Study each topic below — these are the core knowledge areas tested in Year 1. Build a solid foundation here before advancing to Year 2 material.
🦺Construction Safety & OH&S
- Every province has Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) legislation — know your jurisdiction
- Workers have three rights: know, participate, and refuse unsafe work
- Joint Health and Safety Committees (JHSC) required on sites with 20+ workers
- WHMIS 2015: GHS-aligned, SDS replaces MSDS, pictograms identify hazard classes
🔧Personal Protective Equipment
- Hard hat classes: Class E (electrical, 20,000V), Class G (general), Class C (conductive)
- CSA Z94.1: hard hat standard; CSA Z94.3: eye/face protection
- Fall protection required at 3 m in most provinces (some provinces 1.2 m in some situations)
- Steel-toed footwear: CSA Grade 1 (green triangle) standard on most sites
🦺Scaffolding — Types & Safety
- Tubular frame: most common on residential/light commercial; max 3 platforms high freestanding
- Suspended scaffold: hung from structure; requires engineer's approval and daily inspection
- Scaffold must be erected, modified, and dismantled by competent worker
- Guardrails required at 2.4 m (some jurisdictions 1.8 m); toe boards prevent falling objects
📖Forming & Shoring Systems
- Wall forms: plywood face with walers and ties; tie spacing based on concrete pressure
- Slab forms (falsework): stringers, joists, shores, and mudsills; designed by engineer
- Lateral pressure of fresh concrete: ρ × g × h — full fluid pressure if poured too fast
- Stripping time: depends on concrete strength development — minimum 70% f'c before stripping
🔧Material Handling & Rigging
- Tag lines required on all crane lifts near workers or obstructions
- Never stand under a suspended load; signal person must have clear sightlines
- Sling angle affects capacity: at 30° angle sling load = 2× rated vertical capacity
- Wire rope inspection: 6 broken wires in one lay or 3 in one strand = remove from service
💡Surveying Basics
- Benchmark (BM): permanent elevation reference point used to transfer grades
- Automatic level: set up on tripod, level bubble, read rod to ±1 mm accuracy
- Building layout: establish control lines with batter boards set back from excavation
- Laser level: rotary laser establishes horizontal plane; receiver detects beam on grade rod