Introduction
- You need to visit a place of work; this could be your own workplace or that of a friend or a relative.
When you are at the site you must carry out the following tasks;
Speak to workers/managers
Review documents
Look up relevant legislation
Find out a general description of what the company does and the types of activities undertaken, and the shift patterns or working hours I.E 9am – 5pm (or give the actual shift pattern worked)
How many workers there are and note down the name of the company and its site location
You also need to consider which area of the company you will use to carry out the risk assessments as this detail needs to be included
2. You then need to walk around the site and find a minimum of 10 different hazards from 5 different hazard categories.
Completing Your NG2/IG2 Paperwork
To gain a pass you must comply with certain ‘specifications’. If you don’t complete the specifications then the examiner will have to mark the part as a ‘Not met’ and this means you will be referred – even if you have only one part marked as ‘Not Met’. The specification is very precise and the examiner has no leeway, you either meet the specification or you don’t. It isn’t possible to partly meet the specification – it is all or nothing. From your point of view, you need to adopt a rigorous approach. Don’t try to telescope different parts together, or take your own approach or it will probably lead to disaster. There are no shortcuts.
I have indicated below the specification for each of the future parts and how best to achieve them, and included some of the pitfalls I come across whilst marking scripts.
Part 1
You need to write up the details of your visit and include:
| What to include (this is in the specification): | Hints: |
| The name of the organisation | Must be clearly seen or Not Met |
| The site location | Must be clearly seen or Not Met |
| How many workers | Must be clearly seen or Not Met |
| A general description of the organisation which must include details of products manufactured, activities undertaken, shift patterns worked (or hours worked) | Care is needed to ensure you give precise details. One way is to create sub-headings so you don’t miss anything out, this is just a tip and not a requirement. Many students have omitted one part of this and the examiner is then obliged to mark as ‘Not Met’. |
| A description of the area that you are using to complete the risk assessments in Part 2 | This needs to be clearly stated, so make a specific point of this. For example, ‘The area to be used for the risk is XXX’ |
Part 2
This is the risk assessment part and as mentioned above, the details I have given in the table below must be totally complied with in every respect.
| What to include (this is in the specification): | Hints: |
| The hazard category and the hazard | You must choose at least 10 hazards from 5 different hazard categories. The examiner will count these and then recount that at least 5 different hazard categories are used. If you are not sure then add another one or two hazards. Make sure your descriptions are meaningful. |
| Who might be harmed and how | You must be sure to give details of both of these. If you default by not saying ‘how’ for even one of the 10 hazards, then the examiner must mark this as a ‘Not Met’. |
| What is already being done (existing control measures) | Again, give a good description here. |
| What further controls/actions are required? | These details are given in Column 4 of Part 2, and you need to be specific here and give a description. If you wish to say that ‘No further controls are needed’ for some of the hazards that is fine. But you must include not applicable (N/A) in the next two columns or this will be a ‘Not Met’. You need to be precise when describing the control actions that are needed, as you will be using this information in Part 3 of the assessment. |
| Timescales for the implementation of the additional control measures for EACH action | It is important you are specific here. Words such as ‘As required’ will be marked ‘Not Met’. |
| The job role of the person responsible | Again, make this meaningful. |
| Further hints | There is no easier way of doing this and a rigorous approach is needed. Do not try to take shortcuts by including 2 hazards on one line. Or put things such as ‘see above’ etc. Don’t forget to include ‘Not applicable’ or (N/A) in columns 4 and 5 if you use ‘No other controls are needed’. Ensure you have at least 5 different hazards that need extra controls and state them very carefully. |
Part 3
In this part you are partly using information from the risk assessments in Part 2. You must decide on 3 actions from the risk assessment and complete the following specification as shown below.
| What to include (this is in the specification): | Hints: |
| Here clearly state the three actions you have chosen | The examiner will check back to see if these are specific actions from the further control measures given in Part 2, column 4, make it easier for the examiner and yourself by using the same wording as in Part 4. |
| For the three actions you must explain the legal, moral and financial implications of the actions | You can write this for all three actions but it is sufficient to just explain this for all the three actions together, and there is no need to explain this for each action. However, you are advised to use sub-headings i.e. 1) Moral, 2) Legal and 3) Financial. Many students have not done this and missed out one of them and this means ‘Not Met’. You need to give some specific details here. For moral explain some of the employers’ moral duties. In the financial part explain a few details of some direct and indirect costs. In the legal section explain some details of any possible legislation that could be breached. It isn’t necessary to give too many details here, just give a few of each so that the examiner can see the required evidence. |
| You need to write about the likelihood and severity of EACH of the three actions you have chosen | Don’t try to telescope these into one or it is likely you will be given ‘Not Met’. The easiest way, in my opinion, is to use sub-headings such as Action 1 and then a further sub-heading for likelihood and severity. However, you must clearly state the words likelihood and severity in the write up to gain a ‘Met’. You MUST now repeat this for the other 2 hazards. I realise that in the example that two actions were discussed it is possible to refer to actions 2 and 3 together. However, after marking scripts this has proved to be a dangerous practice for many students. You are advised to complete this for the three separate actions. |
| For EACH of the three actions you need to give a brief description of how effective each action is likely to be in controlling the risk. | Again, make this easier for yourself and the examiner by using sub-headings such as Action 1, Action 2 and Action 3. |
| Further hints | In this section don’t be tempted to give too many details as these are not necessary and won’t gain you any extra marks. Just give enough detail to satisfy the specification and make it easy for the examiner to find.Don’t be tempted to ‘telescope’ these together as it generally ends up as a ‘Not Met’. |
Part 4
You are nearly there now but don’t be tempted to rush this part as there are many chances to gain a ‘Not met’. Stick with your rigorous approach.
| What to include (this is in the specification): | Hints: |
| Give a realistic review date AND the reason you have chosen this date | Just give a sensible date AND a reason. This doesn’t need a lot of detail but will gain a ‘Not Met’ if both are not present. |
| You must indicate how the risk assessment findings will be communicated AND include who needs to know the information | Again, not too much detail is required but the examiner must clearly see ‘how’ these are communicated and who needs to know. |
| You must indicate how you will follow up on the risk assessment to check that the identified actions have been carried out | As above not much detail is needed, but make sure the examiner can clearly see these points. |
| Further hints | It has surprised me how many students have managed to get a ‘Met’ on all the above sections and then have slipped up here. The usual mistake is not to give a reason for the review date. Remember, even one ‘Not Met’ means a referral and so be careful. The examiner has no leeway in this. |
Conclusion
When completing the practical assessment follow the plan below:
- First, carefully read the example supplied as this gives you an idea of the amount of detail that is required
- Print out and use the hazard category list
- Don’t be tempted to give too many details (look at the example for guidance) however ensure you check your work in line with the details above – you could actually use the above as a ‘checklist’ when you are checking your work. Do make sure you check your work thoroughly before submission
- Don’t be tempted to ‘use bits’ from the example. All examiners use the example when marking and so it is obvious and this would be considered malpractice by NEBOSH
- Maintain a rigorous approach, it pays dividends
- Make sure you strictly follow the guidelines sent to you by RRC regarding the submission dates
- Good luck
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Eva Ainscough Env (NEBOSH) Dip, GradIOSH, CBIFM, M.Phil, M.Ed, BA, RSA(Dip)
RRC Tutor & NEBOSH Practical Assessment Marker