Filled out by the crew at the start of a shift for that day's conditions: weather, the trade working overhead, the delivery that came early. Many contractors require one daily; OSHA does not prescribe the form.
Permit
Written authorization for one high-hazard job at a set place and time, signed before work starts and closed when it ends. Permit-required confined space entry is the clearest case written into OSHA's construction rules (29 CFR 1926.1205 and 1926.1206).
Talking point 04
Cards from the investigation trailer
Investigations, corrective actions, permits and escalation, several of them on sites shared by more than one employer. For program cards from every Domain 1 sheet in one run, open the practice test's Program filter.
Card 1 of 18 · 0 right
Card 1
A laborer has just been struck by a falling bundle of conduit. Coworkers are giving first aid and EMS has been called. What should the supervisor do NEXT?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AInterviewing witnesses as a group lets their accounts blend; they should be interviewed promptly and separately.
BThe incident report form can wait; recording deadlines are measured in days, while the scene can change in minutes.
CCorrect: once the injured worker is cared for, securing the scene prevents a second injury and preserves evidence.
DRestacking destroys the physical evidence of how the bundle fell and may expose workers to the same hazard.
Card 2
After an inspection finding, a supervisor has new controls installed for the hazard. What should the supervisor do to complete the control process?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: a hazard is controlled only when follow-up shows the new controls work and are used as intended in real conditions.
BWaiting a year leaves a failed control unnoticed for far too long.
CClosing the finding at installation skips checking that the controls actually reduce the risk.
DAdding PPE by default ignores the hierarchy and may not be needed if the controls work.
Card 3
A supervisor is developing a job hazard analysis (JHA) for setting precast wall panels with a crane. Which approach BEST identifies the hazards of the task?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AA JHA written alone at a desk misses the field knowledge of the workers who actually perform the task and see its real hazards.
BCorrect: A JHA works by dividing the job into its basic steps and identifying the hazards of each one, and the crew doing the work spots hazards a desk review misses.
CA borrowed JHA skips site-specific conditions such as ground, access, crane setup and adjacent work, and a signature does not show the crew reviewed it.
DLimiting the analysis to steps with past injuries ignores hazards that simply have not caused harm yet, which defeats the purpose of a JHA.
Card 4
A site revises its hot-work permit procedure midweek. The night shift works under a different superintendent. How should the change BEST be communicated?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: A change to a critical procedure should reach every shift directly, and asking workers to explain it back confirms the message actually landed.
BEmail informs only those who open and read it, and it gives no check that foremen understood the change or passed it to their crews.
CRelaying through another shift tends to distort or drop details, and the night crew may keep working under the old permit steps.
DA posted notice reaches only people who stop to read it and offers no way to confirm that anyone understood the revision.
Card 5
Which element MOST distinguishes a useful incident investigation report from a simple record that an incident occurred?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: An investigation exists to prevent recurrence, so its value lies in root causes linked to tracked corrective actions with named owners and deadlines.
BA timeline and attendance list are useful evidence, but on their own they describe the event without explaining or fixing why it happened.
CFocusing on the injured worker's discipline steers the report toward blame rather than the system causes that allowed the incident.
DPhotos and witness statements support the analysis, yet a report that stops at evidence still fixes nothing.
Card 6
Six weeks after a forklift tip-over, a supervisor finds the corrective action, regrading the laydown yard ramp, still has not been done. What should the supervisor do?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: An overdue corrective action means the hazard is still present, so workers need interim protection now while the permanent fix is escalated.
BA lack of further tip-overs does not show the ramp is safe; closing the action unverified leaves the original cause in place.
CWaiting another month for a committee meeting leaves the hazard uncontrolled and the overdue action without anyone pushing it to closure.
DAvoiding the ramp is a reasonable interim step, but leaving the action open without escalation lets the permanent fix keep slipping.
Card 7
During renovation of an occupied building, which task would a supervisor expect to require a written permit before work starts?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AMoving pallets with a pallet jack is routine material handling covered by normal procedures and training, not a permit-required task.
