2008
SPECIMEN ANSWERS TO
NEBOSH IGC EXAMINATIONS
ETA Consultancy®
,Contents
Introduction ................................................................ 3
The Written Exams .................................................... 3
Length of Answers ..................................................... 3
Pass Guarantee ......................................................... 3
Paper 1 – IGC 1 ......................................................... 3
The Management of International Health and Safety
............................................................................... 3
Paper 2 – IGC 2 ....................................................... 12
The Control of International Workplace Hazards .. 12
Questions Without Answers ..................................... 18
Accidents .............................................................. 19
Communications................................................... 19
Confined Spaces .................................................. 20
Construction Activities .......................................... 20
Display Screen Equipment ................................... 21
Electricity .............................................................. 21
Fire ....................................................................... 22
Human Factors ..................................................... 23
Maintenance Activities .......................................... 23
Managing Safety .................................................. 23
Manual Handling .................................................. 24
Monitoring............................................................. 24
Movement of People ............................................ 24
Noise .................................................................... 25
Occupational Health ............................................. 26
Occupational Hygiene .......................................... 27
Health and Safety Policy ...................................... 29
Personal Protective Equipment ............................ 29
Radiation .............................................................. 29
Risk Assessment .................................................. 30
Stress ................................................................... 30
Training ................................................................ 30
Work Equipment ................................................... 31
Workplace ............................................................ 31
,Introduction ACTION VERB MEANING
In order to attain the NEBOSH International General
Certificate (IGC) candidates need to successfully pass List Provide a list without explanation
a combination of written examination papers and a
practical assessment. Outline Give the most important features
of (less depth than either
The IGC is assessed by two written examination ‘explain’ or ‘describe’, but more
papers: depth than ‘list’)
• IGC 1 – The Management of International Health
Sketch Provide a simple line drawing
and Safety,
using labels to identify specific
• IGC 2 – Control of International Workplace features
Hazards, and
State A less demanding form of
• IGC 3 – International Health and Safety Practical ‘define’, or where there is no
Application (commonly referred to as the generally recognised definition.
Practical Assessment).
Of all of these action verbs it is usually found that
The third aspect mentioned above, IGC 3 the
‘outline’ is the one candidate’s have the biggest
Practical Assessment, is covered by another
problem with. As a consequence this will be of
publication for candidates studying with ETA
particular focus in this publication.
Consultancy.
Both of the written examination papers will be Length of Answers
discussed in this publication specially formulated for This is a really difficult point to answer, as the
candidates studying with ETA Consultancy. expected length of some answers will be longer than
In this publication a series of specimen answers are others.
given for each of the written papers so that candidates As a general guide, for the long answer question on
will be able to appreciate how to approach their an examination paper, it should take the candidate
examinations. about 25 minutes to answer, and equate to around
From the outset it must be noted that there is no one and a half pages (between 170 and 250 words).
unique answers to any question set in an
examination, all that is intended in this document is to
Pass Guarantee
provide a guide to the depth and breadth expected by No-one can 100% promise a pass to candidates, but
the examiners. by following the guidance given here and that given to
candidates in the learning sessions that they attend,
The Written Exams including home study a comfortable pass should not
Candidates for the written examination always be difficult to obtain. However, candidates should
experience difficulty with the action verbs called for in never give just enough effort to obtain a pass, they
questions. It is useful for candidates to remember the need to aim for a credit or higher.
following:
Paper 1 – IGC 1
ACTION VERB MEANING The Management of International
Define Provide a generally recognised
Health and Safety
or accepted definition Outline which factors to consider while carrying out
the risk assessment
Describe Give a word picture
Factors to identify:
Explain Give a clear account of, or
• Competence of person doing the assessment –
reasons for
the person undertaking the risk assessment must
possess the right competencies especially that of
Give Provide without explanation
knowing their own ability to be able to recognise
(used normally with the
the risks that may be present.
instruction to ‘give an example
[or examples] of ...’) • Activities being undertaken – the crucial first step
of risk assessment. A tour of the work area being
Identify Select and name assessed is essential.
3
, • Hazards involved – Only significant hazards, • Changes to production scale, being output levels,
which could result in serious harm to people hours worked, shift working
should be identified. Trivial hazards can be
• New information on hazardous substances or
ignored.
processes. This may cam to light from
• Likelihood and severity of the harm that may be manufacturers MSDS, web research, trade
caused announcements, etc
• Number of employees exposed and exposure • Accidents or ill-health becoming apparent from
frequency – Employees and contractors who investigations made say following absence
work at the workplace are the most obvious reviews
groups at risk. However, there may be other
• Results of monitoring, inspections, audits and
groups who spend time to time on site i.e.
health surveillance of the workplace concerned,
maintenance workers, members of the public,
or similar work situations elsewhere
etc. There are also special groups that require
particular attention, examples here include • Changes in legislation or accepted best practice
expectant mothers, young people, persons with
disabilities, etc. • Changes affecting personnel i.e. disabilities,
young persons and pregnancy
• Competence of persons carrying out activities –
tied in with the above the competences of the • At routine intervals i.e. 6 monthly or yearly
persons engaged on work tasks needs to be reviews
considered, have they been trained, is retraining
Outline possible consequences of not achieving good
required, etc.
standards of health and safety.
