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Practice test · Machine Guarding

Machine Guarding Practice Test

Twenty-five questions for people who work on or around machines in manufacturing — the standard federal OSHA cited tenth most often in fiscal year 2025. They cover the four hazards 1910.212(a)(1) names, what the point of operation is and what a guard there has to accomplish, when a hand tool may supplement a guard and when it may not, the seven-foot line that runs through 1910.219 for flywheels, shafting, pulleys, sprockets and chains, the work rest and tongue clearances on an abrasive wheel, the spreader and anti-kickback fingers on a ripsaw, and where guarding stops and lockout/tagout begins. Every explanation quotes the paragraph it comes from so you can read the rule yourself.

25 questions about 20 min

Not OSHA-authorized training. SteelToeTools is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by OSHA or the U.S. Department of Labor. This free educational content does not satisfy any OSHA or other regulatory training requirement, and no card, certificate, or credential is issued. Only OSHA-authorized trainers can deliver OSHA Outreach Training (10-Hour and 30-Hour) and issue DOL cards. Always follow your employer's training program and applicable federal, state, and local requirements.

Frequently asked questions

No. Nothing is issued for taking this test — no card and no document of any kind. OSHA does not run a machine guarding examination. Training on your machines, your guards and your energy control procedures is your employer's responsibility.

1910.212 has no training paragraph. It is written entirely about the machine: what has to be guarded, how the guard has to behave, and how fixed machinery has to be anchored. The training obligations that apply to machine work come from elsewhere — the lockout/tagout training in 1910.147(c)(7) for servicing, 1910.132(f) for the PPE you wear at the machine, and your employer's own program. A test like this one is a review aid, never a substitute.

It is written on Part 1910, general industry. The construction counterpart is 1926.300: (b)(1) requires guards to be in place when a power tool is designed to accommodate them, and (b)(2) requires guarding of exposed belts, gears, shafts, pulleys, sprockets, spindles, drums, flywheels and chains. Where the answer would differ between the two parts, the question and the explanation say so. Everything here is written under federal OSHA; a State Plan may be stricter.

It is still in force and still cited, and its seven-foot line is the reason so many old drives are enclosed today: flywheels at (b)(1), exposed horizontal shafting at (c)(2)(i), pulleys at (d)(1), and sprocket wheels and chains at (f)(3). It also carries the 60-day inspection interval for power-transmission equipment at (p)(1).

Because 1910.212(a)(3)(iv) names power saws and portable power tools among the machines that usually require point-of-operation guarding, and the machine-specific rules that fill in the detail are next door: abrasive wheels in 1910.215, woodworking machinery in 1910.213. On the floor, those are the guards people actually take off.

One point per question and a percentage at the end, with the explanation shown for every question you missed. The 70% is a common classroom threshold, not an official pass mark — the value is in reading the explanations and going back to the paragraph they cite.

Sources & references

Content checked against these sources — last reviewed August 28, 2026.

By — Editorial team of SteelToeTools.com (published by LSEA SAS) Updated