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Construction Management Study Lab

Safety Management

10% of the exam

Safety Management is 10% of the exam and mixes OSHA thresholds with a legal doctrine the exam cares deeply about: role clarity. Each employer is responsible for its own employees. The contractor runs site safety for its forces; a CM who directs safety means and methods can create an assumed duty — and liability — it did not contract for.

OSHA numbers to know: 29 CFR 1926 governs construction; fall protection triggers at 6 feet (4 feet in general industry); excavations need protective systems at 5 feet and a PE-designed system at 20; the OSHA 300 log summary posts February 1 through April 30. The General Duty Clause covers recognized hazards without a specific standard.

Prequalification questions lean on the EMR — the workers'-compensation loss-history multiplier — plus OSHA citation history. People questions lean on the competent person (trained AND authorized to stop work) versus the qualified person (credentialed for a specific task).

Key concepts

  • Employer responsibility doctrine; the CM's assumed-duty risk
  • 29 CFR 1926; General Duty Clause §5(a)(1)
  • Fall protection: 6 ft construction / 4 ft general industry
  • Excavations: 5 ft protective systems, 20 ft PE design
  • EMR in prequalification; incident classes from first aid to fatality
  • Competent person vs. qualified person

Exam tips

  • Hierarchy of controls: engineering first, administrative second, PPE last
  • Willful is the most serious OSHA violation class
  • The safest exam answer preserves the contractor's safety responsibility while the CM monitors and reports

46 practice questions in this domain

5 are in the free practice test; the rest unlock with premium.