20 Communication, Reporting & Vehicles Practice Questions & Answers

1. 1. A crew leader picks up the day's work order at the yard. What is the correct use of that work order before the truck leaves?

   • A.Leave it in the cab and read each property's scope on arrival there.
   • B.Give it to the newest crew member to fill in as each task ends.
   • C.File it at the office and run the route from last week's memory.
   • D.Review scope, materials and special notes with the crew, then load.✓ Answer

   The work order names the client, the scope, the materials and quantities, the budgeted hours and the special instructions such as gate codes, pets and restricted areas. Reviewing it with the crew before loading is what lets the truck and trailer be loaded once with the right tools and materials, and the signed ticket afterward is the record the office invoices from.

   Source: NALP Landscape Training Manual — Work Orders and Communication appendixReport a problem with this question

2. 2. A crew leader explains a pruning task to a crew member who speaks another first language, and the worker nods. How should the leader confirm understanding?

   • A.Repeat the same words more loudly and a little more slowly.
   • B.Have the worker restate the task and show the first cut.✓ Answer
   • C.Accept the nod and inspect the section once it is finished.
   • D.Write the task on the ticket and hand it over to be read.

   A nod often signals politeness or willingness rather than comprehension. The two-way communication loop is closed only when the receiver sends the message back, so having the worker restate the task and demonstrate the first cut proves the instruction landed before an unrecoverable amount of plant material is removed.

   Source: NALP Landscape Industry Certified Technician (Exterior) — Common Core: CommunicationReport a problem with this question

3. 3. The work order says to remove the shrub row along the north fence, but the crew finds two shrub rows near that fence and nothing is flagged. What should the crew do first?

   • A.Remove the row that looks worst, since that is the likely one.
   • B.Ask a neighbor outside which row the owner wanted taken out.
   • C.Stop and call the crew leader or office to confirm which row is meant.✓ Answer
   • D.Remove both rows so the fence line ends up looking uniform.

   An ambiguous instruction is resolved upward, never guessed at. Removing established plants cannot be undone, and a technician has no authority to change the scope written on the work order; one call to the crew leader or the office settles which row was actually sold and keeps the crew inside the approved scope.

   Source: NALP Landscape Industry Certified Technician (Exterior) — Common Core: CommunicationReport a problem with this question

4. 4. While the crew is mowing, the homeowner asks them to also grind out a dead stump "while you're here." What is the correct response?

   • A.Do it now, because the customer is present and clearly wants it.
   • B.Tell the customer that the crew never handles stumps of any kind.
   • C.Write the request down and refer it to the office for a change order.✓ Answer
   • D.Add the extra hours to today's ticket and let the office bill it.

   Work that is not on the work order is authorized in writing before it is performed. A verbal add-on has no agreed price, no approved scope and no confirmation that the company's insurance and equipment cover it, so the technician records the request, refers it the same day, and the office issues a change order the customer approves.

   Source: NALP Landscape Training Manual — Work Orders and Communication appendixReport a problem with this question

5. 5. A client stops a technician to ask why a shade tree is thinning and what a replacement would cost. How should the technician answer?

   • A.Explain that the irrigation is almost certainly overwatering it.
   • B.Give a likely cause and a rough price so the client is not waiting.
   • C.Suggest a fertilizer carried on the truck to bring the tree back.
   • D.Say the account manager will follow up, and pass it on that day.✓ Answer

   A technician answers what falls inside their own role and refers the rest. Why a tree is declining is a diagnosis that belongs to a qualified specialist, and price and contract questions belong to the account manager; an improvised cause or figure becomes a commitment the company never made and can push the client toward the wrong treatment.

   Source: NALP Landscape Industry Certified Technician (Exterior) — Common Core: CommunicationReport a problem with this question

6. 6. A locked gate kept the crew out of the back yard, so half the scheduled work went undone. How should the job ticket be filled out?

   • A.Record the tasks done, the tasks missed, and the locked gate.✓ Answer
   • B.Leave that site's ticket blank and phone the office about it.
   • C.Show the whole scope as done and catch up on the next visit.
   • D.Mark the stop complete, since the gate was not the crew's fault.

   The ticket is the record the office schedules and invoices from, so unfinished tasks and the reason they were missed have to appear on it. Written that way, the office can reschedule the back yard, adjust the bill and explain the shortfall to the client; showing undone work as complete creates a billing error and a complaint.

   Source: NALP Landscape Training Manual — Work Orders and Communication appendixReport a problem with this question

7. 7. Why does the office require crews to log actual hours by job and the actual quantities of material installed?

   • A.So the equipment dealer honors the warranty on the machines in use.
   • B.So the office can reorder the same amount from a cheaper supplier.
   • C.So actual cost can be compared with the estimate and future bids priced.✓ Answer
   • D.So crew members get credit for hours worked past the normal day.

   Field reporting closes the job-cost loop. The estimate predicted a number of hours and a quantity of material, and only the crew's actual figures show whether the job made money and what the next job of that kind should be priced at, which is why hours are recorded per job as the day goes rather than guessed at week's end.

   Source: NALP Landscape Industry Certified Technician (Exterior) — Common Core: ReportingReport a problem with this question

8. 8. Arriving at a property, a crew sees a cracked driveway panel that does not appear in the crew's photos from the last visit. What should the crew do?

   • A.Sweep the loose pieces up and mention it at the next visit instead.
   • B.Say nothing, since the crew did not cause it and may be blamed.
   • C.Photograph it, note it on the ticket, and tell the crew leader.✓ Answer
   • D.Ask the client to sign a note clearing the crew of responsibility.

   Documenting a condition the crew did not cause is exactly what protects the crew from being blamed for it later. A dated photo plus a line on the ticket, reported to the crew leader the same day, establishes that the damage was already present; staying silent leaves the client to discover it after the crew's visit and assume the crew did it.

   Source: NALP Landscape Industry Certified Technician (Exterior) — Common Core: ReportingReport a problem with this question

9. 9. An edger cuts a buried irrigation lateral and water pools on the lawn. After the water is shut off, what is the correct next step?

   • A.Backfill the cut and let the client's irrigation contractor find it.
   • B.Finish the route and list the break on the weekly summary sheet.
   • C.Report it to the crew leader and the office at once, with photos.✓ Answer
   • D.Splice the pipe with parts off the truck and leave the ticket alone.

   Property damage the crew caused is reported immediately and documented with photos, because the company has to disclose it to the client, arrange a proper repair and handle it through its insurance. A quiet field repair or a delayed report turns a routine, covered incident into an accusation of concealment and a far larger dispute.

   Source: NALP Landscape Industry Certified Technician (Exterior) — Common Core: ReportingReport a problem with this question

10. 10. A crew member drives a thorn deep into a palm, cleans it, bandages it and says it is nothing. What does company injury reporting require?

    • A.Note it in the crew leader's book and raise it at the month's meeting.
    • B.Report it at the end of the week along with the other small cuts.
    • C.Report it only if the hand later gets infected and needs a doctor.
    • D.Report it to the supervisor the same day, even as first aid only.✓ Answer

    Every injury goes to the supervisor the same day, however minor it looks. Same-day reporting fixes the facts while they are fresh, starts any care the worker turns out to need, and protects the worker's claim if the wound worsens; first-aid-only cases that are not externally recordable are still reported inside the company.

    Source: NALP Landscape Industry Certified Technician (Exterior) — Common Core: ReportingReport a problem with this question

11. 11. A dead limb falls a few feet from a crew member and nobody is hurt. Why does the company still want it written up?

    • A.The same conditions can injure someone on the next job.✓ Answer
    • B.The insurer opens a claim file for every event on site.
    • C.The report shows which crew member was at fault here.
    • D.The crew member is owed pay for the rest of that day.

    Near-miss reporting exists to remove a hazard before it connects with a person, not to assign blame. The written record lets the company see the pattern — overhead deadwood, a skipped overhead check, a habit of working under the canopy — and change the practice, which is why these reports are kept separate from discipline.

    Source: NALP Landscape Industry Certified Technician (Exterior) — Common Core: ReportingReport a problem with this question

12. 12. A crew member is admitted to the hospital after a jobsite injury. Federal OSHA requires the employer to report an in-patient hospitalization within 24 hours. Which action meets that requirement?

    • A.Faxing the injury report to that area office the same evening.
    • B.Entering the case on the company's own injury log.
    • C.Calling the nearest OSHA area office, or filing the report online.✓ Answer
    • D.Leaving a voicemail at that area office after it has closed.

    The requirement is met only by an actual report to the agency: a telephone call to the nearest area office, the OSHA toll-free line, or the online reporting application. A voicemail left at a closed office or a fax does not satisfy the rule, and the employer's internal injury log is a separate record rather than a report.

    Source: 29 CFR 1904.39Report a problem with this question

13. 13. A crew hitches up an equipment trailer that ran fine yesterday. What does the daily pre-trip inspection require this morning?

    • A.A walk-around of truck and trailer, tires and lamps included.✓ Answer
    • B.A look in the cab mirror to confirm nothing is hanging loose.
    • C.A check of the truck alone, since the trailer was fine yesterday.
    • D.A check of the lamps alone, since tires are checked at service.

    The pre-trip is a documented daily walk-around of both units: tire condition and pressure on truck and trailer, lug nuts, fluid leaks, brakes and mirrors, coupler and safety chains, load security, and every lamp on the connector. Yesterday's condition proves nothing, because a cut sidewall or a failed lamp happens in a single day.

    Source: NALP Landscape Technician Bootcamp — Daily Equipment and Truck ChecksReport a problem with this question

14. 14. How are the safety chains connected when a pickup is hitched to an equipment trailer?

    • A.Run straight back and hooked over the ball beside the coupler.
    • B.Run straight back and bolted to the truck's rear bumper on each side.
    • C.Crossed under the tongue and hooked onto the trailer's own frame.
    • D.Crossed under the tongue and attached to the truck's frame or hitch.✓ Answer

    Crossed chains form a cradle beneath the coupler, so if the coupler releases the tongue drops into the X instead of onto the pavement and the driver keeps steering control. The chains must anchor to the tow vehicle's frame or hitch, because a ball, a bumper or the trailer's own frame goes with the trailer.

    Source: NALP Landscape Industry Certified Technician (Exterior) — Common Core: Vehicle operation and safetyReport a problem with this question

15. 15. An equipment trailer has electric brakes and a breakaway switch. Where does the breakaway cable get attached?

    • A.To the hitch pin that holds the ball mount in the receiver.
    • B.To one of the safety chains, so it pulls when a chain tightens.
    • C.To the tow vehicle itself, clear of the chains and hitch pin.✓ Answer
    • D.To the coupler latch, so it trips the moment the latch opens.

    The breakaway system must apply the trailer's own brakes when the trailer separates from the truck, so the cable has to stay with the truck. Anchored to a safety chain, to the hitch pin or to the coupler, it leaves with the runaway trailer, nothing pulls the switch, and the brakes never come on.

    Source: NALP Landscape Industry Certified Technician (Exterior) — Common Core: Vehicle operation and safetyReport a problem with this question

16. 16. A loaded equipment trailer starts swaying at highway speed, and the crew finds most of the load sitting behind the trailer axle. What correction is needed?

    • A.Add air to the trailer tires and leave the load where it sits.
    • B.Shift load ahead of the axle to restore tongue weight, then re-strap.✓ Answer
    • C.Raise the ball mount so the trailer rides nose-high on the road.
    • D.Shift load farther behind the axle to unload the rear tires.

    Too little tongue weight lets the trailer pivot around the hitch and sway. A conventional ball hitch wants roughly 10 to 15 percent of the loaded trailer weight on the tongue, with heavy items over or slightly ahead of the axle and centered side to side; too much tongue weight instead overloads the truck's rear axle and lightens the steering.

