Posts tagged phoenix
Prize Draw Winners Announced for June – have you won?
010 months ago
by Jack Kane
in Prize Draw
Here’s the winners for June…
You could win like these lucky people…
Pat Thomson – wins a NEBOSH Certificate (distance learning) donated by Phoenix Health and Safety. What’s even better is you get to choose which certificate you want to study!
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George Jacob – wins a NEBOSH Certificate (eLearning) with the training provider SHEilds Ltd. What’s even better is you get to choose which certificate you want to study!
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Ellie Paleman – wins a NEBOSH General Certificate (eLearning) course donated by Wise Global Training Ltd!
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Brian Wilson – wins a NEBOSH Diploma, choose from either health & safety or environmental (distance learning) donated by Ritchies Training Centre!
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via Health and Safety for Beginners Prize Draw – NO Catch – NO Fee – It’s FREE!!.
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NEBOSH Exam Worked Example
0Published on 5 March 2006
OK we’ve talked about all the theory – now let’s put it all together and try to give a perfect answer to a recent exam question:
“Volunteers are involved in collecting bags of books, clothes and other donated goods from householders. The bags are loaded into vans for delivery to a chain of charity shops. Explain how the charity should assess the risks to the charity workers, identifying the particular issues that would need to be considered at each stage of the assessment” (NEBOSH Diploma Part One, June 2003)
First things first – look at the action verbs. You are being asked to explain how the problem should be assessed and identify the particular issues at key stages.
Re-read the question now, and underline your key signposts:
“Volunteers (unskilled, no selection criteria?) are involved in collecting bags (manual handling – size, weight, shape etc.) of books, clothes and other donated goods from householders (violence, dogs etc.). The bags are loaded into vans (driven by who? Vehicle hazards) for delivery to a chain of charity shops. Explain how the charity should assess the risks (assess the risks, not control them) to the charity workers, identifying the particular issues that would need to be considered at each stage of the assessment” (NEBOSH Diploma Part One, June 2003).
As this question is essentially about how to carry out a risk assessment, the 5 steps approach would be a good structure to follow. This question was worth 20 marks, so a plan would be in order:
PLAN1. Identify hazards
Manual Handling
Violence
Animals
Contents of bags
Vehicles
2. Decide who can be harmed
Volunteers – old, untrained, health problems, how many?
3. Evaluate risks
Probability/severity
Frequency/duration
Evaluate existing controls
Legal requirements
4. Record
5. Review
ANSWERNo need for a flowery intro about how many injuries are cause by manual handling or where risk assessment comes from – just get on with it!!
IDENTIFY THE HAZARDSThe first stage of a risk assessment is concerned with identifying hazards, which in this case may be as follows:
Violent assault by members of the public or being attacked by dangerous dogs
Musculoskeletal disorders caused by lifting bags or constraints on posture when working inside the vans
Injuries caused by the contents of the bags e.g. sharps or chemicals
Slips, trips and falls due to uneven surfaces, kerbs, steps etc.
Traffic accidents involving the vans, especially if they were poorly maintained or the bags caused an obstruction inside
Vans being struck by other road vehicles
Poor lighting due to work in the evenings or in autumn/winter
Weather conditions could be a problem especially if particularly hot, wet, cold or windy
Lone working which may result in a lack of communication between volunteers and their supervisors
Manual handling would be the major hazard due to a variety of factors: The bags may have to be carried for long distances and there will be a large amount of repetitive handling. Lots of stooping and twisting may also be required inside the van. The bags themselves may be heavy or bulky, and as their contents are unknown, may be unstable or unpredictable.
PEOPLE AT RISKThe next stage is to consider how many people are affected by the risk, and who they are.
Volunteers may well be elderly and are likely to be retired. This means that they may have existing health problems and may not be as strong as they once were. Pregnant women or young people would also be at increased risk.
EVALUATE THE RISKSTo come up with a level of risk, there are several factors which need to be considered:
The likely severity of injury if an accident were to happen, for example a slipped disc might be an outcome of a manual handling injury
The probability that an accident was going to occur
The duration and frequency of exposure to the hazards
Existing control measures should be evaluated to assess their effectiveness. These may be things such as manual handling training, supervision, mechanical aids etc.
