This free STSC practice test pulls cards from all five STSC7 domains, and Hazard Identification and Control, the heaviest at 28.5% of the exam, gets the biggest share. There is no clock. Answer a card and a short note opens under every option: why the key is right, and what makes each of the others tempting.
Press a domain chip to stay inside one part of the blueprint. Your answers live only in this page, so a reload starts the set fresh.
Level
Card 1 of 50 · 0 right
Card 1Program
A worker told his foreman that a trench box is missing a spreader. The foreman did nothing, so the worker brings it to the site supervisor. How should the supervisor respond?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AAsking for a written report adds delay while workers may still be relying on a trench box that is not intact.
BSending the worker back to the foreman who already ignored the hazard leaves it uncorrected and discourages reporting.
CA month-end review leaves workers exposed to a possible cave-in hazard in the meantime.
DCorrect: When the first level of the chain fails, the next level acts; the supervisor controls the hazard now and then holds the foreman accountable.
Card 2Health
Workers scrape lead-based paint from trim and then eat lunch on site without washing their hands. Besides inhalation, which route of entry does this practice MOST increase?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AInorganic lead is not significantly absorbed through intact skin, so skin contact is not the main added route here.
BInjection requires a puncture of the skin, which this practice does not involve.
CThe eyes are not a meaningful route for lead dust; the concern is dust carried from hands to mouth.
DCorrect: Lead dust on unwashed hands transfers to food and is swallowed, which is why lead work requires washing before eating.
Card 3Emergency
At the end of the day, a crew parks oxygen and acetylene cylinders side by side in a storage area until the next use. What does OSHA require for this storage?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ATen feet is short of the required separation, and regulators are removed and caps installed when cylinders go into storage.
BCorrect: Stored oxygen must be kept away from fuel-gas cylinders by 20 feet or by a noncombustible barrier at least 5 feet high with a half-hour fire rating.
CCylinders are stored upright and secured; laying them down and enclosing both gases together creates a leak and fire hazard.
DCapping and securing cylinders upright is required, but keeping oxygen and fuel gas side by side fails the separation rule.
Card 4Ethics
A laborer reports exposed energized conductors in a temporary power panel. The foreman claims the laborer damaged the panel cover and demands a written warning. What should the supervisor do FIRST?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AA joint interview turns hazard control into a blame contest and should not come before making the panel safe.
BCorrect: Exposed energized conductors are an immediate hazard, so the panel is secured and evaluated first; any question of fault waits for the facts.
CWarning the person who reported a hazard discourages future reports and can look like retaliation.
DDisciplining before the facts are known and leaving the panel unchecked for hours gets both priorities backward.
Card 5Program
A site inspection produces fourteen findings. Which approach BEST ensures the findings actually get corrected?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
APosting the report spreads the information but assigns no one to fix each item.
BEmailing the list informs foremen but leaves ownership and follow-through unclear.
CCorrect: Naming an owner and a deadline for each finding, prioritizing by risk, and verifying in the field turns findings into corrections.
DA monthly summary reports the findings without correcting them, leaving hazards in place until the next cycle.
Card 6Health
A consultant's report compares worker exposures to 'the REL.' Which organization sets RELs, and what is their legal status?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: NIOSH publishes RELs as research-based recommendations; they are useful benchmarks but are not enforceable on their own.
BThe EPA regulates environmental and community air quality, not occupational exposure limits.
COSHA's enforceable limits are PELs, a different set of values from the NIOSH RELs.
DACGIH publishes TLVs, voluntary guidelines that form a separate system from RELs.
Card 7Emergency
An excavator strikes a gas service line beside a building under renovation, and gas is blowing from the break. What should the supervisor do FIRST?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AApproaching the meter puts a worker inside the gas cloud, and valve work on a damaged line belongs to the utility or fire department.
BCrimping a live gas line exposes the operator to the escaping gas and is a job for the utility, not the crew.
CCorrect: Escaping gas can ignite or migrate into the building at any moment, so people move upwind, ignition sources are removed, and emergency services are called.
DKeeping crews working nearby ignores how quickly gas can spread into structures and trenches and reach an ignition source.
Card 8Ethics
A supervisor finds a printed incident report naming an injured worker and describing the diagnosis left on a shared jobsite printer. What should the supervisor do FIRST?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AShredding ends the exposure but destroys a record that may be needed and hides the handling lapse.
BCorrect: Injury records with medical details are limited to people who need them, so the supervisor secures the document and returns it to its owner.
