White Card Working at Heights and Electrical — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the leading cause of fatalities in the Australian construction industry?
- Falls from heights (Correct answer)
- Paper cuts
- Lost paperwork
- Late deliveries
Correct answer: Falls from heights
Falls from heights are consistently one of the leading causes of death and serious injury in construction, which is why fall prevention is critical.
Question 2: What is the most effective way to control the risk of falls?
- Provide a safety harness only
- Tell workers to be careful
- Eliminate the need to work at height, or use a solid edge-protection barrier (Correct answer)
- Work faster
Correct answer: Eliminate the need to work at height, or use a solid edge-protection barrier
Following the hierarchy of control, the best options are to eliminate working at height or use passive fall prevention such as guardrails before relying on harnesses (a fall-arrest system).
Question 3: Before using a ladder, you should:
- Lean it against any surface
- Stand on the very top rung
- Use it in high winds
- Check it for damage and set it at the correct angle on firm, level ground (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Check it for damage and set it at the correct angle on firm, level ground
Inspect the ladder for damage, place it on firm level ground at roughly a 4:1 angle, secure it, and never stand on the top rungs.
Question 4: Before working near electrical wiring or equipment, what should you assume?
- That all wires are live and dangerous unless proven otherwise (Correct answer)
- That it is always switched off
- That low voltage is harmless
- That insulation never fails
Correct answer: That all wires are live and dangerous unless proven otherwise
Always treat electrical equipment and wiring as live and dangerous until it has been tested and confirmed de-energised by a competent person.
Question 5: What device helps protect against electric shock by quickly cutting power if a fault is detected?
- A residual current device (RCD) or safety switch (Correct answer)
- A power board
- An extension lead
- A light globe
Correct answer: A residual current device (RCD) or safety switch
An RCD (safety switch) detects current leaking to earth and cuts the power within milliseconds, greatly reducing the risk of fatal electric shock.
Question 6: What should you do if you find a damaged or frayed power lead on site?
- Tape over it and keep using it
- Cut the damaged part off and continue
- Ignore it
- Tag it out of service and report it so it can be removed and repaired (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Tag it out of service and report it so it can be removed and repaired
Damaged electrical leads must be tagged out of service, removed from use and reported; only a qualified person may repair them.
Question 7: What does overhead powerline safety require when operating cranes or tall plant?
- Maintaining the required safe approach distance and using a spotter (Correct answer)
- Driving as close as possible
- Touching the line to test it
- No special precautions
Correct answer: Maintaining the required safe approach distance and using a spotter
Keep the required exclusion/approach distance from overhead powerlines, use a trained spotter, and treat the lines as live to avoid electrocution.
Question 8: When is fall-arrest equipment such as a harness used?
- For decoration
- Instead of training
- As a control measure when higher-order fall prevention is not reasonably practicable (Correct answer)
- Only on the ground
Correct answer: As a control measure when higher-order fall prevention is not reasonably practicable
A fall-arrest harness is used when it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the fall risk or use passive guardrails; it must be fitted, anchored and inspected correctly.
White Card Working at Heights and Electrical
What is the leading cause of fatalities in the Australian construction industry?