July 2008

Examiners Report
NEBOSH International
Diploma in
Occupational Health
and Safety (Unit IA)

Examiners Report
NEBOSH INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMA
IN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
Unit IA: International management
of health and safety
JULY 2008

CONTENTS

Introduction

General Comments

Comments on individual questions

2008 NEBOSH, Dominus Way, Meridian Business Park, Leicester LE19 1QW
tel: 0116 263 4700

fax: 0116 282 4000

email: info@nebosh.org.uk

website: www.nebosh.org.uk

The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health is a registered charity, number 1010444
T(s):exrpts/J/J-A0807

DW/DA/REW

Introduction

NEBOSH (The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health) was formed in 1979 as
an independent examining board and awarding body with charitable status. We offer a comprehensive
range of globally-recognised, vocationally-related qualifications designed to meet the health, safety,
environmental and risk management needs of all places of work in both the private and public sectors.
Courses leading to NEBOSH qualifications attract over 25,000 candidates annually and are offered by
over 400 course providers in 65 countries around the world. Our qualifications are recognised by the
relevant professional membership bodies including the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health
(IOSH) and the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM).
NEBOSH is an awarding body to be recognised and regulated by the UK regulatory authorities:

The Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual) in England

The Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DCELLS) in Wales
The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) in Northern Ireland

NEBOSH follows the GCSE, GCE, VCE, GNVQ and AEA Code of Practice 2007/8 published by the
regulatory authorities in relation to examination setting and marking (available at the Ofqual website
www.ofqual.gov.uk). While not obliged to adhere to this code, NEBOSH regards it as best practice to
do so.
Candidates scripts are marked by a team of Examiners appointed by NEBOSH on the basis of their
qualifications and experience. The standard of the qualification is determined by NEBOSH, which is
overseen by the NEBOSH Council comprising nominees from, amongst others, the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE), the Department for Education and Skills (Df ES), the Confederation of British
Industry (CBI), the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Institution of Occupational Safety and
Health (IOSH). Representatives of course providers, from both the public and private sectors, are
elected to the NEBOSH Council.
This report on the Examination provides information on the performance of candidates which it is
hoped will be useful to candidates and tutors in preparation for future examinations. It is intended to
be constructive and informative and to promote better understanding of the syllabus content and the
application of assessment criteria.
NEBOSH 2008

Any enquiries about this report publication should be addressed to:

NEBOSH
Dominus Way
Meridian Business Park
Leicester
LE10 1QW
Tel:
0116 263 4700
Fax:
0116 282 4000
Email: info@nebosh.org.uk

General comments

Many candidates are well prepared for this unit assessment and provide comprehensive and relevant
answers in response to the demands of the question paper. This includes the ability to demonstrate
understanding of knowledge by applying it to workplace situations.
There are always some candidates, however, who appear to be unprepared for the unit assessment
and who show both a lack of knowledge of the syllabus content and a lack of understanding of how
key concepts should be applied to workplace situations.
In order to meet the pass standard for this assessment, acquisition of knowledge and understanding
across the syllabus are prerequisites. However, candidates need to demonstrate their knowledge and
understanding in answering the questions set. Referral of candidates in this unit is invariably because
they are unable to write a full, well-informed answer to the question asked.
Some candidates find it difficult to relate their learning to the questions and as a result offer responses
reliant on recalled knowledge and conjecture and fail to demonstrate any degree of understanding.
Candidates should prepare themselves for this vocational examination by ensuring their
understanding, not rote-learning pre-prepared answers.
Recurrent Problems
It is recognised that many candidates are well prepared for their assessments. However, recurrent
issues, as outlined below, continue to prevent some candidates reaching their full potential in the
assessment.

Many candidates fail to apply the basic principles of examination technique and for some
candidates this means the difference between a pass and a referral.

In some instances, candidates are failing because they do not attempt all the required
questions or are failing to provide complete answers. Candidates are advised to always
attempt an answer to a compulsory question, even when the mind goes blank. Applying basic
health and safety management principles can generate credit worthy points.

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.

Many candidates fail to apply the command words (also known as action verbs, eg describe,
outline, etc). Command words are the instructions that guide the candidate on the depth of
answer required. If, for instance, a question asks the candidate to describe something, then
few marks will be awarded to an answer that is an outline.

Some candidates fail to separate their answers into the different sub-sections of the questions.
These candidates could gain marks for the different sections if they clearly indicated which
part of the question they were answering (by using the numbering from the question in their
answer, for example). Structuring their answers to address the different parts of the question
can also help in logically drawing out the points to be made in response.

Candidates need to plan their time effectively. Some candidates fail to make good use of their
time and give excessive detail in some answers leaving insufficient time to address all of the
questions.

Candidates should also be aware that Examiners cannot award marks if handwriting is
illegible.

UNIT IA International management of health and safety

Section A all questions compulsory

Question 1

Outline, with examples, the benefits and limitations of:

(a)

prescriptive legislation;

(5)

(b)

goal-setting legislation.

