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Tag Archives: nebosh

Affective Safety Management by Dr. Tim Marsh

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Nick Anderson

Having read this book – Affective Safety Management by Dr. Tim Marsh, I thoroughly recommend it to any NEBOSH student as part of their studies around behavioural health and safety techniques.

affective safety management

affective safety management

I remember attending one of his workshops at the IOSH Conference in Manchester a couple of years ago and was captivated by his knowledge, passion and sense of humour. His writing certainly reflects his presentation style and it makes for a very informative and entertaining read.

Many of the models referenced in the NEBOSH text books are also discussed at length.

You can buy the book via Amazon by clicking here. (Amazon description follows…)

“Now in its third print run the Affective Safety Management (ASM) handbook has sold thousands of copies and is currently being used at various levels including as a key training material for large organisations.

The ASM handbook covers both the theory of Affective Safety Management as well as the application of Affective Safety Management. The handbook has been written by Dr Tim Marsh who is a leading authority on the topic of behavioural safety and has worked with over 150 major organisations around the world.”

Posted in Resources | Tags: affective safety management, behavioural safety, books, nebosh | Leave a comment |

NEBOSH Exam Question Tips

Posted on January 4, 2015 by Nick Anderson

Click the download link below for full PDF of NEBOSH GC, IGC, and Diploma exam tips and pointers.

These are not answers to questions, but bullet pointed notes which will point you in the right direction, and may prove useful as a study / revision aid. 

Download the NEBOSH Exam Question Tips PDF here.

Posted in Resources | Tags: diploma, IGC, International Diploma, nebosh, NGC | Leave a comment |

Top Tips for NEBOSH Diploma Unit D Assignment

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Nick Anderson

1. Plan for Success

Before you even pick up a pen, think carefully about the workplace or organisation you are choosing to base your research assignment on. It should be large enough to provide an opportunity for a review of the health and safety management system as well as providing a sufficiently wide range of hazards in the areas covered by Units B and C as these will be identified and prioritised in your report. If the organisation you have chosen is very large, why not make your study more manageable by looking at a limited department or division rather than the entire organisation?

Once you have pinpointed the organisation you wish to use, start by making sure you fully understand the brief and then come up with a plan of how you intend to approach your study, which you can then discuss with your NEBOSH tutor. While they will not be able to read and amend your review, they should be able to tell you whether or not your proposal has sufficient depth and breadth of content to meet the NEBOSH Diploma level, and let you know whether or not you are heading in the right direction!

2. Style and Substance

It goes without saying that you should be writing in a formal style as expected for a report to management. Having said that, the report should be as easy to read as possible, so resist the temptation of using unnecessary technical jargon when a clear and concise explanation will suffice – remember, it’s a human being and not a machine that will be marking your work!

It’s also worth bearing in mind that the purpose of the report is to demonstrate that you have a firm understanding of the subject matter, so think about how you choose to present information. Sometimes bullet points or a table will be enough to convey a point, sometimes not – the important thing is to organise your work into paragraphs so that chunks of text are avoided and to try and think outside the box in terms of presentation in order to keep your report stimulating and reader friendly.

3. Think Marks!

 Even though Unit D is a written report rather than an exam, it is still good practice to approach the assignment as you would a test paper. This means you should be aware that marks are awarded both for the range of factors considered and the quality of treatment and so you need to ensure an appropriate balance between range and depth. It is important to remember that a large range of factors treated superficially will not be rewarded with high marks – think quality not quantity!

4. Executive Summary

For those a little confused about the Executive Summary, you can simply think of it as an overview of the important points of your work, with a summary of the main conclusions and recommendations of your review.

It should be targeted at a person who is not necessarily an expert in the field and very briefly state the implications of your review for the organisation; including any costs involved and inform the reader of the proposed cause of action and the benefits – all presented in a non-technical, reader-friendly style, suitable for a busy senior manager to read on the fly. If in doubt the golden rule is: Simple but persuasive!

