CSS Workplace Inspections and Audits 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which type of inspection is conducted without advance notice to employees or supervisors?
- Scheduled inspection
- Unannounced inspection (Correct answer)
- Compliance audit
- Pre-task inspection
Correct answer: Unannounced inspection
Unannounced inspections reveal actual day-to-day conditions rather than conditions prepared for a planned visit.
Question 2: When an inspector identifies an imminent danger during a workplace inspection, the first action should be to:
- Document the hazard and include it in the final report
- Notify OSHA within 30 days
- Stop the operation and remove employees from the area (Correct answer)
- Issue a written warning to the supervisor
Correct answer: Stop the operation and remove employees from the area
Imminent dangers require immediate action to protect workers before any paperwork or notifications are completed.
Question 3: A 'near-miss' discovered during a workplace inspection should be:
- Recorded only if it caused minor injury
- Ignored if no injury occurred
- Documented and analyzed to prevent future incidents (Correct answer)
- Reported only to senior management
Correct answer: Documented and analyzed to prevent future incidents
Near-misses are valuable leading indicators and must be documented and investigated to prevent actual incidents.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of a process safety audit in a chemical facility?
- Evaluate employee productivity
- Verify that process safety management elements are effectively implemented (Correct answer)
- Assess environmental compliance only
- Measure equipment maintenance schedules
Correct answer: Verify that process safety management elements are effectively implemented
Process safety audits verify that all PSM program elements are in place and functioning to prevent catastrophic releases.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes a 'compliance audit' versus a 'safety inspection'?
- A compliance audit checks physical conditions; a safety inspection reviews regulatory adherence
- A compliance audit is conducted externally; a safety inspection is internal only
- A compliance audit measures adherence to regulations; a safety inspection identifies hazards in the physical environment (Correct answer)
- They are identical in scope and method
Correct answer: A compliance audit measures adherence to regulations; a safety inspection identifies hazards in the physical environment
Compliance audits systematically evaluate adherence to laws and standards, while safety inspections focus on identifying physical hazards.
Question 6: An inspection checklist for lockout/tagout should verify that:
- Locks are color-coded by department only
- Authorized employees have completed annual LOTO procedure reviews (Correct answer)
- Energy isolation is documented in the safety data sheet
- Only electrical energy sources are identified
Correct answer: Authorized employees have completed annual LOTO procedure reviews
OSHA's LOTO standard requires annual inspections of each energy control procedure performed by an authorized employee.
Question 7: What does a 'gap analysis' in a safety audit context primarily identify?
- Physical spaces between machinery
- Differences between current safety performance and desired standards or benchmarks (Correct answer)
- Number of unreported incidents
- Distance between emergency exits
Correct answer: Differences between current safety performance and desired standards or benchmarks
A gap analysis compares where the organization currently is versus where it should be according to standards or goals.
CSS Workplace Inspections and Audits 2
Which type of inspection is conducted without advance notice to employees or supervisors?