December 2005 A2 December 2005 A1
December 2006 A1 December 2006 A2
NCC1 2007 NCC1 Dec 2007 NGC1 Dec 2007
Friday 16 March 2012
Past Exam Papers
Sunday 11 March 2012
NCC2: Construction health and safety practical application Part II
NCC2: Construction health and safety practical application Part III
In Part I, we looked at how we would carry out a safety inspection of a workplace, and identify the types of hazards that maybe present, In part II we look at how the examiner will award marks for the observatios made and how they are presented, In Part III will be an example observation sheet and a sample report.
Allocation of marks
Observation sheets
Range of issues (0 to 5 marks)
- You would be expected to recognise that the top guard of a circular saw is incorrectly set several inches above the wood being cut. You would not however be expected to know the maximum permitted clearance.
- You would be expected to know that fire extinguishers should be provided, but not whether the ones provided were of the correct type.
Consideration of cost implications (0 to 5 marks)
- Where and when the inspection took place
- A brief summary of what was found
- A short list of issues requiring management attention with convincing arguments as to why such action is needed and calling attention to possible breaches of legislation.
- Reference to the list of observations and recommended actions (observation sheets should be attached to the report) calling attention to any recommendations which could have a high cost in terms of finance, inconvenience or time.
You should write the report in a style that a manager would be able to take reasonable action based on the facts presented. Reports based on unsupported generalities and those that simply reiterate the contents on the observation sheets will earn low marks
High marks will be awarded to reports that are concise, readable and highly selective in terms of action required by senior management. They should contain balanced arguments on why action is needed and explain the effect it would have on the standards of health and safety at the workplace.
Sunday 4 March 2012
NCC2: Construction health and safety practical application Part I
NCC2: Construction health and safety practical application Part III
- To carry out unaided a safety inspection of a construction workplace identifying the more common hazards, deciding whether they are adequately controlled and where necessary, suggesting appropriate and cost-effective remedial action
- To prepare a report that persuasively urges management to take appropriate action, explaining why such action is needed (including reference to possible breaches of legislation) and identifying, with due consideration of reasonable practicability, the remedial measures that should be implemented.
- Unsafe premises due to poor design or layout or lack of maintenance.
- Unsafe plant resulting from poor selection criteria, lack of maintenance, carelessness or abuse.
- Poor housekeeping standards due to lack of storage space, untidiness, laziness, and lack of management planning or poor supervision.
- Incorrect use of plant, machinery or tools.
- Environmental hazards due to ignorance, carelessness or not carrying out adequate risk assessments.
- Welfare facilities that are inadequate, poorly maintained or being misused.
- Lack of adequate emergency arrangements due to lack of foresight, planning, control, communications or training.
- Management systems.
- Diligence or competence of supervisors.
- Safety culture within the organisation's workforce.
- Obvious physical deficiencies.
- Physical
- Environmental
- Managerial
AT |
FOR
| ||
Housekeeping Standards | Untidy areas | ||
Waste receptacles |
Overflowing or wrongly used
| ||
Storage |
Tools and other items left lying around
| ||
Access and egress |
Obstructed
| ||
Layout |
Does it look planned with efficient use of space
| ||
Floors |
Look for potential hazards of slipping, tripping or falls
| ||
Machinery safety |
Are machines fit for purpose
| ||
Positioning |
Are the space around them reasonable
| ||
Machinery |
Are there defective parts or missing guards
| ||
Controls |
Are they easily accessed, identified and in good order
| ||
Foundations |
Are all machinery and plant foundations secure or adequate
| ||
Electrical installations/equipment |
Are installations and equipment in good
condition and periodically tested
| ||
Switch gear |
All clearly identified in an uncluttered area
| ||
Other utilities |
Are all gas or hydraulic installations or supplies in good order
| ||
Gas bottles |
Is the storage satisfactory in well ventilated
areas
| ||
Welding and cutting |
Suitability of areas, protection from glare and fumes
| ||
Local exhaust ventilation |
Is LEV adequate and properly installed
| ||
Environmental |
Is lighting, temperature, humidity reasonable and atmosphere reasonably clean and free from undue noise, fumes or dusts or vibrations
| ||
Manual hand-tools |
Are hand-tools in suitable and in good condition
| ||
Hazardous materials and processes |
Are data sheets available for operators
| ||
Containers |
Are all containers suitable and labelled
| ||
Transportation |
Are arrangements suitable
| ||
Usage |
Are substances fit for the purpose that they are used for
| ||
Disposal |
Are arrangements adequate
| ||
Notices |
Are all statutory and other notices displayed
| ||
Welfare facilities, including first aid |
Available and adequate
| ||
Internal transport |
Routes and vehicle parking satisfactory.
| ||
Mechanical handling equipment |
Supplied where appropriate and in satisfactory condition
| ||
Personal protective equipment |
Is it provided as required, in good order and well looked after
| ||
Emergency precautions |
Are there any in place with notices posted
| ||
Alarm arrangements |
Are these satisfactory
| ||
Emergency lighting |
Is this provided, if required
| ||
Evacuation routes |
Are these free from obstructions, protected from ingress of fire and smoke, well sign-posted with final exits easily opened and good access to a designated assembly point
| ||
Smoking |
Is smoking restricted and is this being adhered to
| ||
Flammable materials/substances |
Are these being stored and disposed of properly
|
- Lack of LEV would lead to the conclusion that there will be environmental hazards when people are welding or burning.
- Because of the number of hazards you will identify it would be reasonable to assume the knowledge or skills of managers and supervisor will require to be improved through additional training.
- Broken or missing guards would imply a lack of care or maintenance.
- The amount and type of deficiencies noted would indicate a lack of or poor risk assessments and monitoring arrangements leading to a need for discipline and training.
