Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

19.2
Finding a place to study 
418
19.3
Planning for study 
418
19.4
Blocked 
thinking 
419
19.5
Taking 
notes 
419
19.6
Reading for study 
419
19.7
Organizing for revision 
419
19.8
Organizing 
information 
420
19.9
How does memory work? 
420
19.10
How to deal with exams 
422
19.11
The examiners’ reports 
423
19.12
Conclusion 
424
19.13
References 
424
20 SPECIMEN ANSWERS TO NEBOSH EXAMINATIONS 
425
20.1
Introduction 
425
20.2
The written examinations 
425
20.3
NGC3 – The practical application 
431
Appendix 20.1 – Practical Assessment 
436
INDEX 
443
Contents
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Introduction to 
Health and Safety at Work
has quickly established itself, in its fi rst four years, as the foremost text 
for students taking the NEBOSH National General Certifi cate. It is also of great value to those studying for 
level 3 N/SVQ, the IOSH Managing Safely Award and similar management and supervisor focused learning. It has 
become a signifi cant work of reference for managers with health and safety responsibilities and it is therefore a mat-
ter of primary importance that it should be kept up-to-date, as far as is possible, with new legislation and recent 
developments.
This third edition has been produced in order to update the health and safety legislation, with particular regard 
to changes in legislation relating to fi re, construction (CDM), asbestos, vibration, noise, hazardous waste and the 
environment.
The most signifi cant change since the second edition has been the introduction of the unitized NEBOSH National 
General Certifi cate. The course has been divided into three distinct units each of which is assessed separately. This 
development offers the opportunity for additional and more fl exible course formats and students may now study 
parallel courses (in, say, fi re and construction) without repeating the management unit. Students who decide to take 
individual units will, on passing, receive a Unit Certifi cate. There were also some minor changes to the syllabus – safety 
in the use of lifting and moving equipment, construction health hazards, further controls of substances that can cause 
cancer, asthma or damage to genes and the safe storage of incompatible wastes.
Following advice from several reviewers, we have taken the opportunity to introduce a new chapter on NEBOSH 
assessment – Specimen answers to NEBOSH examinations (Chapter 20). This includes two long answer questions, 
four short answer questions and a specimen practical application (or assessment).
Some more recent examination questions have been added.
Since the fi rst edition of this book was published, there has been a change in the style of examination questions 
and some topics, such as swimming pools and kitchens, are not specifi cally mentioned in the syllabus. Many questions 
now cover the contents of more than one chapter. It is recommended that students have sight of the published examin-
ers’ reports which are available from NEBOSH. These reports not only provide an excellent guide on the expected 
answers to the questions but also indicate areas of student misunderstanding.
Since 1 September 2004 there have been changes in the National Qualifi cations Framework (NQF) that are relevant 
to the NEBOSH General Certifi cate. However, up to Level 3 the NQF is unchanged and therefore its effect on the 
certifi cate will be minimal. The certifi cate syllabus is designed to provide the underpinning knowledge for the ‘Health 
and Safety for People at Work’ standard, an approved level 3 vocational standard developed by the Employment National 
Training Organization (ENTO). The syllabus is unitized to make it as compatible as possible with short courses based 
on the eight units of the ENTO standard. The NEBOSH National General Certifi cate is accredited as a level 3 award 
by the Qualifi cations and Curriculum Authority (QCA). More detailed information on these eight units is available in the 
guide to the NEBOSH National General Certifi cate. The third edition, which continues to closely follow the eight units, 
will therefore be particularly useful to people involved with the ‘Health and Safety for People at Work’ level 3 ENTO 
standard.
As mentioned earlier, the certifi cate syllabus has been updated to include much of the new legislation. However, it 
is the policy of NEBOSH to examine new relevant legislation six months after its introduction whether it is specifi cally 
mentioned in the syllabus document or not.
Finally, one of the objectives of the book is to provide a handbook for the use of any person who has health and 
safety as part of their responsibilities. We thought that it would be helpful, therefore, to keep the few useful topics 
xi