CReading it and filing it with crew records spreads private medical information further instead of protecting it.
DLeaving it on a shared printer keeps the medical details open to anyone who walks by.
Card 9Hazards
Which eye protection is the BEST match for a worker chipping concrete overhead with a pneumatic chipping hammer?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: Sealed impact goggles keep fragments out from every angle, and the face shield adds coverage for the face against falling debris.
BGlasses without side protection let chips and dust in from the sides and from above during overhead work.
CShaded cutting goggles are meant for radiant energy from torch work; the tint does nothing extra for an impact hazard.
DA face shield is a secondary protector and must be worn over primary eye protection such as goggles or safety glasses.
Card 10Program
An investigation report on a hand laceration lists the cause as worker carelessness and recommends closing the case. What should the supervisor do?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AA reminder to be careful treats the symptom and leaves whatever caused the act in place.
BDiscipline based on a 'carelessness' finding skips the analysis and discourages honest reporting.
CRetraining may help, but only after analysis shows that training was actually the gap.
DCorrect: Carelessness is not a root cause; asking why repeatedly uncovers system causes such as tools, pressure, or guarding that can be corrected.
Card 0Ethics
A supervisor discovers a submitted incident report includes a key detail based on an assumption, and interviews show a different sequence. What is the best corrective action?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AAn addendum that leaves out the people who relied on the report lets them keep acting on the wrong sequence.
BCorrect: Honest reporting means correcting the record and telling everyone who relied on the original version.
CA private fix leaves the submitted report wrong for everyone else.
DReplacing the report quietly hides the change from people who already used the original.
Card 0Ethics
An investigation recommended perimeter guardrails, but installation has been postponed three times. The supervisor now finds the same unprotected edge on another floor with workers nearby. What is the BEST action?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ALogging the edge and telling workers to stay clear leaves them without fall protection near an open edge.
BCorrect: The exposed edge needs real fall protection now, and a corrective action postponed three times needs escalation up the chain.
CWaiting a month for the committee leaves workers exposed and lets a failed corrective action keep slipping.
DCaution tape is only a warning, not fall protection, and waiting accepts the same delay that caused the problem.
Card 0Hazards
Which of the following best describes the hierarchy of controls for health hazards?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AThis lists the hierarchy in reverse, putting PPE, the least effective layer, first.
BThis order ranks PPE above elimination and engineering controls, which inverts their effectiveness.
CEngineering controls do not outrank elimination, and substitution belongs near the top, not at the bottom.
DCorrect: controls run from most to least effective: elimination, substitution, engineering, administrative, then personal protective equipment.
No cards match both filters. Pick another domain or level.
Talking point 02
Getting the most out of a card
Read the note on the option you picked, then the note on the key. The wrong options are built from real field mix-ups: a general-industry number from 29 CFR 1910 standing in for the construction rule in 29 CFR 1926, or the right action taken in the wrong order. Knowing why each one fails makes it easier to reject when it turns up again.
Answer every card, including the ones you would rather skip. BCSP states there is no penalty for selecting an incorrect answer on its exams (BCSP's Complete Guide to Safety Certification, as of October 2026), so on test day a blank is the only answer that is sure to score nothing.
Talking point 03
Where to go after a miss
The sheet to open first for each STSC7 domainscroll →
Weights from BCSP's STSC7 Examination Blueprint (V.2020.03.27), checked Oct 12, 2026. Every other topic sheet is listed in the STSC study guide.
Talking point 04
When the set starts to feel easy
Switch to the timed STSC mock exam. The notes are the same kind, but they stay hidden until you finish, and a clock runs at the real exam's pace.
For a quick recall pass on a lunch break, the STSC flashcards put the numbers and definitions on front-and-back cards.
Talking point 05
About this practice set
Are these real STSC exam questions?
No. The cards come from Tailgate Brief's own question bank, and each key is checked against the standard or BCSP document it rests on. BCSP keeps its exam items confidential, so no study site can legitimately show you the real ones.
Does it cost anything?
Every card on this page is free, with no sign-up. If you are also weighing paid help such as BCSP's examCORE course or BCSP's Self-Assessment, STSC prep options compared lists what each one includes.
Should I guess when I don't know an answer on the STSC?
Yes. BCSP's Complete Guide to Safety Certification says there is no penalty for selecting an incorrect answer and that only correct answers count toward the passing score (as of October 2026).