ASP Domain 1: Mathematical Calculations
BCSP's ASP11 Examination Blueprint, V.2024.04.24 (effective Sept 1, 2025) weights Mathematical Calculations at 10% of the ASP, a 5-hour exam. Give it study time in proportion to its weight.
Blueprint tasks we cover in this domain
Task numbers follow the BCSP blueprint. Tasks with no public-domain source (for example ISO standards or management theory) are thin or missing in our bank, and we say so rather than invent content.
- 1.1 Storage capacity
- 1.4, 1.5, 1.8, 1.9 Calculations
- 1.14 Exposure assessments (TWA, mixtures)
- 1.x Descriptive statistics
- 1.x Fall clearance calculations
- 1.x Heat and cold stress calculations
- 1.x Ionizing radiation calculations
- 1.x Physics (force, mass, acceleration)
- 1.x Rigging and sling angle calculations
- 1.x Unit conversions
- 1.x Ventilation (flow, velocity, dilution)
- probability (fault tree gates)
Topics
Free Domain 1 practice questions
A manufacturing plant logged 18 OSHA-recordable injury and illness cases last year. Its 540 employees worked a total of 1,116,000 hours. What is the plant's total recordable incidence rate per 100 full-time workers?
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Answer: A. 3.23
Incidence rate = (N x 200,000) / hours worked = (18 x 200,000) / 1,116,000 = 3.23. The 200,000 base represents 100 employees working 40 hours a week for 50 weeks. Using 100,000 as the base would give half the correct value.
“(Number of injuries and illnesses X 200,000) / Employee hours worked = Incidence rate (The 200,000 hours in the formula represents the equivalent of 100 employees working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year, and provides the standard base for the incidence rates.)”
To check a laboratory hood, a technician releases a puff of smoke at the face and times it traveling 2 feet into the hood in 1 seconds. The hood face opening is 4 ft wide by 2 ft high. What is the approximate airflow (Q) into the hood?
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Answer: A. 960 cfm
V = D/T = 2 ft / 1 s = 2.00 ft/s = 120 fpm. Flow is velocity times area (velocity = flow / area): Q = 120 fpm x 8 ft² = 960 cfm. Forgetting to convert seconds to minutes gives a value 60 times too small.
“Velocity = Distance/Time, or V = D/T Squeeze off a quick burst of smoke. Time the smoke plume's travel over a two-foot distance. Calculate the velocity in feet per minute. For example, if it takes two seconds for the smoke to travel two feet, the velocity is 60 fpm. ... Slot velocity is calculated by dividing the total volume flow rate by the slot area”
A worker's harness D-ring is 5 ft above the walking surface. The worker uses a 4-ft lanyard attached to an anchorage 2 ft above the D-ring. Ignoring deceleration distance, what free fall distance results, and does the rigging meet OSHA's construction limit?
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Answer: A. 2 ft; meets the limit
Free fall is the lanyard length minus how far the anchorage is above the D-ring: 4 - (2) = 2 ft. A personal fall arrest system must be rigged so an employee cannot free fall more than 6 feet, so this meets the limit. Anchoring below the D-ring adds to free fall.
“be rigged such that an employee can neither free fall more than 6 feet (1.8 m), nor contact any lower level;”
The free 25-question ASP diagnostic is weighted like the blueprint and scores each domain, so you know where to spend your remaining days.
Take the free ASP diagnosticOther ASP domains
- Domain 2: Safety Programs and Concepts (25%)
- Domain 3: Ergonomics (8%)
- Domain 4: Fire Prevention and Protection (12%)
- Domain 5: Emergency Preparedness and Response (10%)
- Domain 6: Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Health (12%)
- Domain 7: Environmental Management (7%)
- Domain 8: Training, Education, and Communication (11%)
- Domain 9: Legal (5%)
Domain names and weights from BCSP's public blueprint. Original practice questions, not real exam items. PassCited is not affiliated with or endorsed by BCSP.