Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

practical assessment
of 
the workplace, candidates are expected to do more 
than simply identify physical hazards such as unsafe 
machinery although this is important. In most workplaces 
they should fi nd examples of chemical, fi re, ergonomic, 
electrical, manual handling, slip, trip and fall (people and 
objects) hazards. Consideration should also be given to 
health and physical hazards (e.g. dermatitis, noise and 
vibrations), access, emergency arrangements and welfare 
and environmental problems, such as heating or lighting. 
They need to comment when there is adequate control 
of hazards and where safe working practices are being 
observed, as well as when the opposite is the case.
Medium and long-term actions must be noted as 
well as immediate actions to control any dangerous 
hazard. The distinction between immediate and longer 
term action must be clear. The removal of a hazard is an 
example of immediate action, whereas the provision of 
information and training is longer term. The proposed 
remedial actions must not only remove or control the 
hazard but be realistic and cost-effective and the associ-
ated time scales realistic and appropriate.
Many candidates confuse comments with actions. 
The examiner looks for clear action proposals to 
remedy any observed weakness. The hazard recorded 
must be specifi c so that 
examples
of poor housekeep-
ing are recorded rather than a single statement of 
‘poor housekeeping’. For some assessments, issues of 
employee awareness, supervision, maintenance, inspec-
tion and testing procedure may need to be considered. 
There is always a requirement for a monitoring system 
even if no action is required for a particular hazard at 
the time of the inspection. For most practical assess-
ments, the examiner will be looking for between 20 and 
30 observations.
For the