Revision questions for NGC1 element 5 Measuring, review and audit OK, this doesnt quite match the

title in the syllabus, which is Measuring, audit and review, but it puts things in the right order. Auditing should look at every aspect of the management system, including the performance monitoring and review procedures, and should therefore come last in the list. (The findings of an audit should also be reviewed but this is an occasional procedure and is in addition to the routine process of performance review.) Hence, the mnemonic POPMAR, which is used to remember the elements of HSG 65, would probably be better written as POPMRA, which unfortunately doesnt trip off the tongue quite as easily! A bit more guidance on examinations Making the best use of your time in the examination Two hours might seem like a long time but its surprising how quickly the time passes in an examination. You should therefore plan your time and then stick as closely to that plan as possible. Given that there are 100 marks available and 120 minutes to gain them, this works out at just over one minute per mark. So lets work on a minute per mark, which will then give a bit of time left over to provide some flexibility. This means that you should allow 20 minutes for the first (20 mark) question and eight minutes for each of the 10 shortanswer (8 mark) questions. If you can keep to this, without pausing for breath between questions, you should have 20 minutes remaining. Those 20 minutes will come in very handy: firstly, to read through the paper carefully at the start of the examination to get a good feel for whats required (possibly underlining key words); secondly, to pause for breath occasionally and regain composure; and, thirdly, to tidy things up at the end. The reality, of course, is that you wont find the questions of equal difficulty since your knowledge will be better in some areas than others. You may therefore complete some questions in less than the allotted time, which will leave more time for the more difficult ones. However, its still a good idea to spend a maximum of eight minutes on each of the other short questions before moving on to the next. You can always come back to them later. The reason for this is that the law of diminishing returns applies to examination questions. Most of the marks tend to be picked up fairly quickly but then they become more difficult to come by as we start to reach the periphery of our knowledge. So instead of spending extra time on a question, scratching around for an additional mark or two, why not move on to the next question where you can hopefully find four, five or six marks relatively easily? If you are careful with the time, you should be able to come back to each question at the end in order to search for those more elusive points. Of course, if you come to a full stop on any particular question before the eight minutes are up, then you should move on. There is no point struggling to find marks when there are easier ones to be found elsewhere on the paper. It is a waste of time and can affect confidence. Sometimes, the answer to another question can spark off a few ideas for the one that has stumped you. Its not a bad idea to use some sort of digital timer for each question but, if you do, make sure that any audible alarm feature has a mute function!

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How to approach the examination paper as a whole It was suggested above that the first thing to do at the start of the examination is to read through the paper very carefully in order to make sure that you understand the subject matter of each question and exactly what aspect of the subject is being addressed. You may want to underline or highlight important words if you think this will help to retain focus. Some candidates highlight the action verbs (or command words) to emphasis the depth of answer being sought. However, the action verbs are already emboldened on the paper so this is probably unnecessary. You may also want to write down a few words or reminders on the paper as you go through if you think this will help to guide your answer. As you go through the questions, you will instantly recognise those that you feel more comfortable with. These are the ones to tackle first (each question must be written on the correspondingly numbered page of the answer book so make sure you pick the right page). This will help to boost your confidence as well as putting a whole lot of marks in the pot fairly quickly and easily. Since the first question makes up one-fifth of the marks for the paper (equivalent to two-and-a-half short-answer questions), you should try to tackle this fairly early on - but not necessarily first if there are some easier short-answer questions. Dont forget that if you dont answer the long-answer question at all, you are very unlikely to pass; if you miss out a short-answer question, there is still a possibility of picking up enough marks elsewhere for a pass. Having said that, you should always strive to answer every question on the paper (in whatever order you decide). Even if you dont know very much about a particular topic, you should be able to find something to say about it and pick up those first easier marks before moving on to another question. But if there is a question like this, you have probably left it to the end anyway. So do what you can before going back to those questions that you were happier with in order to come up with some points that you missed the first time around. If you have time, you can return to the more difficult question at the end. Towards the end of the examination, you should make a final check that you havent inadvertently missed a question out. How to tackle individual questions Having chosen which question to attempt, you will now need to read the question again (maybe more than once) to make sure that you understood it properly the first time. Remember that every word of the question is there for a reason. Take note of the action verb so you are aware of how to format the answer. If you are pretty certain of how you are going to write the answer at this stage then carry on. Otherwise you might want to jot down a few notes in random order from which you can select the points to be given in the actual answer. You should write the notes on the same page as the answer and dont cross them out afterwards. Theres always a chance that youve mentioned a creditworthy point in the notes that hasnt been picked up in the actual answer and for which the examiner can award a mark (anything crossed out must be ignored). Dont worry if you have written something wrong in the notes because the examiner cannot subtract marks - ie there is positive marking only. You might want to put a line under your notes to separate them from your answer.