The Executive Summary should be written after the rest of your report and then inserted at the beginning. It is also the only part of the report which is length limited and should be no longer than one side of A4 using single-spaced Arial font. 10% of the marks available for the Executive Summary will be deducted for text covering up to an additional one-quarter of a page, with a further 10% for each additional quarter of a page submitted as part of the executive summary, so always be sure to plan ahead and keep it succinct if you don’t want to drop unnecessary marks.

5. First Impressions

They say that first impressions count, and the introduction to your report is no different! Your introduction should clearly set out your aims and objectives, which will help orientate the reader as well as keeping you on track. A good introduction will also help when it comes to writing your conclusion, providing you with a clear benchmark of objectives to refer back to and evaluate your success.

Your introduction should also include a clear description of your methodology, including your methods of research, as well as providing a description of your chosen organisation or workplace in order to set the context for the report. This should include the size and nature of the organisation, the employment profile, the work patterns and production schedules employed, as well as any special situations that are likely to have an impact on health and safety. If you have chosen a very large company (see point 1) you should also state which department or division you will be looking at.

You are also required to outline legislation and case law relevant to the organisation and this can also be included in your introduction. However, remember you are being marked on your ability to put these in the context of the development of an effective health and safety management programme. An exhaustive list of statutes, regulations etc is not expected.

6. Know your Hazards

As part of the assignment, you are required to identify at least 15 significant hazards from across a range of categories and prioritise them. You can then justify the choice of each hazard by using a system to assign levels of importance to each of the hazards identified. Remember: A full risk assessment is not needed on each hazard.

Once you have identified these hazards (which should be across a range of categories relevant to the organisation), you then need to prioritise two as being high priority – one physical hazard and the other relating to health and welfare. As a rule you should consider physical hazards as those covered in Unit C and health and welfare hazards as those covered in Unit B.

7. Specify Risks

The risk assessments that are required for the unit must be completed on the chosen hazards you have previously identified. You then need to evaluate the effectiveness of the organisation in controlling the risks and offer proposals to further control the hazard and reduce the risks – be sure to make use of any existing data for hazards that have already been quantified, for example noise control.

Also, make sure to briefly describe the methodology you adopted for each risk assessment and be sure to reference any relevant publications, legislation, ACOPs and other technical documents you consulted.  Remember – if you’re striving for high marks you need to avoid presenting a generic risk assessment model when a specific risk assessment is required due to the nature of the hazard!

8. Summing up

It almost goes without saying, but your conclusion should offer a concise summary of your findings in the main body of the report – this is not the time to introduce any new ideas!

A good conclusion should start by referring back to the aims and objectives you set out at the beginning of your report, evaluating how well they were achieved. The rest of the conclusion should follow on logically from the findings in the main body, being sure to cover every finding in the main report. A good tip is to print out a rough copy of the report and highlight all of your findings – that way you can be sure you don’t miss any.

9. Recommendations Vs Action Planning

 Like your conclusion, recommendations should lead on logically from your report and not come as a complete surprise to the reader. Recommendations need to be justified, complete (i.e. cover all the main findings), practical and include a cost benefit analysis – in other words what the organisation will gain set against the costs involved.

Recommendations also need to be prioritised – for example you could look at which hazards represent the highest risk, or which will be the easiest, or most cost efficient to implement. However you choose to prioritise your recommendations, make sure you explain the system you have used.

Action planning on the other hand is the tool through which your recommendations will be implemented. It is not a list of recommendations. Your action plans should include actions that need to take place to reduce the risks associated with the hazard, outlining the person responsibility for implementing the action, cost and timescale. Remember – staff time costs money!

While there is no set format to present your action plans, a table is often the most successful format because it is easy to see that all of the requirements have been included.

Finally, try and make your targets SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound) and don’t forget to address every recommendation with an action plan – there’s no point in making a recommendation then not doing anything about it!