The law should be considered to see if more needs to be done. The relevant law here are the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regs (Risk Assessment) and the Manual Handling Regs
RECORD FINDINGSThe significant findings of the risk assessment should be recorded and information on these findings should be provided to employees
REVIEWThe risk assessment should be reviewed when there is reason to believe that it is no longer valid. This may be for a variety of reasons, e.g.:
Lapse of time
Enforcement action
An accident has occurred
There you go – 20 marks to start you off with! Too many students didn’t use the 5 steps approach so didn’t think widely enough to get good marks. Lots also gave long lists of how to control hazards, which was not asked for and so attracted no marks.
You can read the potted guide to taking NEBOSH exams to help you along by clicking the following link, or by browsing the articles section:
A Potted Guide to Taking NEBOSH Exams
Well that’s about all the help I can give you, so it just remains to say:
Good Luck!
Nick Higginson MSc CMIOSH Dip2.OSH SpDipEM MIIRSM
via NEBOSH Exam Worked Example.
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Health and Safety Prize Draw – March winners announced!
02 years ago
2011 prize draw is here! Here are this month’s winners! Check your inbox for your winning email.
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Mark Wilkinson – One NEBOSH General Certificiate (distance learning) donated byHealth Environment and Risk Training
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Adrian Shaw – One IOSH Managing Safely (eLearning) course donated by Wise Global Training Ltd
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Robin De Beaufort – NEBOSH Certificate (distance learning) donated by Phoenix Health and Safety. What’s even better is you get to choose which certificate you want to study!
>>>>
via Health and Safety for Beginners Prize Draw – NO Catch – NO Fee – It’s FREE!!.
Spread the word, please share:
Passing NEBOSH Diploma Exams by Nick Higginson
0Passing NEBOSH Diploma Exams by Nick Higginson.
Originally Published on 2 June 2007
Introduction
There is a certain degree of stigma attached to NEBOSH exams, which is certainly not helped by the notoriously low pass rates. It cannot be denied that they are very demanding, but would the qualifications be worth obtaining if assessment were via a simple multiple-choice exam? Whatever the merits of other health & safety qualifications, it cannot be argued that NEBOSH awards are still the number one choice of most prospective employers.
Despite what some say, it is not possible to learn the course material parrot fashion for the final exam. However, with hard work and an understanding of key concepts and basic principles, there is no need for any exam paper to be the cause of nightmares. Everyone studies in their own way, but the following are some general guidelines that just may make the difference between a referral and a pass with flying colours.
The “Blue Book” (Guide to the NEBOSH Diploma)
The “Blue Book” is vitally important as it details the syllabus of the NEBOSH Diploma. It should be used to guide your studies AND revision. Your ultimate aim should be to be able to talk a little about every section of the contents. Note that we said “talk about”, not write an essay on!
Exam questions are based on the expected learning outcomes detailed in the blue book, so if it’s in the book, it could be in the exam.
Making Notes
When working through the course notes, you should ideally (time permitting) be making your own notes as well. Do not rewrite the course notes in full! This makes your studies become a chore to be dreaded and page after page of unbroken text will be next to useless as a revision tool. Try and make your notes light-hearted, easy to read and brief – use as many diagrams, pictures and real life examples as you can think of.
You should be using the blue book as a guide to note making – remember it details what you are expected to learn from each study unit.
Revision
If you have made good quality notes when working through the course notes, they will be invaluable when you are revising for your exams. Don’t worry if the notes you made are too brief – if there’s a section you don’t understand, just reach for the course notes and re-read the relevant parts.
It will help things sink in if you do some “active” studying rather than just reading. Try talking things through with colleagues, making Powerpoint presentations (see picture) or making your own databases e.g. case law, disasters or legislation.
Identifying Weaknesses
Although it may be a painful exercise, work your way through the blue book and try to identify all your weak areas. If you know a subject well, you will still know it when the exams come. When you know what you’re weak areas are, you can start working on improving them, so should the worst happen and an exam question appears, you’ll at least be confident enough to have a go.