Saturday 25 February 2012
Employers Duty Of Care
Sunday 19 February 2012
NEBOSH Certificate Essentials: - The Six Pack
The Six Pack
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
The Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992
Sunday 5 February 2012
RIDDOR - (Reporting Of Injuries, Diseases And Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995)
Introduction
Under RIDDOR, employers and other responsible people who have control over employees and work premises have certain responsibilities.
If any of the following events occur at work, employers and other responsible people must report the incident to the relevant enforcing authority.
What has to be reported?
If incidents involving staff, patients, contractors and visitors fall within these criteria, they should be reported under RIDDOR.
Line managers, the nominated person, safety supervisor and health and safety services must be informed immediately so they can report to the HSE without delay.
Health and safety services will report the accident to the HSE by telephone and complete the appropriate form within 10 days.
Death
If there is an accident connected with work and:
Accidents resulting in over three-day injuries
An over three-day injury is one which is not 'major' but results in the injured person being away from work OR unable to do their full range of their normal duties for more than three days.
If there is an accident connected with work (including an act of physical violence) and a person working on your premises suffers an over-three-day injury, you must report it to the enforcing authority within ten days. This applies if the person is an employee or self-employed.
Disease
If a doctor notifies you that your employee suffers from a reportable work-related disease then you must report it to the occupational health service, who will notify the enforcing authority. Reportable diseases include:
The occupational disease flowchart shows the procedures once a disease is identified.
If an incident does not result in a reportable injury, but clearly could have done, then it may be a dangerous occurrence and must be reported immediately (by telephone or completing a form on our website).
Reportable dangerous occurrences include:
Friday 3 February 2012
Health Surveillance
- It concentrates on work processes and analyses any possible issues that may occur when an employee completes this process.
- It looks at any adverse effects this process could have and tries to implement guidelines that would avoid any problems to the health of the employee.
- It is vital in some jobs especially when employees are working with certain machinery or working with chemicals and substances.
- A 'responsible person', such as a manager, looking for a clear reaction e.g. checking for skin conditions
- A 'qualified person' asking
employees about symptoms, or inspecting or examining individuals for ill-health e.g. OH Nurse doing lung function tests
- Medical surveillance by a doctor which can include clinical examination
- Biological and biological effect monitoring to measure effects of exposure e.g. blood tests
- Keeping individual health records for all types
- Self-checks by employees to look for and report any signs of work-related ill health. BUT to comply with regulations these have to be part of a program in which health records are kept and where employees are:
- Trained about signs of illness or disease, and how and when to look for them
- Told how and when to report signs and to who – a responsible or qualified person
- Also subject to periodic checks by a responsible or qualified person
- Baseline health assessment on commencing a new post or placement
- Detecting harmful health effects at an early stage
- Check that control measures are working
- Provide data by health records to detect and evaluate health risks
- Provide an opportunity to train and instruct employees
- Give employees a chance to raise concerns about the effect of work on health
-
Risk assessments for work activity involving hazards; include consideration of the need for health surveillance
-
Where health surveillance of individual employees is deemed to be necessary, it takes place at the required frequency.
-
The results of health surveillance are acted upon to meet statutory and management requirements
-
The records of results of health surveillance are maintained to meet statutory requirements and are available to HSE Inspectors requesting them
Record and act on the results in an appropriate manner.
Certain groups may need special protection e.g. pregnant workers, young workers.
Monitor and evaluate the programme.
Health records
Health surveillance programs should include keeping a health record for each individual to provide:
-
A historical record of jobs involving exposure to workplace hazards
-
A historical record of the outcome
Information for HSE or local authority inspectors
-
Surname
-
Forename
-
Sex
-
Date of birth
-
Permanent addres
-
NI number
-
Date started present job
-
Historical record of jobs involving exposure to the hazard for which health surveillance required during this employment
-
Conclusions, decisions, fitness for work (but not clinical information)
-
Date carried out
-
Name of person carrying out the health surveillance
In certain circumstances, medical surveillance is specified, which states that the employee requires surveillance carried out by a registered medical practitioner, who is "appointed" by the Health & Safety Executive for this purpose.
Where these requirements exist, the employer must ensure that a doctor is appointed and that he has the required access to the site, both to carry out the surveillance, and be aware of the work practices.
Saturday 21 January 2012
Common Abbreviations
I don't know about you guys but it seems every way we turn there is fist full of abbreviations or acronyms to learn, well here is a list of abbreviations commonly associated with Health & Safety although this list is not exhaustive and in fact if there is anything I've missed please feel free to add as a comment
ACM Asbestos containing material ACoP Approved Code of Practice CAR Control of Asbestos Regulations CBI Confederation of British Industry CDM Construction (Design and Management) Regulations CECA The Civil Engineering Contractors Association CHIP Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging) Regulations CIRA Construction Industry Research and Information Association CONIAC Construction Industry Advisory Committee COSHH Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations dB(A) Decibel (A-weighted) dB(C) Decibel (C-weighted) DSE Display Screen Equipment DSEAR Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations EAV Exposure Action Value EC European Community ELV Exposure Limit Value EMAS Employment Medical Advisory Service EPA Environmental Protection Act 1990 EU European Union HAV Hand–Arm Vibration HSC Health and Safety Commission HSE Health and Safety Executive HSW Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 ILO International Labour Office IOSH Institution of Occupational Safety and Health LEAL Lower Exposure Action Level LOLER Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations MCG The Major Contractors Group MHOR Manual Handling Operations Regulations MHSW Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations MoT Ministry of Transport (still used for vehicle tests) NAWR Control of Noise at Work Regulations NEBOSH National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health OHSAS Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series OSH Occupational safety and health PPE Personal Protective Equipment PUWER Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations