Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

Introduction to Health and Safety at Work
420
2005 Examiners’ Reports refer specifi cally to the advan-
tages to be gained from this:
Paper A1 Question 4
‘Some candidates, perhaps from their work experience, 
showed a good knowledge of a permit-to-work system 
and produced reasonable answers’
They also warn of the dangers:
‘Answers based solely on “what we do in our organiza-
tion” … do not earn high marks’.
19.8 
Organizing information
There are a number of ways to organize information for 
an exam:
➤
reading back through the notes on a regular basis 
while the course is still in progress will help to fi x the 
information in long-term memory
➤
make revision cards: condensing the information 
down so that it fi ts on a set of postcards makes it 
possible to carry a lot of information around in a 
pocket. The activity of condensing the information is 
revision in itself. The revision material is then avail-
able for spare moments in the day, such as queuing 
in the canteen, sitting in a traffi c jam on the motor-
way, waiting for the computer to function and so on.
For example: ‘Outline the factors that may increase 
risks to pregnant employees’. On a card, the information 
could be condensed into:
itself. Because they are based on visual images they 
are easier for many people to remember and they can 
be made as complex or as simple as the individual 
requires. Using colour and imagery makes it easier 
to follow and to recall the information in a mind map 
(Buzan 2003). Figure 19.2 is a mind map based on 
the report writing section of this book
➤
use list words: for example, students were asked to 
list eight ways of reducing the risk of a fi re starting 
in the workplace. The examiners’ report suggested 
the following:
‘candidates could have chosen from a list 
including the control of smoking and smok-
ing materials, good housekeeping to prevent 
the accumulation of waste paper and other 
combustible materials, regular lubrication of 
machinery, frequent inspection of electrical 
equipment for damage, ensuring ventilation 
outlets on equipment are not obstructed, 
controlling hot work, the provision to proper 
storage facilities for fl ammable liquids and 
the segregation of incompatible chemicals’
This list could be reduced to an eight-letter nonsense 
work, to jog the memory, as follows: