North Carolina Boring and Tunneling Contractor Books Allowed into Exam Package

Prepare for the North Carolina S(Boring and Tunneling) Contractor examination with the two references identified for use in the exam room. This focused package includes the North Carolina construction safety standards and the Handbook of Rigging, giving candidates a practical open-book library for reviewing underground construction safety, excavation hazards, material handling, lifting equipment, slings, rigging hardware, load control, and worker-protection requirements.

The North Carolina S(Boring and Tunneling) classification applies to the construction of underground or underwater passageways created by digging or boring through and beneath the earth’s surface. The scope includes bracing and compacting passageways so they are safe for their intended purpose, along with preparation of ground surfaces at points of ingress and egress.

Boring and tunneling projects can involve difficult soil conditions, groundwater, heavy equipment, limited access, suspended loads, shafts, underground utilities, ventilation concerns, excavation support, material movement, and changing jobsite conditions. Contractors must understand how to organize work safely while coordinating equipment, personnel, lifting operations, and underground-construction activities.

The books in this package focus on two essential parts of that work. The North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Construction Industry addresses workplace safety requirements that affect excavation, underground construction, cranes, hoists, personal protective equipment, electrical systems, tools, scaffolds, fall protection, material handling, and emergency procedures.

The Handbook of Rigging, 5th Edition supports preparation involving wire rope, chains, synthetic slings, hooks, shackles, hitches, cranes, hoisting equipment, load calculations, sling angles, inspection criteria, signaling, and safe lifting practices.

Because these books are allowed into the examination, candidates should use them throughout preparation rather than saving them for test day. Effective open-book study includes learning how each book is organized, identifying the sections most likely to apply to common work scenarios, and completing timed lookup exercises.

This product includes the two examination references listed below. It does not include an online course, technical tunneling books, business and law books, highlighted books, tabbed books, application assistance, licensing fees, business formation, or examination registration unless another package specifically states that those items are included.

What You Get

• Two Exam-Room References: The North Carolina construction safety standards and the Handbook of Rigging, 5th Edition, 2009.
• Construction Safety Preparation: Coverage of excavation, underground construction, tools, equipment, personal protective equipment, electrical hazards, cranes, hoists, scaffolds, fall protection, and employer responsibilities.
• Rigging Preparation: Coverage of slings, wire rope, chains, hooks, shackles, hitches, load handling, sling angles, inspections, signaling, and lifting safety.
• Open-Book Navigation Practice: The actual reference materials candidates can use to develop realistic examination lookup skills.
• Field-Oriented Review: Resources that connect regulatory requirements and rigging principles with common underground-construction hazards.

Exam Details

The North Carolina S(Boring and Tunneling) Contractor examination evaluates knowledge associated with underground passageway construction, boring, tunneling, excavation safety, rigging, equipment use, and accepted construction practices.

Candidates should be prepared to interpret safety regulations and apply them to practical field conditions. Questions may describe an underground work area, lifting operation, excavation condition, access point, equipment arrangement, or worker-protection issue and ask the candidate to identify the safest or most compliant response.

Underground-construction preparation may include access and egress, work-area inspection, ventilation, atmospheric hazards, communication systems, fire prevention, illumination, electrical safety, equipment operation, material handling, water accumulation, emergency planning, and protection from falling or moving objects.

Excavation preparation may include soil conditions, cave-in hazards, protective systems, spoil placement, ladders, ramps, equipment near excavation edges, underground utilities, water control, inspections, adjacent structures, and competent-person responsibilities.

Rigging preparation may include determining load weight, locating the center of gravity, selecting an appropriate hitch, evaluating sling angles, choosing compatible hardware, inspecting equipment, recognizing rejection conditions, controlling suspended loads, and understanding standard signals.

Candidates should understand the differences among vertical, choker, and basket hitches. They should also recognize how sling angle can affect tension and why the total lifting capacity cannot be determined from a sling’s basic rating alone.

Wire-rope preparation may involve construction types, lay, diameter, end terminations, sheaves, drums, lubrication, damage, crushing, kinking, bird-caging, corrosion, and inspection criteria.

Chain-sling preparation may include grade identification, fittings, elongation, wear, cracks, heat damage, inspection, and proper use. Synthetic-sling preparation may address cuts, abrasion, chemical damage, heat exposure, broken stitching, knots, edge protection, and identification tags.

Hardware preparation may include shackles, hooks, eyebolts, turnbuckles, blocks, sockets, clips, spreader beams, lifting beams, and other components used to connect or control a load. Candidates should understand that every component must be suitable for the intended load and configuration.

Crane and hoisting preparation may involve setup conditions, operating radius, load charts, ground support, overhead hazards, signaling, swing radius, critical lifts, communication, and the responsibilities of personnel involved in lifting operations.

