June 2012

Examiners’ Report
NEBOSH National
General Certificate in
Occupational Health
and Safety (NGC1)
Examiners’ Report

NEBOSH NATIONAL GENERAL CERTIFICATE

IN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

UNIT NGC1:
MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH AND SAFETY

JUNE 2012

For: NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety

NEBOSH National Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management
NEBOSH National Certificate in Construction Health and Safety

CONTENTS

Introduction 2

General comments 3

Comments on individual questions 4

 2012 NEBOSH, Dominus Way, Meridian Business Park, Leicester LE19 1QW
tel: 0116 263 4700 fax: 0116 282 4000 email: info@nebosh.org.uk website: www.nebosh.org.uk

The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health is a registered charity, number 1010444

T(s):exrpts/C/NGC1 1206 EXTERNAL DW/DA/REW

 Introduction

NEBOSH (The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health) was formed in 1979 as
an independent examining board and awarding body with charitable status. We offer a comprehensive
range of globally-recognised, vocationally-related qualifications designed to meet the health, safety,
environmental and risk management needs of all places of work in both the private and public sectors.
Courses leading to NEBOSH qualifications attract around 35,000 candidates annually and are offered
by over 500 course providers, with exams taken in over 100 countries around the world. Our
qualifications are recognised by the relevant professional membership bodies including the Institution
of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and the International Institute of Risk and Safety
Management (IIRSM).

NEBOSH is an awarding body to be recognised and regulated by the Scottish Qualifications Authority
(SQA).

Where appropriate, NEBOSH follows the latest version of the “GCSE, GCE, Principal Learning and
Project Code of Practice” published by the regulatory authorities in relation to examination setting and
marking. While not obliged to adhere to this code, NEBOSH regards it as best practice to do so.

Candidates’ scripts are marked by a team of Examiners appointed by NEBOSH on the basis of their
qualifications and experience. The standard of the qualification is determined by NEBOSH, which is
overseen by the NEBOSH Council comprising nominees from, amongst others, the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE), the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and
the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH). Representatives of course providers, from
both the public and private sectors, are elected to the NEBOSH Council.

This report on the examination provides information on the performance of candidates which it is
hoped will be useful to candidates and tutors in preparation for future examinations. It is intended to be
constructive and informative and to promote better understanding of the syllabus content and the
application of assessment criteria.

© NEBOSH 2012

Any enquiries about this report publication should be addressed to:

NEBOSH
Dominus Way
Meridian Business Park
Leicester
LE19 1QW

tel: 0116 263 4700

fax: 0116 282 4000
email: info@nebosh.org.uk

2 EXTERNAL
 General comments

Many candidates are well prepared for this unit assessment and provide comprehensive and relevant
answers in response to the demands of the question paper. This includes the ability to demonstrate
understanding of knowledge by applying it to workplace situations.
There are always some candidates, however, who appear to be unprepared for the unit assessment
and who show both a lack of knowledge of the syllabus content and a lack of understanding of how key
concepts should be applied to workplace situations.
In order to meet the pass standard for this assessment, acquisition of knowledge and understanding
across the syllabus are prerequisites. However, candidates need to demonstrate their knowledge and
understanding in answering the questions set. Referral of candidates in this unit is invariably because
they are unable to write a full, well-informed answer to one or more of the questions asked.
Some candidates find it difficult to relate their learning to the questions and as a result offer responses
reliant on recalled knowledge and conjecture and fail to demonstrate a sufficient degree of
understanding. Candidates should prepare themselves for this vocational examination by ensuring
their understanding, not rote-learning pre-prepared answers.
Candidates should therefore note that Examiners’ Reports are not written to provide ‘sample answers’
but to give examples of what Examiners were expecting and more specifically to highlight areas of
under performance.
Common pitfalls
It is recognised that many candidates are well prepared for their assessments. However, recurrent
issues, as outlined below, continue to prevent some candidates reaching their full potential in the
assessment.
 Many candidates fail to apply the basic principles of examination technique and for some
candidates this means the difference between a pass and a referral.
 In some instances, candidates do not attempt all the required questions or are failing to
provide complete answers. Candidates are advised to always attempt an answer to a
compulsory question, even when the mind goes blank. Applying basic health and safety
management principles can generate credit worthy points.
 Some candidates fail to answer the question set and instead provide information that may be
relevant to the topic but is irrelevant to the question and cannot therefore be awarded marks.
 Many candidates fail to apply the command words (also known as action verbs, eg describe,
outline, etc). Command words are the instructions that guide the candidate on the depth of
answer required. If, for instance, a question asks the candidate to ‘describe’ something, then
few marks will be awarded to an answer that is an outline. Similarly the command word
‘identify’ requires more information than a ‘list’.
 Some candidates fail to separate their answers into the different sub-sections of the questions.
These candidates could gain marks for the different sections if they clearly indicated which part
of the question they were answering (by using the numbering from the question in their
answer, for example). Structuring their answers to address the different parts of the question
can also help in logically drawing out the points to be made in response.
 Candidates need to plan their time effectively. Some candidates fail to make good use of their
time and give excessive detail in some answers leaving insufficient time to address all of the
questions.
 Candidates should also be aware that Examiners cannot award marks if handwriting is
illegible.
 Candidates should note that it is not necessary to start a new page in their answer booklet for
each section of a question.