    Source: NALP Landscape Industry Certified Technician (Exterior) — Common Core: Vehicle operation and safetyReport a problem with this question

17. 17. Federal cargo securement rules cover a wheeled or tracked machine of 10,000 lb or more hauled on a trailer. What do those rules require?

    • A.Two tiedowns, with the machine's parking brake set hard.
    • B.Three tiedowns, with chocks placed under the machine's wheels.
    • C.One tiedown per end, with the machine left in gear on the deck.
    • D.Four tiedowns, with buckets and booms lowered and secured.✓ Answer

    Heavy machinery has to be restrained against forward, rearward, lateral and vertical movement, which takes a minimum of four tiedowns attached as near as practicable to the front and rear of the machine or to its designed tie-down points, and any accessory such as a bucket or boom must be fully lowered and secured.

    Source: 49 CFR 393.130Report a problem with this question

18. 18. A driver is backing a trailer into a narrow driveway with a spotter guiding. The spotter goes out of view in the driver's mirror. What does the driver do?

    • A.Back to the point that the two of them agreed on beforehand.
    • B.Stop at once and wait until the spotter is back in the mirror.✓ Answer
    • C.Keep easing back and listen for the spotter to call a warning.
    • D.Sound the horn twice and continue slowly until the spotter shows.

    The spotter is the driver's eyes in the blind area behind the trailer, so the moment the spotter leaves the mirror the driver has no information about that space and must stop. Correct backing practice is Get Out And Look first, agreed hand signals, backing toward the driver's side where possible, and stopping whenever visual contact is lost.

    Source: NALP Landscape Technician Bootcamp — Using a Spotter or Flagger During Work OperationsReport a problem with this question

19. 19. How should gasoline for the crew's handheld equipment be carried on the truck?

    • A.In any clean container with a tight lid, wedged behind the seat.
    • B.In approved containers laid on their side in the cab, out of the way.
    • C.In approved containers set loose in the bed with the vent left open.
    • D.In approved sealed containers, upright and secured outside the cab.✓ Answer

    Fuel rides in approved, sealed, upright containers, secured so they cannot tip or slide, and outside the passenger compartment, because vapor from a tipped or vented can collects in an enclosed cab and needs only a spark. Refueling is done on the ground with the engine off and cool, away from ignition sources.

    Source: NALP Landscape Industry Certified Technician (Exterior) — Common Core: Vehicle operation and safetyReport a problem with this question

20. 20. During the pre-trip check a driver finds the trailer's brake lights do not work. What is the correct action?

    • A.Write the defect up and hold the trailer until the lights are fixed.✓ Answer
    • B.Pick a route with fewer stops and tell the shop about it tomorrow.
    • C.Take the trailer out and have the crew watch for traffic behind.
    • D.Drive it in daylight only today and report the fault on Friday.

    A defect found on the pre-trip is written up and corrected before the unit goes out. Brake lights are the only warning following traffic receives, so the trailer is unsafe in daylight as well as after dark, and writing the defect up the day it is found keeps the next crew from being handed a unit already known to be bad.

    Source: NALP Landscape Technician Bootcamp — Daily Equipment and Truck ChecksReport a problem with this question

Practice questions based on the published content areas of the National Association of Landscape Professionals' Landscape Industry Certified Technician (Exterior) programme — the universal safety and hazard-communication elements every candidate takes, plus the plan reading, horticultural principles and calculation content behind the installation and maintenance specialties — together with standard horticulture, soils, turfgrass and hardscape construction references. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Association of Landscape Professionals. This bank covers written knowledge only; where a certification programme also assesses hands-on skill, that part is judged in the field and cannot be practised on a screen. Irrigation system design and troubleshooting, and arboriculture, are covered by our separate irrigation and arborist banks rather than here. Landscape work is governed by pesticide, licensing, water-use and vehicle rules that vary by state and locality — confirm what applies where you work, and confirm current certification requirements with NALP before testing. About NALP certification →