The two exam-room books should be studied together. A question involving a suspended load may require rigging knowledge from the handbook and workplace-safety requirements from the construction standards.

Open Book Test

The North Carolina S(Boring and Tunneling) Contractor examination allows approved references in the testing room. The books included in this package are the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Construction Industry, with the latest available amendments, and the Handbook of Rigging, 5th Edition, 2009.

An open-book examination still requires technical preparation. Candidates who are unfamiliar with the books may spend too much time searching through unrelated chapters. The goal is not to memorize every page but to understand the subjects well enough to choose the correct reference and locate the supporting information efficiently.

Begin by studying the tables of contents, indexes, chapter structures, appendices, diagrams, charts, and reference tables. Learn where excavation, underground construction, cranes, hoists, material handling, personal protective equipment, electrical safety, scaffolds, and emergency requirements are located in the safety standards.

In the rigging handbook, become familiar with the sections covering sling types, wire rope, chains, synthetic materials, hardware, hitches, inspection, lifting calculations, crane operations, and signaling.

Timed drills should begin with straightforward lookups. Practice finding an excavation requirement, a sling inspection rule, a personal protective equipment provision, and a rigging-capacity table. As navigation improves, move to scenario-based questions that require interpretation.

For example, a practice scenario may describe a load with an off-center center of gravity. The candidate should determine how the lifting points and sling lengths affect load balance. Another scenario may describe workers entering an excavation near operating equipment and require the candidate to locate the applicable protection requirement.

Candidates should review the current testing rules concerning highlighting, underlining, indexing, permanent tabs, binding, notes, and loose materials before preparing the books. Reference preparation must comply with the examination center’s requirements.

Do not depend on temporary page flags or loose notes during study. Build familiarity with the books through repeated use so that navigation remains effective under examination conditions.

Licensing Steps

1. Review the S(Boring and Tunneling) classification. Confirm that the specialty classification matches the underground or underwater passageway work the business plans to perform.
2. Select the appropriate license limitation. Determine the North Carolina license limitation that matches the value of projects the business intends to undertake.
3. Identify the qualifier. Select the individual who will meet the examination requirement and serve as the qualifier for the applicant business.
4. Submit the applicable license application. Provide the requested ownership, financial, business, organizational, and qualifier information.
5. Obtain examination eligibility. Complete the Board’s application review process before scheduling the qualifying examination.
6. Prepare with the exam-room references. Study the construction safety standards and rigging handbook and complete repeated lookup exercises.
7. Schedule the examination. Follow the instructions issued after eligibility is approved.
8. Complete the examination requirement. Take the S(Boring and Tunneling) examination and satisfy the required testing standard.
9. Complete the licensing process. Meet the financial and organizational requirements for the requested classification and limitation.
10. Maintain project compliance. Follow applicable safety, excavation, utility-location, environmental, engineering, permitting, and contractor requirements on every project.

State Requirements

The North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors regulates the S(Boring and Tunneling) specialty classification. The classification covers underground or underwater passageways constructed by digging or boring beneath the earth’s surface.

The scope includes bracing and compacting the passageway to make it safe for its intended use and preparing ground surfaces at ingress and egress locations.

North Carolina general contractor licenses are issued by classification and limitation. The classification identifies the type of construction the contractor may perform. The limitation controls the value of projects the licensee may undertake.

The applicant business must satisfy the requirements associated with its selected limitation. These requirements may include financial documentation and organizational information, along with identification of the individual serving as the qualifier.

The qualifier satisfies the examination requirement for the license. The license belongs to the approved business entity rather than automatically becoming a personal license for every owner, employee, or supervisor.

Holding an S(Boring and Tunneling) contractor license does not replace other approvals that may apply to a project. Underground work may require engineering, utility coordination, excavation notifications, environmental approvals, erosion-control measures, right-of-way permits, traffic control, workplace-safety programs, and local construction permits.

Projects involving excavation or boring must be planned around existing underground utilities. Contractors should follow applicable notification, marking, tolerance-zone, safe-digging, and emergency-response requirements before and during excavation.

Boring and tunneling projects may also require geotechnical evaluation, structural design, groundwater control, settlement monitoring, tunnel support, shaft design, ventilation planning, and project-specific emergency procedures.

Passing the examination does not automatically issue the contractor license. The applicant must complete the full application process and meet the Board’s financial, organizational, qualifier, classification, and limitation requirements.

