NEBOSH International General Certificate Paper 1 Management of Health and Safety Element 1 Health & Safety Foundations

Question and Answers 1. An organization has been found to have inadequate standards of workplace health and safety. Identify the costs that the organization may incur as a result. (8) Answer The direct costs include loss of production; plant damage, replacement and clean up activities; sick pay, recruitment and/or rehabilitation costs; enforcement actions and fines, civil claims from the injured parties and higher insurance premiums. There are also indirect costs related to poor staff morale and high staff turnover and the damage to the organizations reputation, loss of orders, production delays, time spent for subsequent investigations; and a subsequent decrease in its profitability. 2. Identify possible influences on an organizations health and safety management standards. (8) Answer The possible influences on an organizations health and safety management standards include regulatory and enforcement authorities, and individual governments, industry based standards of good/safe practice; shareholder demands and expectations; trade union demands; insurance companies; production demands, the competence and experience of the workforce and finally the commitment of members of senior management themselves in setting and enforcing high standards for their company. 3. Outline reasons for promoting and maintaining good standards of health and safety in the workplace. (8) Answer The reasons for promoting and maintaining good standards of health and safety in the workplace are the moral, legal and financial. The moral reason includes the responsibility of the employer to protect workers, others and neighbors, from occupational hazards and risks. The legal reasons are focused on to protect employees and others, by issuing prohibitions and fines. The financial reasons includes the financial losses incurred with accidents and their investigations; such as production loss, employee absence, high insurance premiums. 4. (a) Explain, giving an example in EACH case, the circumstances under which a health and safety inspector may serve: (i) an improvement notice (3) (ii) a prohibition notice. (3) 1

(b) State the effect on EACH type of enforcement notice of appealing against it. (2) Answer (a) (i) A health and safety inspector serves an improvement notice when there is a breach of relevant statutory provisions. Example: the absence of manual handling assessments absence of PPE. A health and safety inspector serves a prohibition notice if there is a risk of serious personal injury. Example a dangerous machine lacks the necessary safeguards.

(ii)

(b) the effect of an appeal against an improvement notice is to suspend the notice until the appeal is held, whereas a prohibition notice continues in force during this time. 5. Outline the key elements of a health and safety management system. (8) Answer: The key elements of the health and safety management system include Policy, which is the top management commitment with a clear statement of intent, setting the main health and safety aims and objectives of the company. Organization includes the allocation of responsibility to appropriate members of staff, with the emphasis on achieving competency, control, communication and consultation. Planning and implementation involves carrying out risk assessments, the setting of standards and targets and the introduction of appropriate control measures to achieve them. Proactive and reactive monitoring systems would need to be introduced to provide data on the achievement or non achievement of the objectives and targets set. Review and audit should be carried out to check whether the planned arrangements are being implemented and to consider options for improvement and to set new targets where necessary. 6. An organization has had an increase in the number of manual handling accidents and associated ill-health. Identify sources of information that may be available to help reduce the risks to the workers. (8) Answer Sources of information that may be available to an organization to reduce the number of manual handling accidents include International agencies such as the ILO; national enforcement agencies such as the Health and Safety Executive, EHS, Dubai Municipality guidelines; employers organizations and Trade Unions; national and international standards such as ISO; information from manufacturers, professional health and safety bodies such as IOSH; and consultation with the workers.