And last but not least…

 10. …Relax!

Unit D is all about bringing together the knowledge and understanding you have gained during units A, B and C. As long as you plan ahead and manage your time effectively there’s no reason you shouldn’t achieve success in the NEBOSH Diploma.

Post shared from RospaWorkplaceSafety.com

Posted in Resources | Tags: diploma, nebosh, resources, unit d | 2 Comments |

Pass your NEBOSH exam using these top tips

Posted on July 5, 2014 by Nick Anderson

Pass your NEBOSH exam using these top tips from RoSPA trainers (who also have experience marking NEBOSH exams) and a recent RoSPA delegate, Roxanne. They helped her to pass her NEBOSH exam – with disctintion no less – so hopefully they’ll help you too!

1.) Keep your eye on the prize

Yes, it’s a lot of work, and yes it’s usually on-top of all your work work, but the reality is that these days, and in this economic climate, the right qualifications are more important than ever.

In the latest poll, 88% of RoSPA Members’ agreed that a nationally recognised health and safety qualification helps career progression, and you only need to spend a few minutes scouring the Institute of Safety and Health’s jobs pages to be reassured that a NEBOSH qualification really will help open doors. With this in mind, focus on the task in hand and prioritise accordingly. Far better to pass first time than to waste time re-sitting.

2.) Know what you’re getting yourself in to!

The National General Certificate is divided into 3 units, the first two of which, NGC1 and NGC2 are assessed by written exam. In order to maximise your point earning potential you need to understand how scores are generated. Remember:

  • Each exam lasts two hours
  • Each consists of 10 short answer questions and 1 long answer question
  • The short answer questions are each worth 8 marks, and the long answer question is worth 20 marks
  • Time wise, this means that you should give yourself 8-10 minutes for the short answer questions and 20 minutes for the long answer question. Our delegates tell us they find it useful to take their own watch into the exam, and have it visible on their desk, it helps them keep to time
  • All questions are compulsory.

3.) Remember that the examiner is looking to give you points

The NEBOSH Certificate exam is positively marked, with points awarded for the correct application of knowledge, rather than deducted for incorrect answers. Therefore, if in doubt, have a go! You really don’t have anything to lose.

This marking system means that it’s your job to make it as easy as possible for the examiner to find places to award you marks. This means legible writing; clearly numbered answers (if a question consists of different sub-sections make sure you number each sub section and address it separately within your answer, e.g. 1a, b and c.); and an answer for every question (though you may ‘warm up’ by starting with those that you feel most confident about rather than working chronologically through the paper).

4.) Attend a NEBOSH Certificate Revision course

If at all possible we strongly recommend candidates attend a revision course. By putting you in an environment where you’re face to face with both an expert tutor and your peers, a revision course allows you to practice exam questions; get feedback on your performance and to ask any outstanding questions. Tutors expect there to be things that you’re still unsure of, so if in doubt, just ask. Many organisations, including RoSPA, will accept candidates on their NEBOSH Certificate revision courses even if they studied elsewhere and, for the reasons outlined here, attendance is something that we can’t emphasise enough.

5.) Answer the question that has been set, not a question that you’d like to answer

A quick look through NEBOSH’s Examiners’ Reports reveals that it is frustratingly not uncommon for candidates to miss marks simply by failing to answer the question as set. Comments such as: “Some candidates fail to answer the question set and instead provide information that may be relevant to the topic but is irrelevant to the question and cannot therefore be awarded marks”, or variations thereof, regularly feature in the ‘Common pitfalls’ section. A good Revision Course will again help you with this, as indeed will a few deep breaths to calm yourself before reading each question – twice.

6.) Apply the command words!

Another common pitfall is failure to apply the command words, or action verbs, when answering a question. The following guide should help you steer clear of this.