Exam Room Approved Books

• North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Construction Industry, with Latest Available Amendments
  A North Carolina construction-safety reference covering excavation, underground construction, personal protective equipment, cranes, hoists, material handling, electrical safety, fall protection, scaffolds, tools, equipment, fire prevention, emergency procedures, and employer responsibilities.
• Handbook of Rigging, 5th Edition, 2009
  A technical rigging and material-handling reference covering wire rope, chains, synthetic slings, hitches, hooks, shackles, blocks, hardware, sling angles, load calculations, crane operations, signaling, inspection, and safe lifting practices.

Test Information and Study Materials

Begin preparation with construction safety. Review excavation requirements, underground-construction provisions, access and egress, personal protective equipment, electrical hazards, lighting, ventilation, emergency procedures, material handling, cranes, hoists, and equipment operation.

Create subject groups within the safety standards. One group may cover excavations and underground construction. Another may cover lifting and material handling. Additional groups can cover electrical safety, protective equipment, tools, scaffolds, fall protection, fire prevention, and emergency response.

Rigging study should begin with the basic relationship among load weight, center of gravity, lifting points, sling configuration, sling angle, and hardware capacity. Candidates should understand how changing one factor can affect the entire lifting arrangement.

Practice identifying the correct hitch for a lifting scenario. Review vertical hitches, choker hitches, basket hitches, multi-leg bridle assemblies, and specialized below-the-hook devices.

Study inspection criteria carefully. A rigging component that appears usable may require removal from service because of wear, deformation, heat damage, corrosion, missing identification, broken wires, cuts, damaged stitching, cracks, or unauthorized repairs.

Review common lifting mistakes, including side-loading hardware, using an incorrect shackle arrangement, allowing slings to contact sharp edges without protection, exceeding rated capacity, shock loading, standing beneath suspended loads, and failing to control load rotation.

Complete mixed-reference drills. Begin with an excavation safety question, move to a sling-angle problem, locate a personal protective equipment requirement, and finish with a hardware inspection scenario.

Use field-style questions instead of relying only on definitions. A scenario may describe a shaft access condition, a crane near an excavation, a damaged synthetic sling, or an unbalanced load. Determine which book applies and what requirement or principle controls the answer.

Review every missed question in the reference. Read the surrounding text and identify why the incorrect answer was not appropriate. This method strengthens both technical understanding and open-book navigation.

How 1 Exam Prep Helps You Reach Your Goal

1 Exam Prep helps North Carolina Boring and Tunneling Contractor candidates organize the approved safety and rigging references into a practical study plan.

Trade-focused review connects excavation safety, underground construction, material handling, lifting equipment, sling selection, rigging hardware, inspection, load control, and worker protection.

Practice-oriented preparation encourages candidates to answer field-based questions, locate the supporting information, review missed concepts, and repeat difficult searches until reference navigation becomes more efficient.

Reference-navigation practice helps candidates learn where excavation, crane, hoisting, protective equipment, electrical safety, sling, hardware, and inspection information is located. This familiarity can reduce unnecessary searching during an open-book examination.

Organized preparation can also help candidates understand the relationship between regulatory requirements and practical field decisions. A safe lifting plan depends on both technical rigging principles and compliance with workplace-safety standards.

No book package can guarantee a passing score, contractor license, project permit, or business result. Examination performance depends on the candidate’s preparation, construction experience, safety knowledge, rigging skills, reference familiarity, and performance on test day.

FAQ Section

What books are included in this package?

The package includes the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Construction Industry with the latest available amendments and the Handbook of Rigging, 5th Edition, 2009.

Are both books allowed into the examination?

Yes. These are the two references identified for use in the North Carolina S(Boring and Tunneling) examination.

Is the examination open book?

Yes. Candidates may use the authorized references when the books comply with the current examination-center rules.

What does the S(Boring and Tunneling) classification cover?

The classification covers underground or underwater passageways constructed by digging or boring beneath the earth’s surface, including bracing, compacting, and preparation of ingress and egress areas.

Does the package cover excavation safety?

Yes. The North Carolina construction safety standards include requirements affecting excavation and underground construction.

Does the package cover rigging calculations?

The Handbook of Rigging addresses load handling, sling angles, hitch configurations, hardware selection, and other technical rigging principles.

Are additional tunneling study books included?

No. This product includes only the two exam-room references. Broader technical book packages are offered separately when specifically identified.

Are the books highlighted and tabbed?

No. Highlighting and tabbing are not included unless those features are specifically stated in the selected product title or package description.

Does this package include an online course?

No. This product includes the two listed books only. Courses and additional services are included only when specifically stated in another package.

Does passing the examination automatically issue the license?

No. Applicants must complete the North Carolina licensing process and satisfy the applicable financial, organizational, qualifier, classification, and limitation requirements.

Does purchasing the books guarantee a passing score?

No. Examination results depend on the candidate’s preparation, underground-construction experience, safety knowledge, rigging ability, reference-navigation skills, and test-day performance.