3 EXTERNAL
 
Unit NGC1
Management of health and safety

Question 1 After previously experiencing issues with non-compliance, an employer is

preparing to introduce a safe system of work.

(a) Explain the meaning of the term „safe system of work‟. (2)

(b) Outline the content of a training session designed to ensure the

successful introduction and use of the new safe system of work. (10)

(c) Identify individual factors that might cause an employee to

deviate from the safe system of work. (8)

An acceptable meaning of the term „safe system of work‟ would have referred to it as
a step by step procedure taking into account matters such as hazards, control
measures and the provision of training together with the integration of personnel,
equipment, materials and the environment with the ultimate aim of producing an
acceptable level of safety. There were few good answers submitted for this part of the
question. Many candidates did not appreciate that a safe system of work was a
structured procedure with the ultimate aim of attaining a reduction in risk. There was
often confusion between a safe system of work and a permit to work.

In any training session an important first step would be to inform the trainees of what
the task or operation entails, what hazards and risks have been identified and why a
safe system of work is needed. An explanation would then need to be given of the
precautions and control measures that are to be introduced such as the use of any
special equipment, tools and personal protective equipment. It would further be
important to arrange for a practice session and to inform the trainees of the
arrangements for consultation and feedback and for monitoring the success or
otherwise of the system once it had been introduced.

Instead of concentrating on the content of a specific training session as required,

many candidates outlined how a general training session on health and safety should
be set up dealing with the facilities that should be available and the competency of the
instructors.

In answering part (c) a number of factors could have been identified such as the
individual’s lack of knowledge and understanding of the system; their attitude,
motivation and poor perception of risk which would be exacerbated if they had
personal problems such as sensory defects, a language barrier or problems
connected with their personal life which could have caused them to become stressed.
The question specifically asked candidates to identify individual factors that might
cause an employee to deviate from a safe system of work. Many, however, identified
organisational, job or environmental factors for which no marks could be awarded.

4 EXTERNAL
Question 2 Outline the main features of:

(a) civil law; (4)

(b) criminal law. (4)

The main features of civil law are that it is concerned with the rights of an individual,
deals with torts such as negligence and has as its objective the provision of a remedy
such as compensation provided a loss has been proved. The parties involved are
generally two individuals rather than the state and an individual and the decisions are
based on the balance of probabilities. Time limits apply and, dependent on the size of
the claim, cases are heard either in a small claims court, a County Court or the High
Court.

Criminal law on the other hand is based on the rights of society and the parties
involved are the state and an individual. A breach of the law which is largely based on
statute is dealt with through the criminal court system such as the Magistrates or
Crown Court and results in punishment of the defendant such as by a fine or
imprisonment if they are proved to be guilty of the offence. The burden of proof is
beyond all reasonable doubt, there is no requirement to prove loss and there is no
time limit for bringing cases to court.

In general, the answers provided were to a much better standard than those for a
similar question that has appeared on previous papers but there are still a number of
candidates who find difficulty in distinguishing between the structure of the courts and
the penalties that might be awarded with many suggestions that fines may be the
outcome in cases heard in the civil courts.

Question 3 Identify published information that may be consulted when dealing with a
health and safety problem at work. (8)

Candidates could have chosen from a variety of published information such as

statutory instruments, ACOPs and HSE publications; manufacturers’ and suppliers’
data; British, European and other standards; industry, trade and trade union literature;
and in-house publications such as the health and safety policy and accident statistics.

Many candidates were unable to differentiate between published information and that
produced in-house and tended to rely too much on the latter. Some referred to
statutory instruments and then quoted examples of Acts and Regulations. A few
candidates mentioned the internet but gave no specific examples while some believed
the question was seeking sources of information – possibly having in mind a former
question – and referred to HSE, IOSH and others rather than to the particular
documents such as ACOPs for example that these organisations had published.

5 EXTERNAL
Question 4 (a) Outline why it is important for an organisation to develop and
maintain emergency procedures. (4)

(b) When developing emergency procedures outline why the

arrangements for contacting the emergency and rescue services
needs to be included. (4)

Apart from the fact that the development of emergency procedures is a legal and
probably an insurance requirement, candidates should have pointed out that the main
reason for developing such procedures is to reduce the severity of an event by
avoiding or reducing casualties, property loss and environmental impact and ensuring
business continuity. An emergency is not an everyday event and planning and
preparation is required to ensure that employees know what to do if such an event
were to occur.

The arrangements for contacting emergency and rescue services should form an
integral part of any emergency procedures to ensure a timely response to an incident
and particularly if it is likely to escalate to a point where the organisation is unable to
deal with it with its own resources. Employees should be given advice on the services
that need to be contacted, when the contact should be made and the information that
should be provided when the call is made such as the presence of any hazardous
material on site.

Better answers were provided for the first part of this question although there were few
who referred to reducing environmental impact and ensuring business continuity while
some explained what the procedures might involve rather than the reasons for putting
them in place. For part (b), candidates generally mentioned the need to ensure a
timely response but little else. Some explained why the services should be involved in
planning emergency procedures which is a valid point to make but not in answer to a
question on why contact arrangements should form part of the procedures.

Question 5 (a) Outline the reasons why accidents should be reported and
recorded within a workplace. (4)

(b) Outline factors that might encourage employees to report

workplace accidents. (4)

There are a number of reasons why accidents should be reported and recorded in the
workplace. Apart from the fact that it may be required by law, for example by
RIDDOR, it gives an opportunity for the early investigation of the circumstances of the
accident and thus for any necessary remedial action to be taken. Recording accidents
will also assist in the compilation of accident statistics and the identification of trends
and the information recorded could be of use in any criminal action or civil claim that
might follow the accident. Most candidates succeeded in outlining many of the above
reasons although some could suggest only the legal requirement while a few added
additional information on how to prevent accidents and how to investigate them if they
did occur which was irrelevant.

For the second part of the question, candidates were expected to outline factors such
as ensuring that employees were aware of the procedures and requirements for
reporting accidents which should be as clear as possible and allowing them time off
from the job in hand to make the report; ensuring a positive management response to
the report with action taken where necessary to prevent a recurrence and with no
suggestion of victimisation or blame; and removing any disincentives to report such
as, for example, the award of bonuses for any time worked that was accident free.

6 EXTERNAL
 Answers to part (b) were limited particularly since many were in the form of a list rather
than the required outline. Some candidates explained why reporting should be
encouraged but did not refer to the factors that might encourage it while a few
answered a question that had appeared on a previous paper seeking reasons why
employees did not report accidents.

Question 6 Identify EIGHT measures that can be used to monitor an organisation‟s

health and safety performance. (8)

Candidates could have chosen from a wide range of measures such as accident and
ill-health statistics and the incidence of other losses such as property damage; the
results of monitoring exercises such as periodic inspections and tours and the results
of environmental monitoring; the amount of enforcement action taken against the
organisation and benchmarking with other like organisations.

This question did not attract the quality of answer that was expected although most
candidates did succeed in identifying four measures. Some identified different types of
monitoring explaining how each might help to measure performance and gained but a
single mark. Again, insufficient attention was paid to the command word.

It is quite often the case that when presented with an ‘outline’ question, candidates
either identify or submit a list. On this occasion, they were asked to identify, but a
number wasted a good deal of time by supplying sufficient detail to satisfy an ‘outline’,
but only on a few measures and so did not gain many marks.

Question 7 With reference to the Construction, Design and Management Regulations

2007:

(a) outline circumstances that require a construction project to be

notified to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE); (2)

(b) outline SIX duties of the CDM Co-ordinator. (6)

In answering part (a), familiarity with Regulation 2 of the Regulations would have
enabled candidates to obtain the marks available by identifying that the project is likely
to exceed thirty working days or will involve more than five hundred man days. There
were many candidates who did not possess this familiarity and were unable to provide
an answer. In many of the answers that were submitted, there was confusion between
person days and person hours.

Answers to part (b) again showed that candidates were not conversant with the detail
contained in Regulations 20 and 21. If they had possessed this familiarity, they would
have been in a position to outline the Co-ordinator’s duties connected with their
relationship and cooperation with other duty holders involving for example the
provision of advice and their own personal duties related to notification, the pre-
construction information, the initial construction phase plan and the production of the
health and safety file. Many candidates assigned duties of other duty holders to the
Co-ordinator suggesting erroneously that their role involved site management and
discipline and that they were responsible for all health and safety matters on site. A
few candidates did point to the duty to provide advice but were unable to add to whom
the advice should be given and on what subject.