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Return to the question once or twice while writing your answer to ensure that you arent veering off the point. Examiners frequently make the comment that candidates have answered the question that they wish had been there rather than the one that actually was. Whether this is due to misunderstanding the question or wandering off into more familiar territory in the hope that it might count for something remains uncertain. What is certain, though, is that giving an answer that doesnt address the question will gain few, if any, marks and valuable time will have been wasted. Some questions are divided into two or more parts. Take note of the number of marks available for each part and make sure that each part of your answer is in proportion. Clearly indicate which part is which in your answer. Stop writing an answer when you think it is complete, when you have reached your time limit for that question or if you are struggling to find things to say. (If you dont think the answer is complete, come back to it later.) Whatever the case, have another look at the question and make sure again that you have done exactly what has been asked. And finally ... This completes our series of brief guidance notes on examinations. It is important now, particularly if you arent used to examinations, that you have a go at some of the questions from past papers (preferably under simulated examination conditions) and ask for a tutor to comment on your answers. As we all know, practice makes perfect! Now lets press on with some revision questions for this element Question 1 Can you draw the HSG 65 management system model to show where the three elements of measuring performance, reviewing performance and auditing belong? (This will be the final check that you are familiar with the model, which is actually likely to change in a revision of HSG 65 that is due late 2012.) Question 2 Monitoring of health and safety performance can make use of active or reactive systems. What is the difference between active and reactive monitoring? (For some reason, the word active was adopted by HSE some years ago even though proactive is probably a more understandable term.) ... continued ...

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Question 3 Identify whether each of the following should be considered as part of active or reactive monitoring: accident records workplace inspections review of risk assessments analysis of near misses noise surveys behavioural studies complaints from employees concerning health and safety enforcement actions sickness / absenteeism records health and safety audits RIDDOR reports training records Question 4 What are the strengths and weaknesses of using accident rates as the sole indicator of health and safety performance? Question 5 What are the various ways in which an organisation may categorise its accident statistics in order to help build a full picture of any trends and to highlight problem areas? Question 6 What are the differences between health and safety tours, surveys and sampling? Question 7 What are the benefits and weaknesses of using a checklist on a health and safety inspection of a workshop? Question 8 What features of a critical health and safety report are likely to increase the chances of senior management taking action? ... continued ...

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Question 9 HSG 65 includes a definition of health and safety auditing. The definition is given below with some of the words missing. In each case, select the correct word from the choices given: much personal independent structured annual time-consuming evasive corrective Auditing is the .............. process of collecting .............. information on the efficiency, .............. and reliability of the .............. health and safety management system and drawing up .............. for .............. action. effort effectiveness Question 10 effluence excuses contracts plans

expensive

total

suspect

restricted

Why would even the most thorough inspection of a workplace not constitute an audit? Question 11 Give some examples of the documents and other information that should be made available to persons carrying out an audit of an organisations health and safety management system. Question 12 Other than examining documentation, what else should an auditor do in order to gather information about the management of health and safety in an organisation? Question 13 What are the advantages and disadvantages of selecting a health and safety auditor who is external to the organisation? Question 14 An accident has occurred in which an employee suffered a broken arm. Hes been taken to hospital and the area has been made safe. What post-accident procedures should now be applied? Question 15 What are the reasons for an organisation investigating accidents and similar events that have happened? Question 16 What are the factors that may determine the depth of any such investigation? Question 17 How should a typical accident investigation be conducted?

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Question 18 Imagine that you are investigating an accident in which Harry Harris dislocated his ankle after falling from a ladder while descending. The second rung of the ladder was broken, which Harry carefully avoided on his way up. Present the accident in tree form to show the possible root and immediate causes, as well as any factors that may have contributed to the final outcome. (Refer back to the course notes for information on accident trees if you need to.) Note: The next five questions relate to RIDDOR. At the time of writing these questions (October 2012), there are proposals to make extensive changes to the Regulations. You may be attempting the questions after the changes have been made and before the suggested answers have been updated so you will need to check that your answers are up-to-date. NEBOSH does not ask questions on new or amended legislation within six months of any changes. Question 19 What does RIDDOR stand for? (This may seem like an easy question but so many people get it wrong that its worth checking.) Question 20 Other than gas incidents, what categories of incident need to be reported under RIDDOR? Question 21 What are the time limits and methods for notifying or reporting each type of incident to the relevant enforcing authority? Question 22 Can you give four examples of (a) a major injury; (b) a dangerous occurrence; and (c) a reportable disease? Question 23 What reasons might there be for employees failing to report an accident that has happened to them at work? Question 24 Write down everything you know about the accident book (BI 510). Question 25 Why should an organisation review its health and safety performance on a regularly basis? Question 26 What particular items should be considered in a management review of health and safety performance? (Think about active and reactive data here.)

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Question 27 An organisations Annual Report primarily looks at financial and business performance over the year in question. Why do think HSE encourages the inclusion of health and safety performance in the Annual Report? Question 28 A companys annual report for 2011/12 includes the following section on health and safety performance: Health and safety This year produced a lost-time accident frequency rate of 2.1, the lowest for five years (compared with 3.3 in 2010/11, 3.6 in 2009/10, 2.4 in 2008/09 and 2.2 in 2007/08). The relocation of the main works during the year led to some significant improvements in working conditions and facilitated the companys BS OHSAS 18001 accreditation. The major cause of accidents across the company in 2011/12 was slips, trips and falls (26%), followed by manual handling (20%) and contact with moving or stationary objects (14%). Taking into account the intended audience, what is wrong with this report? How could it be improved? (This question is based on a previous Diploma question but there should be some fairly obvious points to make. See how you get on.)

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