ASP Risk Assessment and Control 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A company wants to determine the likelihood that a fire suppression system will fail on demand. Which technique is MOST appropriate?
- Job Hazard Analysis (JHA)
- Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) (Correct answer)
- Toolbox talk review
- Ergonomic assessment
Correct answer: Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)
Fault Tree Analysis uses Boolean logic to calculate the probability of a top-level system failure by tracing contributing component failures.
Question 2: The concept of 'Defense in Depth' in risk control means:
- Relying on the most reliable single control to prevent incidents
- Using multiple, independent layers of protection so no single failure causes an incident (Correct answer)
- Prioritizing administrative controls over PPE
- Conducting deep-dive incident investigations
Correct answer: Using multiple, independent layers of protection so no single failure causes an incident
Defense in Depth places multiple independent barriers between a hazard and harm so that a single barrier failure does not result in a loss.
Question 3: Under ANSI/ASSP Z10.0, the primary purpose of the 'Check' phase in Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) is to:
- Identify new hazards in the workplace
- Evaluate whether implemented controls achieved desired safety performance (Correct answer)
- Assign corrective action owners
- Conduct annual management review
Correct answer: Evaluate whether implemented controls achieved desired safety performance
The Check phase measures actual results against planned objectives to determine whether controls are working as intended.
Question 4: A 'Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA)' is MOST useful during which project phase?
- Post-incident review
- Operations and maintenance
- Early concept or design stage (Correct answer)
- Employee termination process
Correct answer: Early concept or design stage
PHA is a high-level technique performed early in design when detailed information is limited but changes are least costly to make.
Question 5: Which of the following is an example of an 'inherently safer design' strategy?
- Installing a gas detector and alarm
- Requiring workers to wear respirators during chemical handling
- Reducing the inventory of flammable solvent stored on-site (Correct answer)
- Training employees on emergency evacuation routes
Correct answer: Reducing the inventory of flammable solvent stored on-site
Minimization — reducing hazardous material quantities — is one of the four inherently safer design strategies (Minimize, Substitute, Moderate, Simplify).
Question 6: When a risk matrix plots 'Probability' on one axis and 'Severity' on the other, a hazard rated 'Moderate' probability and 'Critical' severity would typically require:
- No immediate action — acceptable risk
- Immediate cessation of operations until risk is reduced
- Documented acceptance by top management with interim controls (Correct answer)
- Only worker awareness training
Correct answer: Documented acceptance by top management with interim controls
Moderate × Critical combinations typically fall in a 'high risk' zone requiring senior management acceptance and interim risk reduction before resuming full operations.
Question 7: A 'what-if' analysis is BEST described as:
- A structured team brainstorming technique that poses hypothetical deviation questions to identify hazards (Correct answer)
- A statistical method for calculating equipment failure rates
- A chemical reactivity database query tool
- A formal checklist of OSHA-required safety items
Correct answer: A structured team brainstorming technique that poses hypothetical deviation questions to identify hazards
What-If analysis uses structured team questions ('What if the pump fails?') to identify potential hazards and their consequences.
ASP Risk Assessment and Control 5
A company wants to determine the likelihood that a fire suppression system will fail on demand.
Which technique is MOST appropriate?