  • Define − Provide a generally accepted definition
  • Describe − Give a detailed word picture
  • Explain − Give a clear account of, or reasons for
  • Give − Provide without explanation (normally used with the instruction to give an example, or examples of…)
  • Identify − Select and name
  • Outline − Give the most important features (less depth than either ‘explain’ or ‘describe’ but more depth than ‘list’)
  • State − A less demanding form of ‘define’ or where there is no generally accepted definition.

7.) Condense your notes as the date approaches

There’s a time for reading through reams of notes with a highlighter in hand but the days immediately prior to the exam are not this time. As the date approaches you should concentrate on condensed excerpts that you can actually commit to memory. Use your own revision cards to create these, or purchase Ed Ferrett’s revision cards to augment your course notes. Remember, minutes of concentrated learning will prove more valuable than hours of reading that you can’t later recall.

8.) Revise the subjects that you like least

That says it all really, but suffice to say that although it’s tempting to delve further into the topics that you enjoy and understand, when it comes to revision it’s the areas that you don’t like, or even understand, that really deserve your attention.

9.) ‘Always be prepared’

Take the pressure off yourself by alleviating the potential for niggling anxieties. Make sure you’re equipped with pens and a watch and that you’ve double checked the exam date, time and location and are fully au fait with travel arrangements. Do this thoroughly, and then put it out of mind, so that you can better concentrate on the substance of the exam.

10.) Use past papers to practice your exam technique

Take a look at recent posts on how to craft killer answers in NEBOSH exams as this should really help. You should also look at past papers as part of your revision. These are obviously the best way to assess the type of questions that you will face. Moreover, by practicing answers and submitting them to your tutor you’ll be able to gauge the depth of response required. It is also recommended that you take the opportunity to sit a mock exam in its entirety prior to the actual exam as this will help you understand how much time you have per question, as well as to allow you to practice writing for that length of time!

11.) Keep up-to-date

Try to keep abreast of developments within the safety community, as doing so will mean you can stand out from the crowd by including topical examples and pertinent issues into your exam answers. Free news e-bulletins, from places such as HSE and RoSPA are useful for this.

Post shared from RoSPA

Posted in Resources | Tags: exams, nebosh | Leave a comment |

NEBOSH Command Words

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Nick Anderson

NEBOSH Command Words are used very carefully in exams, and each question has a certain order of words to try to enable candidates to understand what Examiners are looking for.

In every question the skills required by the specific command words are also shown in the marks allocated for the question.

Click here for the NEBOSH Command Words page

Posted in Resources, Updates | Tags: certificate, command, diploma, exams, nebosh | Leave a comment |

NEBOSH Diploma Study Notes Added

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Nick Anderson

The full set of NEBOSH Diploma notes are now uploaded.

These handy PDF’s are designed for revision on-the-go. They are based around the RMS study books, and are NOT intended to replace any material supplied by any course provider.

Click here for the whole set, Units A to C.

Some Unit D resources will follow soon.

Posted in Resources, Updates | Tags: diploma, downloads, nebosh, notes, pdf, revision, study | Leave a comment |

New NEBOSH Diploma content added to Resources

Posted on February 16, 2014 by Nick Anderson
NEBOSH Diploma Unit B “Quick Revision” PDF added. More detailed Unit notes will follow soon. Click here to view. 
Posted in Resources, Updates | Tags: diploma, downloads, nebosh, study | 2 Comments |

New revision notes for Unit A NEBOSH Diploma added…

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Nick Anderson

UNIT A NEBOSH Diploma revision notes being uploaded now. There will be more to follow, covering Units A to C. 

They are all available to download as PDF’s, and were created to make revision on-the-go easier. They are ideal for viewing on mobile devices, and much more convenient than carrying the RMS textbooks around.

They are intended as a compliment to other recommended study aids / methods, and not a replacement. 

Click here for the downloads.

Posted in Resources | Tags: diploma, downloads, nebosh | 1 Comment |

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