Unit IGC1 Element 1

Sub Element 1.1

Q # 1. What barriers might there be to good health and safety practice?
Ans: Complexity, conflicting demands, behavioural issues
Q # 2 Define the terms

Health

Safety

Welfare

Ans: Health absence of disease or ill health, safety absence of risk of

serious personal injury, welfare access to basic facilities including toilets
and rest areas, hygiene and first aid provisions.
Sub Element 1.2
Q # 1 What are the 3 main reasons for managing health and safety?
Ans: Moral, social (or legal), economic (financial)
Q # 2 What should an employer provide to ensure health and safety:

Safe place of _______________

Safe plant and ______________

Safe _______ of work

Training, _____ and competency of

Ans: fill in the blanks

safe place of work

safe plant and equipment
safe systems of work
training, supervision and competency of staff

Section End Quiz

Page 1 of 18

Sub Element 1.3

Q # 1 What are the two main standards that the ILO has produced for health
and safety? What do countries do with these standards?
Ans: ILO has produced C155 and R164, which are then ratified by countries
and implemented in national law.
Q # 2 What are employers responsibilities under R164?
Ans: Specifically, Article 10 of R164 puts the following obligations on
employers:

To provide workplaces and work equipment, and use work methods,

which are safe and no risk to health.
To provide appropriate instructions and training.
To provide necessary supervision.
To put in place health and safety arrangements adapted to suit the
size and nature of the undertaking.
To provide any necessary personal protective clothing and
equipment free of charge.
To ensure that the hours of work do not adversely affect employees
safety and health.
To remove any extreme physical and mental fatigue.
To stay up-to-date with knowledge in order to comply with the above.

In this way the responsibility is placed directly on the employer. However, it is

also recognised that individual workers have a critical part to play in keeping
workplaces safe, so workers are also given duties.
Q # 3 What are employees responsibilities under R164?
Ans:

Take reasonable care of their own safety and that of other people
who might be affected by the things that they do and the things that
they fail to do.
Comply with safety instructions and procedures.
Use all safety equipment properly and not tamper with it.
Report any situation which they believe could be a hazard and which
they cannot themselves correct.

Section End Quiz

Page 2 of 18

Report any work-related accident or ill-health.

Q # 4 What action could be taken against organisations breaking health and

safety law?
Ans:

Formal enforcement action (improvement or prohibition notices or

similar)
Prosecution of the organisation
Prosecution of individuals
Compensation through the civil courts

Section End Quiz

Page 3 of 18

Unit IGC1 Element 2

Sub Element 2.1
Q # 1 What are the key elements of the ILO-OSH health and safety
management system?
Ans: Policy, Organising, Planning and Implementation, Evaluation, Action for
Improvement, and Audit. Continual improvement is also important.
Sub Element 2.2
Q # 1 Why is an organisations policy so important?
Ans: The health and safety policy of an organisation is an important
document that sets out the organisations aims with regards to health and
safety, who is responsible for achieving these aims, and how the aims are to
be achieved. This can be expanded on during the discussion!!
Q # 2 Why might two organisations have different policies?
Ans:
It should reflect the particular circumstances of the individual
organisation: the hazards and risks, the size and the complexity of the
organisation. The policy must therefore be developed and tailored to fit the
particular organisation that it exists to serve.
Sub Element 2.3
Q # 1 What are the three key parts to a health and safety policy?
Ans:

The General Statement of Intent outlines the importance that the

organisation places on health and safety and the commitment that
can be expected. It sets aims and objectives for the organisation to
achieve. It is signed by the person in overall control of the organisation.
The Organisation section highlights the roles and responsibilities that
exist at all levels within the organisation. It shows the lines of
responsibility and accountability.
The Arrangements section provides the detail on how the organisation
manages health and safety. It outlines

Section End Quiz

Page 4 of 18

The general arrangements that relate to health and safety management

and the specific arrangements that relate to individual health and safety
topics and issues.
Q # 2 What type of targets might be referenced in the policy (and where)?
Ans: The Statement of Intent may also set targets for the organisation to
achieve. Possible targets might relate to:

Accident rates: to achieve a reduction in the accident or ill-health

rate.
Active monitoring: to complete successfully a number of active
monitoring activities, e.g. successful completion of 90% of all supervisor
safety inspections over a year.
Completion of key activities such as the completion of risk
assessments across the organisation
Delivery of training to all workers
Development of a consultation process to engage the workforce
Benchmarking against other organisations

Section End Quiz

Page 5 of 18

Unit IGC1 Element 3

Sub Element 3.1
Q # 1 Who does an employer owe a duty to with regards to health and
safety?
Ans:

Own employees to ensure their H&S

Other workers (not employees) e.g contractors
Visitors
Members of the public

Q # 2 How can directors influence health and safety?