• Evaluation of existing control measures – During
Recognition of the financial and legal implications of
most risk assessments it will be noted that some
poor health and safety performance should be
of the risks posed by the hazard have already
outlined, and include the following considerations:
been addressed and controlled. The
effectiveness of these controls needs to be • Costs of accidents and ill-health in terms of lost
assessed so that an estimate of the residual risk production
(that left after existing controls have been
• Loss of key personnel due to accidents and or ill
considered) can be made
health or even leaving the company for safer
The goal of risk assessment being to reduce all environments (next point)
residual risks to as low a level as reasonably
• Replacement staff costs to cater for those off
practicable
work due to ill health or injury or those leaving the
Explain what is required for the assessment to be business to go elsewhere for fear of their health
‘suitable and sufficient’ and safety
Here there are a number of considerations to be • Investigation costs relating to accidents and
made, these will include: incidents are a lot higher than management and
others realise
• It should identify the significant risks arising out of
the work activity • Higher insurance premiums will result if the
claims history or risk rating of the company is
• It should identify and prioritise the measures that
adverse
need to be taken to comply with relevant statutory
(legal) provisions • Equipment/plant damage and replacement costs
• It should be appropriate to the nature of the work • Legal defence costs that need to be paid in order
for a defence to be made by the organisation
• It should remain valid for a reasonable period of
time • Fines for breaches of health and safety
compliance
Identify the various circumstances that may require
the risk assessment to be reviewed at a later date • Possible imprisonment of persons at various
levels for not adhering to the required level of
There are a range of circumstances that require a
legislative compliance i.e. duty of care.
review of a risk assessment to be undertaken, some
of these will include: • Product quality could be affected, as persons
who feel that they are not being suitably
• Changes to work processes or methods
protected will not have the same degree of care
• Introduction of any new plant or process
4
SPECIMEN ANSWERS TO
NEBOSH IGC EXAMINATIONS
ETA Consultancy®
,Contents
Introduction ................................................................ 3
The Written Exams .................................................... 3
Length of Answers ..................................................... 3
Pass Guarantee ......................................................... 3
Paper 1 – IGC 1 ......................................................... 3
The Management of International Health and Safety
............................................................................... 3
Paper 2 – IGC 2 ....................................................... 12
The Control of International Workplace Hazards .. 12
Questions Without Answers ..................................... 18
Accidents .............................................................. 19
Communications................................................... 19
Confined Spaces .................................................. 20
Construction Activities .......................................... 20
Display Screen Equipment ................................... 21
Electricity .............................................................. 21
Fire ....................................................................... 22
Human Factors ..................................................... 23
Maintenance Activities .......................................... 23
Managing Safety .................................................. 23
Manual Handling .................................................. 24
Monitoring............................................................. 24
Movement of People ............................................ 24
Noise .................................................................... 25
Occupational Health ............................................. 26
Occupational Hygiene .......................................... 27
Health and Safety Policy ...................................... 29
Personal Protective Equipment ............................ 29
Radiation .............................................................. 29
Risk Assessment .................................................. 30
Stress ................................................................... 30
Training ................................................................ 30
Work Equipment ................................................... 31
Workplace ............................................................ 31
,Introduction ACTION VERB MEANING
In order to attain the NEBOSH International General
Certificate (IGC) candidates need to successfully pass List Provide a list without explanation
a combination of written examination papers and a
practical assessment. Outline Give the most important features
of (less depth than either
The IGC is assessed by two written examination ‘explain’ or ‘describe’, but more
papers: depth than ‘list’)
• IGC 1 – The Management of International Health
Sketch Provide a simple line drawing
and Safety,
using labels to identify specific
• IGC 2 – Control of International Workplace features
Hazards, and
State A less demanding form of
• IGC 3 – International Health and Safety Practical ‘define’, or where there is no
Application (commonly referred to as the generally recognised definition.
Practical Assessment).
Of all of these action verbs it is usually found that
The third aspect mentioned above, IGC 3 the
‘outline’ is the one candidate’s have the biggest
Practical Assessment, is covered by another
problem with. As a consequence this will be of
publication for candidates studying with ETA
particular focus in this publication.
Consultancy.
Both of the written examination papers will be Length of Answers
discussed in this publication specially formulated for This is a really difficult point to answer, as the
candidates studying with ETA Consultancy. expected length of some answers will be longer than
In this publication a series of specimen answers are others.
given for each of the written papers so that candidates As a general guide, for the long answer question on
will be able to appreciate how to approach their an examination paper, it should take the candidate
examinations. about 25 minutes to answer, and equate to around
From the outset it must be noted that there is no one and a half pages (between 170 and 250 words).
unique answers to any question set in an
examination, all that is intended in this document is to
Pass Guarantee
provide a guide to the depth and breadth expected by No-one can 100% promise a pass to candidates, but
the examiners. by following the guidance given here and that given to
candidates in the learning sessions that they attend,
The Written Exams including home study a comfortable pass should not
Candidates for the written examination always be difficult to obtain. However, candidates should
experience difficulty with the action verbs called for in never give just enough effort to obtain a pass, they
questions. It is useful for candidates to remember the need to aim for a credit or higher.
following:
Paper 1 – IGC 1
ACTION VERB MEANING The Management of International
Define Provide a generally recognised
Health and Safety
or accepted definition Outline which factors to consider while carrying out
the risk assessment
Describe Give a word picture
Factors to identify:
Explain Give a clear account of, or
• Competence of person doing the assessment –
reasons for
the person undertaking the risk assessment must
possess the right competencies especially that of
Give Provide without explanation
knowing their own ability to be able to recognise
(used normally with the
the risks that may be present.
instruction to ‘give an example
[or examples] of ...’) • Activities being undertaken – the crucial first step
of risk assessment. A tour of the work area being
Identify Select and name assessed is essential.
3
, • Hazards involved – Only significant hazards, • Changes to production scale, being output levels,
which could result in serious harm to people hours worked, shift working
should be identified. Trivial hazards can be
• New information on hazardous substances or
ignored.
processes. This may cam to light from
• Likelihood and severity of the harm that may be manufacturers MSDS, web research, trade
caused announcements, etc
• Number of employees exposed and exposure • Accidents or ill-health becoming apparent from
frequency – Employees and contractors who investigations made say following absence
work at the workplace are the most obvious reviews
groups at risk. However, there may be other
• Results of monitoring, inspections, audits and
groups who spend time to time on site i.e.
health surveillance of the workplace concerned,
maintenance workers, members of the public,
or similar work situations elsewhere
etc. There are also special groups that require
particular attention, examples here include • Changes in legislation or accepted best practice
expectant mothers, young people, persons with
disabilities, etc. • Changes affecting personnel i.e. disabilities,
young persons and pregnancy
• Competence of persons carrying out activities –
tied in with the above the competences of the • At routine intervals i.e. 6 monthly or yearly
persons engaged on work tasks needs to be reviews
considered, have they been trained, is retraining
Outline possible consequences of not achieving good
required, etc.
standards of health and safety.
• Evaluation of existing control measures – During
Recognition of the financial and legal implications of
most risk assessments it will be noted that some
poor health and safety performance should be
of the risks posed by the hazard have already
outlined, and include the following considerations:
been addressed and controlled. The
effectiveness of these controls needs to be • Costs of accidents and ill-health in terms of lost
assessed so that an estimate of the residual risk production
(that left after existing controls have been
• Loss of key personnel due to accidents and or ill
considered) can be made
health or even leaving the company for safer
The goal of risk assessment being to reduce all environments (next point)
residual risks to as low a level as reasonably
• Replacement staff costs to cater for those off
practicable
work due to ill health or injury or those leaving the
Explain what is required for the assessment to be business to go elsewhere for fear of their health
‘suitable and sufficient’ and safety
Here there are a number of considerations to be • Investigation costs relating to accidents and
made, these will include: incidents are a lot higher than management and
others realise
• It should identify the significant risks arising out of
the work activity • Higher insurance premiums will result if the
claims history or risk rating of the company is
• It should identify and prioritise the measures that
adverse
need to be taken to comply with relevant statutory
(legal) provisions • Equipment/plant damage and replacement costs
• It should be appropriate to the nature of the work • Legal defence costs that need to be paid in order
for a defence to be made by the organisation
• It should remain valid for a reasonable period of
time • Fines for breaches of health and safety
compliance
Identify the various circumstances that may require
the risk assessment to be reviewed at a later date • Possible imprisonment of persons at various
levels for not adhering to the required level of
There are a range of circumstances that require a
legislative compliance i.e. duty of care.
review of a risk assessment to be undertaken, some
of these will include: • Product quality could be affected, as persons
who feel that they are not being suitably
• Changes to work processes or methods
protected will not have the same degree of care
• Introduction of any new plant or process
4
