OSHA Interview Questions

1. What is the abbreviation of OSHA?

Ans: OSHA stands for (The occupational safety and health administration) is an American agency, which maintains the standard in the business workplace to assure all the workers' safety and health conditions across the US.

2. What is an OSHA card?

Ans: An OSHA card refers to the employee card, they will receive once the finish of either 10 –hours or 30-hours health care outreach training program conducted by an American government agency. This program mainly focuses on teaching and improving safety in the workplace. Once the employee receives this OSHA card, they are eligible to take up the additional training conducted by their specific company focused on learning exact hazards measurements.

3. What is HAZWOPER?

Ans: HAZWOPER means Hazardous waste operations and emergency response. Hazwoper safety and training is essential for all the industries, and employees no need to work on hazardous waste sites to contact with varieties of hazardous waste substances.

These substances may be batteries, pesticides, bodily fluids, pains, and cleaning agents.

4. What do you mean by the OSHA agency’s general duty clause?

Ans: The important OSHA’s general duty clause identifies the fundamental requirements that organizations should offer for their workers to maintain safety in the work environments.

There are mainly three OSHA general clauses available.

5. What does it mean to be OSHA compliant?

Ans: OSHA compliant is nothing but providing adherence to all the regulations and applicable measures that the agency has developed. The main aim of this complaint is to reduce the number of illnesses and injuries of the workers.

6. What happens if you violate an OSHA standard?

Ans: OSHA maintains the standard through inspections and assessing fines for the violation of any rules through inspection. The standard enforcements through inspection and fines are just a part of OSHA’s mission to reduce the injuries and illness of the workers.

7. Name the different types of OSHA standard violations?

Ans: There are six types of OSHA standard violations available; such as,

• De Minimis Violation
• other-than-serious violation
• Serious violation
• Willful Violation
• Repeated violation
• Failure to abate or correct prior violations.

8. What is the relation between CDC and OSHA?

Ans: Both CDC and OSHA are government agencies they work for the same clause such as safety and health measurements.

First, let us know CDC,

CDC -> CDC is a center for disease control and prevention, it's an agency associated with health and human service administration. This agency mainly focused on protecting people from contagious diseases. 

Now it’s time to know the relation between CDC and OSHA:

These two agencies work separately and sometimes work under the federal government. Sometimes they work together when there is an overlapping goal. The very recent example you can see is the COVID-19 pandemic, CDC discovers the public health risks whereas OSHA creates the regulations that workplaces should follow.

9. What records does OSHA require an employer to have on hand?

Ans: The employees should hold records related to injuries, illness, and work-related fatalities. OSHA maintains records such as,

OSHA 300 log -> for the privacy cast list

OSHA 301 log -> to report the incidents.

These reports should be maintained by all the workplaces at least for a minimum of five years.

10. What types of businesses need to be OSHA compliant?

Ans: OSHA is an agency that mainly focuses on occupational safety and health administrations that work under the federal government. The main motto of OSHA is to make sure employees in the United States are safe. OSHA issues hundreds of regulations that should be followed by every company in the United States of America. Even many outside companies also follow these regulations if they are working with any US-based company. OSHA not simply issues any regulations and leaves the employees to follow them. OSHA provides training and helpful resources to learn and implement the regulations at their workplaces.

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11. When was the first OSHA developed?

Ans: OSHA was first introduced by the president at that time Richard Nixon, when he signed the safety and health Act in 1970 December 29. The OSHA agency became active in 1971 on April 28. The OSHA was officially formed from the years’ May 1971 to May 1972.

12. Who is OSHA meant to be protected?

Ans: Many workforce departments come under OSHA regulation acts. I would like to mention a few of them such as,

• United states labor departments
• Safety and wages departments
• Hour-standard employment
• Reemployment departments.

13. Why is an OSHA such an important agency?

Ans: I would like to make a few important points here that boost you to know the importance of OSHA associations.

1) The main motto of OSHA is to reduce the illness and injuries of all the employees.

2) This agency ensures safe and healthy working conditions across the United States of America.

3) They work to achieve any kind of mission by setting standards, training, education, and assisting all the employees.

4) Apart from protecting workers, OSHA agency also helps to save both money and time.

14. Why is OSHA training so important?

Ans: OSHA training is as important as it provides assistance to employees and educates them to learn the regulations. There are different training types available to help keep everyone safe, and also ensure all the industries to follow the regulations /complaints.

OSHA offers a 10-hour and 30-hours safety program to help those who are willing to take classes with basic Hazard awareness.

15. Are OSHA inspections random?

Ans: OSHA enforces the compliance and regulations through its safety and health officers conduct the inspections regularly. These officers are experienced and trained industrial hygienist professionals and they take action against any regulation violations. OSHA sometimes takes the inspection process without providing any advanced notice to check the hazardous workplaces.

16. Are OSHA regulations considered the law?

Ans: As I said earlier OSHA agency works under federal law, and employees must follow the OSHA standards and regulations to keep their workers safe and healthy. OSHA conducts regular inspections against hazardous workplaces and compliances.

Henceforth OSHA has divided into four federal standard categories regarding major industries such as the general industry, maritime industry, construction, and agriculture industry.

17. Can OSHA eliminate the hazards in the workplace?

Ans: The main aim of OSHA is to eliminate the hazards by developing standards like fire hazards and chemical hazards. OSHA provides training to help employers to learn and reduce the hazards in their workplace. The hazard hierarchy is as follows;

• Elimination of hazards’
• Substitution or reducing the hazard
• Engineering control
• Administrative controls
• Personal protective equipment (PPE kits).