BWater-based latex paint is a routine, low-hazard finish task that does not call for a written work permit.
CHanging drywall is routine framing and finish work handled under standard procedures rather than a permit system.
DCorrect: Torch cutting near combustibles is hot work, the kind of high-risk, non-routine task that site programs authorize by written permit before it starts.
Card 8
A scaffold plank slid off a work platform and fell to the ground below, but it hit no one. Why should the supervisor make sure this near miss is reported and investigated?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ANear misses are not recordable; the OSHA 300 log covers only work-related injuries and illnesses that meet the recording criteria.
BLiability protection is not the purpose of near-miss reporting, and treating it that way discourages honest reports.
CUsing near misses to find someone to discipline discourages reporting and points the effort at blame rather than causes.
DCorrect: A near miss shows a hazard, here an unsecured plank, is not controlled, and investigating it lets the cause be fixed before someone is hurt.
Card 9
Three consecutive quarterly audits find the same ladder deficiencies on a project, each time corrected on the spot. What does this MOST likely indicate?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: When the same deficiencies keep returning after on-the-spot fixes, the corrective actions are missing the root cause.
BFrequent audits are what revealed the pattern. Fewer audits would only hide the recurring deficiencies.
CThe same items fail each time, so the problem is in the field, not in how strictly the auditors read the standard.
DMore checklists would find the same deficiencies again without fixing why they keep coming back.
Card 10
During renovation of a 1970s building, a subcontractor's crew uncovers pipe insulation that may contain asbestos. Whom should the crew's foreman contact FIRST?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AThe fire department's hazmat unit handles emergencies; a suspect insulation find with no release is not an emergency call.
BCorrect: Suspect material in an older building is presumed asbestos until tested, so the foreman stops work and notifies the GC, who controls the site and can arrange sampling.
COSHA is not the first contact for a routine discovery; the contractor controlling the site is responsible for sampling and abatement.
DBuilding maintenance staff may lack asbestos training, and disturbing presumed asbestos without testing and proper controls can release fibers.
Card 11
Which event should MOST directly trigger a review of an existing job hazard analysis?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AThe 300A posting period is a recordkeeping obligation and has nothing to do with whether a task's hazards or controls have changed.
BA new project manager does not change how the task is performed or what hazards the crew faces at the work.
CCorrect: A near miss on the covered task shows its existing controls may be inadequate, which is a recognized trigger to review and revise the JHA.
DA calendar date alone does not change the task, the equipment or the conditions that the JHA is meant to address.
Card 12
Which team composition will give a supervisor the MOST complete findings when investigating a serious rigging incident?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: Workers who know the task show how the rigging is really done and what shortcuts exist, while managers can authorize the system changes that follow.
BInsurers and lawyers focus on liability exposure, not on finding the root causes that prevent the next rigging incident.
CA management-only team misses field knowledge, and excluding the crew tends to make them feel investigated rather than involved.
DA single investigator, however impartial, lacks the hands-on knowledge of how the task is actually performed in the field.
Card 13
A project's digital inspection dashboard shows one crew's open findings rising for three weeks straight. What should the supervisor do FIRST?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AClosing items just to hit a dashboard target falsifies the data and leaves the underlying hazards uncorrected.
BThree weeks of steady increase is already a signal; waiting a month wastes the early warning the dashboard provides.
CMore inspectors produce more findings but do nothing about why this crew is not closing the ones already open.
DCorrect: Reviewing the open items with the crew's foreman reveals whether the cause is resources, unclear responsibility or resistance, and leads to a fix.
Card 14
A worker falls from a stepladder and is treated for a sprained wrist. The foreman tells the supervisor the worker was simply careless. What should the supervisor do FIRST in the investigation?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ADisciplining before any facts are gathered assigns blame to an unverified cause and discourages honest reporting of future incidents.
BA minor injury still deserves an investigation, and replacing the ladder first destroys evidence about what actually failed.
CCorrect: An investigation aims to find immediate and root causes, so after care for the injured the scene is preserved and facts are gathered before any conclusion.