Exam Question Practice
The best way of preparing for what you will have to face on exam day is by practising exam questions. You can work under exam conditions if you wish, but it will be of great help to just get to know what the examiners are looking for and how to go about structuring your exam questions.
NEBOSH produce examiners reports for many exam sittings, which detail exam questions, expected answers and where many candidates went wrong. It is fair to say that certain questions (and types of question) often reappear in exams – good preparation may give you a vital head start.
If you want to have a go at some exam questions, but don’t have suggested answers, many tutors will be prepared to have a look at them and give you some feedback – contact your tutor for advice.
A word of warning – don’t let exam day be the first time you attempt an exam question! .
Exam Technique
Finally, onto exam techniques itself. All NEBOSH questions have an “action verb” and this provides a tip to how much detail should be included in the answer:
- Questions starting with “Outline”, “Identify” or “List” indicate that little depth is required. Even so, there is a difference between the instructions. If you provide a simple list when an outline was asked for, you will be unable to pick up maximum marks.
- Questions starting with “Describe” or “Explain” require much greater depth – a “bullet-point” answer will probably not be detailed enough to gain full marks.
- Occasionally, exam questions will give you a specific instruction e.g. draft a management brief. In this case, marks would be available for explaining and justifying your arguments so that a person unfamiliar with health & safety would be able to understand.
For the longer questions (20 marks and above), it is important to start your answer with some sort of plan – this might be a table, flow chart, mind-map etc. It will help you make sure you cover all the points in your answer. When you are ready to start your answer, just draw a line under your plan and carry on. Don’t cross the plan out – you may get some marks for it if you miss something out of your answer.
Depending on the exam you are taking, you will be allowed a certain time limit. Before you sit the exam, work out how much time this allows you for each question and STICK TO IT. Don’t be tempted to keep writing and writing because you know a subject well – there are no marks for “star quality”, like knowing when Lord Robens’ birthday is. The majority of the marks you pick up will be in the first few sentences. Similarly, if you don’t know a question, don’t leave it blank. Give yourself the time you have allowed, think through it and try to structure an attempt at an answer – those 2 or 3 marks you manage to grab here might just make the difference.
Phoenix Health & Safety
T: 0845 500 8811 E: info@phoenixhsc.co.uk
www.phoenixhsc.co.uk
Nick Higginson MSc CMIOSH Dip2.OSH SpDipEM MIIRSM
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A Potted Guide to Taking NEBOSH Exams
1A potted guide to taking NEBOSH exams by Phoenix Health & Safety
via A Potted Guide to Taking NEBOSH Exams.
Originally Published on 5 March 2006
Introduction
It’s a well-known fact in health & safety that NEBOSH exams are tough, but that’s not to say they are impossible. The guidance that follows is intended to give you some final key pointers for the big day, and coupled with a comprehensive study and revision programme, should get you through just fine.
Action Verbs
Take note of the “action verb” at the start of each question. As a general rule, if a question asks you to “Identify”, “state” or “list” then a simple list will do. If however, the question asks for “outline”, “describe” or “explain”, then your answer should be in sentences, preferably with an example to illustrate.
Read the Question
The clue is in the question! However simple it may seem, make sure you read the question properly, maybe even underlining key points (you can write on your question papers). It is imperative that you answer the question that has been set, not the one you wish had been set.
Keep it Brief
We have already said that you must comply with the action verb, but do not be tempted to waffle on or give long introductions to your answer – this is not required. If a question asks for control measures for working at height, that is what will be on the marking scheme. There will be no marks available for introducing your answer with statistics on numbers injured falling from height.
There are no marks for “star quality” or knowing Lord Roben’s birthday – just answer the question.
Structure
Certain questions allow you to give your answers in a certain structure. Sometimes there will be marks available for just using the structure, but even if they are not, the structure will help you think a little more laterally.
As an example, if the question relates to risk assessment, it is helpful to go through the 5 steps of risk assessment. This applies whether the question relates to a specific situation or type of risk assessment e.g. manual handling, fire, COSHH etc.
If the question is about human factors, then split your answer into Organisation, Job and Individual factors.
For questions about management systems or strategies, split the answer into the elements of HSG65.
If the question relates to reasons for improving safety, structure the answer into moral, economic and legal factors.