18. How are OSHA cards obtained?

Ans: OSHA helps their employers should hold OSHA cards. OSHA provides a 10-hour and 30-hour training program to learn and to reduce the hazard in the workplace. Once the employee finishes the course, an OSHA card will be issued to all the employees.

19. How are violations reported to OSHA?

Ans: This included 4 steps;

• Go to OSHA’s online complaint form -> submit your compliant
• Now take the print out of the form -> fill it -> fax, email the form to local OSHA office
• Then call the local OSHA office staff -> they will answer your question and compliant discussion
• Visit the local OSHA office in person-> again the staff checks you are compliant -> you will get full understanding while reporting a violation.

20. How does OSHA affect businesses?

Ans: The OSHA program helps employees to learn and understand the standard regulations that affect their business workplace. The following are the handful of examples that explains the OSHA effect;

• Inspections: OSHA's regular inspection helps organizations to maintain the regulation and reduces the hazardous environment. This kind of inspection can be done based on complaints such as illness, injuries, and complaint referrals. Inspections also help employees to speak personally with OSHA authorities.
• Violations and citations: During inspection time, the employer finds a list of violations and also penalties. Citations mainly describe the requirements which are violated, penalty, and deadlines for correcting any violations.
• Required training: OSHA provides a variety of training and documents during the course. Training is done based on specific hazards that every employee should take.
• Guaranteed employee rights: every organization must know their employee rights and provide the training in a language they understand, right to file complaints, right to work at a safe place, and free of serious hazards.

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21. How does OSHA conduct an inspection?

Ans: The following are the important procedures required to perform any inspection.

1. Preparation and presentation of credentials: Before conducting an inspection, OSHA officers research inspection history of the workplace and also review the business operational requirements in use. They also gather PPE and testing instruments to measure the hazard potentials.

2. Opening conferences: this is nothing but an OSHA officer explains the reason for the inspection and aspects. It may also include the workaround procedures, workers' employees, and worker representations.

3. Tour: The OSHA officer will tour the facility with the chosen representatives. This tour covers the areas and also inspects any hazards that lead to any kind of illness, and injuries.

4. Closing conference: The OSHA officers will end the conference with the employer or representatives. This may include discussions like consultation services or employee rights.

5. Violations and penalties: The OSHA inspectors will arrive in the mail, along with citation details for hazardous. Inspectors will post the areas, employees' complaints, and rights.

22. How does OSHA work?

Ans: OSHA ensures all the workers to provide safe and healthy workforce environments. OSHA contains a set of standards and regulations to assure all the business organizes work under federal law. Initially, OSHA conducts inspections to check the complaints and citations requirements. Then if they are not following any OSHA rules, they will charge penalties.

There are two kinds of OSHA programs available;

1. Whistleblower protection:

This is the special program conducted by OSHA to enforce the whistleblowers' provisions and protect the employees who report the violations of workplace area.

2. OSHA state plans:

22 territories in the US have OSHA approved state-programs. These state-programs should be effective as OSHA standards.

23. What kind of OSHA posters are required?

Ans: The main poster every organization should display in their workplace, which is "mandatory OSHA poster". This is a free OSHA poster and high-resolution printable documents. The poster is titled "OSHA job safety and healthy: it's the law". This poster represents the details like employees' rights and hazards free workplace. The poster should be hung in an area that can be seen clearly to the employees. You can see these kinds of posters in the break room or common areas.

24. What OSHA training is required?

Ans: OSHA provides a handful of training to all the workers to know the standards and regulations.

The following are the important training conducted by OSHA such as,

• Asbestos training
• Lockout/ Tagout training
• Personal protective equipment training
• Powered industrial trucks training
• Fall protection training

25. What are the OSHA requirements when it comes to PPE?

Ans: Personal protection equipment is essential to keep workers safe from any kind of violation hazards on the job. According to OSHA law, each PPE kit should be distributed properly and at no cost to them. PPE kits can be described as a "last line of defense" in the control of hazard hierarchy.  Every organization should conduct a program based on how to use them and care for PPE. These PPE kits are very useful for the main reasons like they protect the eyes, head protection, and foot protection. The PPE kits were first developed by American national standard institute or ANSI.

26. What does CFR stand for?

Ans: CFR is nothing but the Code of Federal regulations; this is one of the mandatory laws created and used by several federal regulatory agencies.

27. What does HAZWOPER stand for?

Ans: HAZWOPER in OSHA stands for “OSHA’s Hazardous waste operations and emergency response standards”. Any worker who works on hazardous waste must be trained for HAZWOPER.

28. What is OSHA’s budget and how many inspectors OSHA have?

Ans: OSHA’s budget for the final fiscal year 2019 was about $900.8 million. This OSHA agency has 2,500 inspectors worldwide who work for the safety and health of 200 million workers. More than 22 territories in the United States of America run their own OSHA programs.

29. What are OSHA’s inspection priorities? Explain them pointwise?

Ans: Top priority inspection -> this inspection takes place when there is an imminent dangers-accident about to happen

Second priority inspections -> this inspection takes place when there are any danger fatalities or serious accidents happen.

Third priority inspection -> this inspection takes place when government agencies get serious complaints

Fourth priority inspection -> this inspection is all about checking any government referral agencies.

Fifth priority inspection -> this is all about "site-specific target program" training focuses on illness or injuries.

30. What if OSHA inspects your workplace and what happens if you disagree with the findings?