7 EXTERNAL
Question 8 When completing a health and safety inspection of a workplace:

(a) outline the strengths of using a checklist; (4)

(b) outline the weaknesses of using a checklist. (4)

One of the strengths of using a checklist to complete a health and safety inspection of
a workplace is the opportunity given for prior preparation and planning to be made so
that the inspection is structured and systematic. Other strengths relate to the degree of
consistency obtained firstly by those carrying out the inspection and further in the
areas and issues to be covered. There is also a bonus in that an immediate record of
the findings is produced which provides an easy method for comparison and audit.

For part (b), candidates should have outlined the weaknesses connected with using
this system such as, for example, its rigidity and the possibility that inspectors are
encouraged to deal only with the listed subjects without enquiring into other matters
which might need attention and the difficulty in reviewing and updating the checklist to
account for changes in processes and equipment which might pose new risks.

Answers were to an acceptable standard with those for part (a) better than those for
the second part of the question. Those candidates, however, who suggested that
strength of using a checklist was that it was quick and easy to complete, were not
awarded a mark. There was also the suggestion that it was useful in that it could be
used by untrained operatives. This strength, perhaps after reflection, was later also
suggested as a weakness.

Question 9 Outline factors that may increase the risks to persons who are required
to work alone away from the workplace. (8)

Better answers were provided for this question by those candidates who approached it
in a logical, structured and practical way by outlining firstly the factors that would
contribute to the potential risk such as the work to be done and its attendant hazards
and then went on to identify factors that might possibly increase the level of risk such
as the competence, training and suitability of the persons involved; a failure to provide
the appropriate equipment and/or materials and personal protective equipment such
as eye and hearing protection; inadequate means of communication with the home
base and a lack of immediate supervision to ensure that the correct working
procedures were being followed; and psychological factors such as the stress that
might be caused by working alone for long periods of time.

This question was not particularly well answered. There appeared to be a lack of
understanding of the risks associated with lone working and a number of candidates
wrote about risks in general rather than those caused or exacerbated by working alone
with few able to relate to the type of work undertaken and its associated hazards.
Some answers referred to factors which were not unique to lone working whilst others
suggested control measures rather than factors that might lead to an increase of risk.

8 EXTERNAL
Question 10 With reference to the health and safety management model illustrated in
the document „Successful Health and Safety Management (HSG65):

(a) explain the purposes of:

(i) organising; (3)

(ii) planning and implementing. (3)

(b) identify TWO further stages from the model. (2)

The question was designed to test candidates’ knowledge of HSG65. For part (a) they
could have explained that the purpose of the ‘organising’ stage of the model was to
ensure that an effective management structure and arrangements were in place for
delivering the health and safety policy which would involve among other things defining
roles and responsibilities at all levels in the organisation, securing the competence of
employees and encouraging their cooperation by setting up effective arrangements for
communication and cooperation.

As for planning and implementing, its purpose is to ensure the policy is implemented in
a planned and systematic way by, for example, setting objectives and targets,
allocating resources to ensure they can be delivered and laying down standards
against which performance will be measured.

The standard of response to this part of the question was disappointing. Although
many candidates were familiar with the component parts of HSG65, few were able to
explain the purpose of the two named sections. There was little mention made of the
four Cs in ‘organising’ while only a very few were able to explain the purpose of the
section on ‘planning and implementing’.

For part (b), most candidates were able to identify two from the four remaining stages
which are well documented in the model.

Question 11 (a) In relation to a risk assessment undertaken to comply with the

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999,
outline the criteria that will determine whether it is „suitable and
sufficient‟. (3)

(b) Outline, giving a workplace example in EACH case, the meaning

of the following terms:

(i) hazard; (2)

(ii) risk. (3)

The ACOP to the Management of Health and Safety Regulations sets out the criteria
which are designed to ensure the suitability and sufficiency of any assessment that is
prepared. They include that the assessment should identify not only all significant
hazards and risks arising from or connected with the activity to be carried out but also
all the persons at risk with additional reference being made to those who might be
especially at risk. Information would also have to be included on the period of time for
which the assessment is likely to remain valid and the competency of the person who
carried it out. Most candidates managed to outline some of the relevant criteria
although some did experience difficulty in deciding what might constitute suitability and
sufficiency whilst others described the ‘five steps’ or the hierarchy of control.

9 EXTERNAL
There remains some confusion between the two terms „hazard‟ and „risk‟ and whilst for
risk most candidates referred to probability and severity, there were only a few who
provided a relevant example indicating how a risk may change or increase.

10 EXTERNAL
The National Examination
Board in Occupational
Safety and Health

Dominus Way
Meridian Business Park
Leicester LE19 1QW

telephone +44 (0)116 2634700

fax +44 (0)116 2824000
email info@nebosh.org.uk
www.nebosh.org.uk