Plan Ahead
For the longer questions (20 markers or case studies), then an answer plan should be prepared. This is a simple outline of what you will cover in your answer. It might be bullet points, or a mind-map – whatever suits you.
When you’re done, draw a line under it and start putting your plan into proper sentences.
“Bankers”
This is important. There are certain answers which will be relevant time and time again, for example: risk assessment, training, supervision, PPE etc. Put reproducing this list without relating it to the specific question will not gain marks – let’s look at some examples to illustrate the point:
“Outline the precautions to be taken when a minor repair is to be carried out on a fragile roof” (NEBOSH Diploma Part One, June 1998).
Carry out a risk assessment – 0 marks
Carry out an initial risk assessment to identify the hazards from roof work and decide on the necessary precautions – 1 mark
Provide adequate information, instruction and training – 0 marks
Provide information, instruction and training on the hazards and associated precautions involved in roof work – 1 mark
Provide suitable PPE – 0 marks
Provide PPE for groups at risk, e.g. hard hats for people below – 1 mark
Provide adequate levels supervision – 0 marks
Provide adequate supervision to ensure that the method statement/safe system of work is followed – 1 mark
Timing
Question timing is vital to success. You cannot afford to spend too long on some questions, to the detriment of others. The approximate timings you should try to stick to are as follows:
Diploma 1 Paper 1
Action Timing
Read through exam paper 5 minutes
15 Short answer questions (10 marks) 9 minutes each
Check answers 10 minutes
Diploma 1 Paper 2
Action Timing
Read through exam paper 10 minutes
5 Long answer questions (20 marks) 25 minutes each
Check answers 15 minutes
Diploma 2 Paper 1
Action Timing
Read through exam paper 5 minutes
10 Short answer questions (10 marks) 8 minutes each
Case study (100 marks) 1 hr 20 minutes
Check answers 15 minutes
Diploma 2 Paper 2
Action Timing
Read through exam paper 10 minutes
5 Long answer questions (20 marks) 30 minutes each
Check answers 20 minutes
For Cert, on a 2 hour paper 120 minutes
100 marks (20 x 1, 8 x 10)
Approx 1 mark a minute
5 minutes, read paper,
20-25 minutes 20 pointer
10 x 8 minutes short questions
10 minutes, check paper
Of course these are not precise, but are useful as a general guide. Even if you are an expert on a particular subject, there is no benefit on writing reams and reams on the answer – use your allocated time and move on. Similarly, if you get a question where you have no idea, try not to leave it blank and move on – use your allocated time and try to get something down. Maybe a couple of “bankers” might be relevant? Those couple of points may just make the difference.
Legislation/Case Law
Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to be a law expert or have a photographic memory to pass NEBOSH exams. What you do need though, is a grasp of fundamental principles of legislation and case law, and be able to relate them to different scenarios. It is not important to remember the precise years of legislation or case law (although if you forget the year of the Health & Safety at Work Act, do you expect to pass????). Neither is it a requirement to learn regulation numbers off by heart – if you could say, for example, that the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regs require all employers to carry out risk assessments, or the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regs require all work equipment to be maintained, that will suffice.
Abbreviations are fine, but give their title in full to start with e.g. The Personal Protective Equipment Regs (PPE) require employers to provide PPE to employees where required.
Check your Answers
As with any exam, leave yourself some time at the end to go through your answers. Make sure you have answered the question that was asked and add any extra points that have occurred to you – it can’t hurt, and they may just make the difference!
At the end of the day it’s a numbers game. You need 45% to pass, anything else is just icing on the cake. Answer half the twenty pointer well, along with three good answers from the 8 pointers (like lists or identify) and you’re at 35 marks already. Only 10 marks to go from 7 other 8 pointers and you’re there…..
The majority of the questions will be outline, a couple of explain/describe and 2-3 list identify. The list/identifys are the easy money. The outlines should be too.
I’ll start a new post with a worked example to help you along.
You can read the worked example to help you along by clicking the following link, or by browsing the articles section:
Above all don’t panic.
Good luck
Nick Higginson MSc CMIOSH Dip2.OSH SpDipEM MIIRSM
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