Think you know towers?
8 questions pulled from the hardest sections of the NWSA exams. Not climbing-experience questions — standards questions. The kind that fail experienced hands who never cracked the handbook.
Most veteran climbers score 4 out of 8. Prove us wrong.
Every NWSA certification is a written exam taken by online remote proctoring — NWSA retired the TTT-1 and TTT-2 practical exams on January 1, 2024. The formats, from the Candidate Handbook (REV 10/25): TTT-1 85 questions / 90 min · TTT-2 100 / 2 h · A&L 70 / 2 h · ARC 95 / 150 min · Foreman 70 / 90 min. Each attempt is $274 with no discounted retake and a 30-day wait after a fail. NWSA publishes no passing score and no pass rate, so the only way to know you are ready is to test yourself against the outline.
Same style as the eight in the quiz above, with the answer and the standard behind it. The paid guides do this for every question.
Rigging plans (A10.48). Per ANSI/ASSE A10.48, who can authorize a Class IV rigging plan?
Answer: B. Class IV is the highest complexity rigging plan and requires a Qualified Person — specifically an engineer with relevant structural/rigging expertise. Competent Riggers can handle Class I-II; Class III/IV escalate to engineered analysis. Experience alone (even decades) doesn't grant Class IV authority. (ANSI/ASSE A10.48, Section 9)
Wire rope inspection. Wire rope sling must be removed from service when how many randomly distributed broken wires are present in one rope lay?
Answer: C. Per ANSI/ASME B30.9, a wire rope sling is retired at 10 randomly distributed broken wires in one rope lay, OR 5 broken wires in one strand of one lay. People confuse this with running wire rope (B30.26) which has different criteria. The strand-level number (5) and the lay-level number (10) trip up even experienced riggers. (ANSI/ASME B30.9 (Slings))
RF exposure (MPE). During an authorized RF "controlled environment" exposure, what is the averaging time for Maximum Permissible Exposure?
Answer: C. Controlled (occupational) environments use a 6-minute averaging time per FCC OET-65. Uncontrolled (general public) environments use 30 minutes. Most people remember there are "two numbers" but flip which applies to whom. Workers = 6 min. Public = 30 min. (FCC OET Bulletin 65)
Want the full set? TTT-1 guide — 50-question timed exam · TTT-2 guide — 90 questions · all five guides from $39. Independent prep; not affiliated with or endorsed by NWSA.