DCarelessness is a conclusion, not a cause, and retraining on it skips fixable factors such as ladder selection, setup or task planning.
Card 15
An investigation of a fall through a roof skylight finds that crews had no process for locating skylights before starting work. Which corrective action is MOST effective?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ARetraining one roofer does nothing for other crews, since the root cause is the missing process for locating skylights.
BA written warning targets an individual, while the investigation found a system gap that would expose any crew on that roof.
CSigns are a weak control that covers only the current roof; skylights still need covers, guardrails or fall arrest.
DCorrect: Corrective actions must fix the root cause, and a pre-task survey that locates and covers every skylight closes the system gap for every crew.
Card 16
A gap analysis comparing a new site safety program with current field practices finds twelve gaps. How should the supervisor prioritize the corrective actions?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AThe order of sections in a written program has no relationship to how dangerous each field gap is.
BCounting gaps per subcontractor ranks by volume, not by the potential harm of each individual gap.
CQuick, cheap fixes show progress but can leave a gap with fatal potential open while minor items get closed first.
DCorrect: Ranking corrective actions by the severity and likelihood of harm makes sure the most dangerous exposures are corrected first.
Card 17
On a site, workers report hazards to whichever foreman is nearby, and several reported hazards went uncorrected for days. What is the MOST likely root cause?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AInspection workload may contribute, but even a lighter load would not fix reports that land with no one assigned to act.
BCorrect: Without a clear owner and escalation path for hazard reports, any channel produces the same delays, because no one is responsible for acting.
CA mobile app changes the reporting channel, but reports would still stall if no one is responsible for correcting them.
DWorkers are already reporting hazards, so motivation is not the problem; the breakdown happens after the report is made.
Card 18
A framing subcontractor left a floor edge unguarded. An electrical subcontractor's workers must pass the edge, but the electrical sub has no authority to fix it. What is the electrical sub's duty?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACalling OSHA and halting all work skips the faster step of asking the responsible employer to correct the hazard.
BBuilding guardrails with another contractor's materials oversteps its authority; its duty is to request correction and protect its own crew.
CExposing employers have duties even when they neither created nor control the hazard.
DCorrect: as an exposing employer, it asks the creating or controlling employer to fix the edge and protects its own workers meanwhile.
Talking point 05
Reporting and recording clocks
OSHA reporting and recordkeeping deadlines in 29 CFR Part 1904scroll →
Event
Deadline
Rule
Work-related fatality
Report to OSHA within 8 hours
29 CFR 1904.39(a)(1)
In-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye
Report to OSHA within 24 hours
29 CFR 1904.39(a)(2)
Recordable injury or illness
Enter on the OSHA 300 log within 7 calendar days
29 CFR 1904.29(b)(3)
Annual summary, Form 300A
Post from Feb 1 to Apr 30
29 CFR 1904.32(b)(6)
Logs, summaries and incident reports
Keep 5 years after the year they cover
29 CFR 1904.33(a)
Checked against eCFR on Oct 12, 2026. Employers small enough to skip the log still report the events in the first two rows. How cases become a rate is on the TRIR sheet.
Talking point 06
When OSHA has to hear about it
Does OSHA prescribe a method for investigating incidents?
Part 1904 says what to record and when to report; the construction standards do not lay down one investigation method for every incident. The method comes from your employer's safety program, and the STSC7 blueprint lists investigation and documentation among the supervisor's duties.
Can a worker be disciplined for reporting an injury?
No. 29 CFR 1904.35(b)(1)(iv) bars discharging or discriminating against an employee for reporting a work-related injury or illness. Section 11(c) of the OSH Act protects safety complaints more broadly, and a worker has 30 days from the retaliation to file an 11(c) complaint (OSHA, as of October 2026).
Can an employer be cited for a hazard it did not create?
Yes. Under OSHA's multi-employer citation policy, CPL 02-00-124, the creating, exposing, correcting and controlling employers can each be cited for the same hazard, depending on what each could reasonably have done about it.