Ans: Directors ensure that:- policy is in place, resources are allocated, the
right people are in place with clear roles and responsibilities, there is a senior
manager with H&S responsibility, there are competent person(s) appointed
to advise on H&S, the H&S performance is reviewed. The directors cascade
their vision to junior managers through targets and objectives
Q # 3 What are the key workers responsibilities?
Ans: Workers have a responsibility to take reasonable care of their own
health and safety and the health and safety of other people who might be
affected by the things that they do (their acts) and the things that they fail to
do (their omissions). Workers also have a responsibility to co-operate with their
employer (for reasons of health and safety). These duties apply when the
worker is at work.
Q # 4 What would you look for/check when selecting a contractor?
Ans:

A copy of their health and safety policy.

Examples of risk assessments.
The qualifications and training records of staff.
Membership of a professional organisation or certified body.
Records of maintenance and test for plant and equipment.
Names of previous or current clients.

Section End Quiz

Page 6 of 18

Accident history records.

Records of enforcement action taken by authorities against them.
Proof of adequate resources, such as access to specialist safety
advice.
Sub Element 3.2

Q # 1 Give a definition of Health and safety culture?

Ans: Any appropriate definition, covering points such as shared attitudes
and beliefs about health and safety etc. such as The safety culture of an
organisation is the way that everyone within the organisation thinks and feels
about health and safety and how this translates into their behaviour.
Q # 2 What factors could result in the deterioration of the health and safety
culture of an organisation?
Ans: Factors which could result in the deterioration of health and safety
culture in an organisation include:

Lack of leadership from management

Presence of a blame culture
Lack of management commitment to safety (e.g. saying one thing
and doing another)
Health and safety receiving lower priority than other business issues
Organisational changes (frequent or poorly communicated change
can result in uncertainty)
High staff turnover rates
Lack of resources e.g. too few workers due to downsizing
Lack of worker consultation
Interpersonal issues e.g. peer group pressure, bullying or harassment
Poor management systems and procedures
External influences e.g. economic climate resulting in hard operating
conditions

Q # 3 What indicators can be used to assess the health and safety culture?
Ans: Indicators include accidents, absenteeism, sickness rates, staff turnover,
staff complaints,

Section End Quiz

Page 7 of 18

Q # 4 What is peer pressure?

Ans: Peer pressure is the way that colleagues (peers) exert influence over
others in order to shape their behaviour.
Sub Element 3.3
Q # 1 What three key factors influence a workers behaviour?
examples of each?

Give

Ans:

Job, organisation, individual

Job factors task, workload, environment, displays and controls
(interface with equipment), procedures
Organisational factors safety culture, policies and procedures,
leadership,
supervision
levels,
peer
pressure,
consultation,
communication, training, work patterns (shifts etc)
Individual factors attitude, competence, motivation

Q # 2 What is competence?
Ans: Competence KATE (Knowledge, Ability, Training, Experience)
Q # 3 How can an organisation inadvertently motivate people to behave
unsafely?
Ans: Classic issue is placing incentive on the wrong behaviour, e.g. by
paying for work rate rather than as a day rate (encourages corner cutting)
or rewarding low accident rate (resulting in accidents being hidden rather
than investigated)
Q # 4 Suggest reasons why two people may perceive hazards differently?
Ans: Sensory impairment/disability senses impaired by PPE or background
noise etc, illness, stress, fatigue, drugs/alcohol, previous experience, training
and education.

Section End Quiz

Page 8 of 18

Sub Element 3.4

Q # 1 How can directors/managers demonstrate their commitment to health
and safety?
Ans:

Behaving safely.
Involvement in the day-to-day management of health and safety,
e.g. by attending safety meetings.
Taking part in safety tours or audits.
Promoting changes to improve health and safety.
Enforcing the company safety rules.

Q # 2 What are the 3 different communication methods that are used?

Ans: written, verbal, graphic
Q # 3 What is the difference between consulting and informing?
Ans: Consulting - the two-way exchange of information and opinion
between the employer and workers so that the best course of action can be
agreed. This implies that the employer listens to the concerns of his workers
and changes his plans as necessary. True consultation therefore provide an
opportunity for workers to feed back to management on their feelings and
opinions on health and safety matters.
Informing - providing information to workers in a form that they can
understand and then checking that the information has been understood.
The information flow is one-way and the employer does not have to take any
notice of feedback.
Sub Element 3.5
Q # 1 What types of emergency situation might an organisation need to
consider?
Ans: Foreseeable emergencies depending upon the organisation include
fire, bomb threat, chemical spills, toxic gas release, disease, severe weather,
flood, multiple casualty accident.

Section End Quiz

Page 9 of 18

Q # 2 You are developing fire response arrangements what key things

would you include?
Ans:
Procedures to be followed/evacuation procedures, provision of
suitable equipment, nominated fire marshalls etc, provision of information
and training, notices etc, drills and exercises.
Sub Element 3.6
Q # 1 What is the basic function of a first aider?
Ans: Preserve life, prevent worsening, promote recovery, and provide simple
treatment for minor injuries.
Q # 2 What should be considered when determining the number of first
aiders on site?
Ans:

The number of workers on site

The distribution of workers (e.g. are there more in one area or at a
certain time of day)
The shift patterns adopted adequate cover must be provided for
all shifts, including weekend and nightshift operations.
The need to provide first aid cover during absence e.g. for holidays
or during illness

Q # 3 What other factors should be considered when evaluating the overall

level and type of first aid provision for a site?
Ans:

The general risk level of the workplace.

The hazards present in the workplace.
Accident history.
Specific procedures required e.g. some toxic materials have
specific antidotes or first aid protocols.
The presence of vulnerable persons.
The number of workers in the workplace.
Work patterns and shift systems of workers.
The geographic location of the workplace.
The spread of the workplace.

Section End Quiz

Page 10 of 18

Unit IGC1 Element 4

Sub Element 4.1
Q # 1 What are SMART objectives?
Ans: Objectives which are specific, measureable, achievable, reasonable,
time bound
Q # 2 How can safety and health practitioners keep up to date with legal
requirements?
Ans:
Electronic newsletters, professional organisations
subscriptions and update services, seminars and conferences.

publications,

Sub Element 4.2

Q # 1 Define hazard and risk?
Ans: Hazard=something with the potential to cause harm,
Rrisk = likelihood of harm occurring combined with the severity of harm
Q # 2 Define accident injury accident and near miss?
Ans:
Accident= unplanned, unwanted event leading to injury or loss,
Injury accident = unplanned, unwanted event leading to personal injury,
Near miss = unplanned, unwanted event which could have resulted in injury
or loss but didnt
Q # 3 What are the 5 steps to risk assessment?
Ans:

Identify the hazards.

Identify the people who might be harmed and how.
Evaluate the risk and decide on precautions.
Record the significant findings and implement them.
Review and update as necessary.

Section End Quiz

Page 11 of 18

Q # 4 What should a suitable and sufficient risk assessment contain?

Ans:

Name and competence of assessor

Hazards and risks arising from work
Persons at risk
Evaluation of current controls
Identify protective measures
Prioritise corrective actions
Record of significant findings
Appropriate level of detail/complexity for organisation, and in
proportion with risk level
Period assessment will remain valid for.

Q # 5 Who should be considered in a risk assessment?

Ans: Employees, other persons such as cleaners, maintenance staff,
visitors, contractors, members of the public, vulnerable groups such as
young persons or pregnant workers,
Q # 6 How is risk evaluated?
Ans: By combining likelihood of incident with severity of outcome to give a
risk rating.
Sub Element 4.3
Q # 1 Outline the general hierarchy of control?
Ans:

Elimination.
Substitution.
Engineering controls (isolation/total enclosure, separation
segregation, partial enclosure, safety devices)
Administrative controls (SSofW, reduced exposure, IITS)
Personal protective equipment

Section End Quiz

or

Page 12 of 18

Sub Element 4.4

Q # 1 What internal sources of health and safety information are there within
an organisation?
Ans: Internal information sources:

Accident records.
Medical records.
Risk assessments.
Maintenance reports.
Safety representative inspections.
Audit reports.
Safety committee meeting minutes.

Q # 2 What external sources of information are there?

Ans: External information sources:

National legislation (e.g. regulations).

Material safety data sheets from manufacturers.
National codes of practice and guidance notes.
National and international regulatory bodies e.g. HSE in the UK,
OSHA in Europe see below for examples of their websites.
Manufacturers operating instructions.
Trade associations.
Safety journals and magazines.
Sub Element 4.5

Q # 1 What is a safe system of work?

Ans: A safe system of work is a formal procedure based on a systematic
examination of work in order to identify the hazards. It defines safe methods
of working which eliminate those hazards or minimise the risks associated with
them.
Q # 2 Who is responsible for developing safe systems of work?
Ans: The employer

Section End Quiz

Page 13 of 18

Q # 3 What are the advantages of a written procedure over a verbal one?

Ans: Ensures consistency, provides a reference for use in training, provides a
definitive document about the way the procedure should be done. Also
establishes a standard and provides a written record for use during
investigations/review by regulators
Q # 4 What are the key steps in carrying out a task analysis before
developing a safe system of work (SREDIM)
Ans: worth highlighting that they had a big clue that the examiner wouldnt
give!

Select the task to be analysed.

Record the steps or stages of the task.
Evaluate the risks associated with each step.
Develop the safe working method.
Implement the safe working method.

Q # 5 What controls might be implemented to ensure the safety of lone

working social workers?
Ans: Monitor to ensure it is effective.

No lone working for certain high risk activities (such as visiting

potentially violent service users).
Arrangements for remote supervision of workers.
Procedures for logging workers locations when visiting in the
community.
The use of mobile phones or radios to ensure good communications.
The issue of lone worker alarm systems to raise the alarm and pin-point
the worker.
Procedures to be adopted by workers when lone working.
Emergency procedures.
Training for workers in those procedures.

Section End Quiz

Page 14 of 18

Sub Element 4.6

Q # 1 What types of work require a permit to work?
Ans: The sort of high risk work that would normally be controlled by a permit
system includes:

Hot work (involving naked flames or creation of ignition sources).

Work on high voltage electrical systems.
Confined space entry.
Work on operational pipelines.
Excavating near buried services.
Maintenance work on large, complex machinery.

Q # 2 What are the key features of a permit to work document?

Ans:
Issue

Description of the work to be carried out (details of plant and location)

Assessment of hazards associated with the job
Controls required including
Additional permits
Isolation of services and supplies
PPE
Atmospheric monitoring etc
Emergency procedures

Receipt

Signature of the authorised person issuing the permit

Signature of the competent person accepting the permit (known as
signing onto the permit or receipt)

Clearance
Signature of the competent person stating that the area had been made
safe (e.g. work completed) and that they were leaving the area and
isolations could be removed (known as sign off from the permit or
clearance)
Section End Quiz

Page 15 of 18

Cancellation
Signature of the authorised person stating that the isolations had been
removed, the area had been accepted back and that the equipment can
be restarted (known as cancellation of the permit.).
Extension may be a section allowing extension of permit.
Q # 3 What are the main limitations of a permit to work system?
Ans: A good permit system is only as good as the persons using it. To work
effectively:

Only authorised persons should issue permits.

permit issuers must be familiar with the hazards of the workplace and
the job to be carried out.
Precautions must be checked before permits are authorised (no
issuing of permits from the desk!).
Permits must never be amended.
All permit conditions must be adhered to
Staff must be trained and competent
The system must be monitored to ensure that it is effective
The PTW system must be appropriate for the nature of the business e.g.
a bakery may require a less complex system than an oil rig
Sufficient time must be allowed to ensure permits are issued correctly,
and staff trained to appreciate this. Contractors for example may
become stressed if the process is time consuming, but must
appreciate that they are required to adhere to the system.

Section End Quiz

Page 16 of 18

Unit IGC 1 Element 5

Sub Element 5.1
Q # 1 What is meant by active monitoring?
Ans: Active monitoring - Active monitoring is concerned with checking
standards before an unwanted event occurs. E.g. tours, inspections. The
intention is to identify:

Conformance with standards, so that good performance is

recognised and maintained.
Non-conformance with standards, so that the reason for that nonconformance can be identified and corrective action put in place
to remedy any shortfall.

Q # 2 What is meant by reactive monitoring?

Ans: reactive monitoring is the monitoring of data generated after
something has gone wrong and learning from mistakes
Q # 3 Give examples of active monitoring techniques
Ans: safety tours, surveys, sampling, inspections, audits
Q # 4 What topics could be considered in a general workplace inspection?
Ans:
Fire safety including emergency escape routes, signs, and
extinguishers.
Housekeeping general tidiness and cleanliness.
Environment issues such as lighting, temperature, ventilation, noise.
Traffic routes safety of both vehicle and pedestrian routes.
Chemical safety appropriate use and storage of hazardous
substances.
Machinery safety such as correct use of machine guards and
interlocks.
Electrical safety such as portable electrical appliance safety.
Section End Quiz

Page 17 of 18

Welfare facilities the suitability and state of.

Q # 5 What are accident rates used for?

Ans: Accident rates allow the comparison of data between different
sites/organisations with different numbers of people

Section End Quiz

Page 18 of 18