(5)

The wording of the question provided a clear guide on how best to structure the
answer and candidates were expected to provide answers dealing with the benefits
and limitations of each type of legislation in turn.
The benefits of prescriptive legislation are that its requirements are clear and easy to
apply, it provides the same standard for all, it is not difficult to enforce and does not
require a high level of expertise. Its limitations are that it is inflexible, may be
inappropriate in some circumstances by requiring too high or too low a standard, it
does not take account of local risks and may need frequent revision to keep up with
changes in technology and knowledge.
The benefits of goal-setting legislation are that it has more flexibility in the way
compliance may be achieved, it is related to actual risk and can apply to a wide variety
of workplaces and it is less likely to become out of date. These are countered by the
fact that it may be open to wide interpretation and the duties it lays and the standards
it requires may be unclear until tested in courts of law. As a result it may be more
difficult to enforce and may require a higher level of expertise to achieve compliance.

Question 2

(a)

(b)

Explain the difference between accident incidence rate and

accident frequency rate.

(2)

A site is divided into a small number of large departments and

the number of workers in each department is variable. You have
been asked to collate details of first-aid treatment cases for the
site and to present on a monthly basis, data in graphical and / or
numerical format, in a way that would be helpful to site and
departmental management.
Describe how you could present this data indicating clearly the
types of graphical presentation you would use AND in EACH
case the data it would contain.

(8)

In answering part (a) of the of the question, candidates should have explained that an
accident incidence rate is calculated by dividing the number of accidents occurring
over a period of time by the average number of persons employed during the period
with the result being multiplied by 10,000. An accident frequency rate is calculated by
dividing the number of accidents occurring during a period by the total hours worked
during the period and multiplying the result by 1,000,000.

For part (b), candidates were asked to describe how they would collate and present
details of first aid treatment for a site comprising a number of departments. Since the
intention was to present information in a way that would be helpful both to site and
departmental management, it would be necessary to collate details firstly for the site
as a whole and then for each separate department. The first option would be to
produce a line graph to show the total number of treatment cases each month and
then indicate the trend by the use of a trend line or moving average. Using a
frequency or incidence rate would enable changes in employee numbers to be taken
into account. A line graph could also be used to show any trend in specific causes or
types of injury whilst a chart or histogram could highlight the number by site or
department. Another option would be to use pie charts, bar charts or histograms to
present information both for the whole site and individual departments on the cause of
the injuries requiring treatment and for the site of the injuries by body part.

Question 3

Describe the possible strengths and weaknesses of the role of the

employee representative in improving workplace health and safety
standards and culture for the groups of employees that they represent.

(10)

The possible strengths of the role of the employee representative in improving the
standards of health and safety at the workplace would include ensuring that employee
concerns which might otherwise remain unknown, are brought to the attention of
management (and if necessary to an inspector from the enforcing authority), and
applying pressure to ensure that the action promised to improve working conditions
was taken; ensuring employee involvement in and commitment to good health and
safety practices; encouraging and supporting active monitoring by exercising the
entitlement to carry out inspections of the workplace and ensuring employee input
during the investigation of accidents and incidents; and acting as a champion for
health and safety and so promoting awareness and interest and encouraging
employee input on proposals affecting health and safety.
The appointment of a safety representative could have its weaknesses in that it could
result in less direct engagement and consultation by management with the workforce
on health and safety issues. The investigative role could lead to a focusing on
compensation claims rather than on the introduction of control measures to prevent a
recurrence and there is a danger that health and safety issues might be mixed up and
confused with other employment relations issues. A representative who has not
received appropriate training may fail to establish correct priorities and cause
resources to be wasted while one who is ineffective or unmotivated may undermine
the existing safety culture of the organisation by failing to represent the views and
opinions of employees.

Question 4

A poor organisational safety culture is said to lead to higher levels of

violation by employees.
(a)

(b)

Explain the meaning of the term violation and the classification

of violation as routine, situational or exceptional.

(6)

Outline the reasons why a poor safety culture might lead to

higher levels of violation by employees.

(4)

For part (a) of this question candidates were expected to explain that a violation is a
deliberate deviation from a rule, procedure, instruction or regulation. A routine
violation involves continually breaking a rule or procedure to the extent that it
becomes the normal way of working. This can be due to the belief that the rule no
longer applies or because there is a desire to cut corners to save time. In the case of
a situational violation, rules are broken due to pressures from the job such as
insufficient staff for the workload, time pressures, adverse conditions or because the
right equipment for the job is not available. Exceptional violations are rare and only
happen when things have gone wrong and a risk is taken to solve an urgent problem.
A good answer to part (b) would have outlined that a good or poor safety culture in an
organisation is based on the common beliefs and perceptions of the staff and then
outlined that a lack of a shared perception about the importance of safety could lead
to individual employees violating a rule or procedure because they are driven by their
own perception of what is really important or they may be influenced by peer pressure.
A negative perception that rules are not important and that production is more
important both prime factors of a poor safety culture could lead to higher levels of
violation.

Question 5

(a)

(b)

Outline what is meant by punitive damages in relation to a

compensation award, clearly stating their purpose and to whom
the damages are paid.

(5)

In relation to claims for compensation outline the meaning of the

terms:
(i)

no fault liability;

(2)

(ii)

breach of duty of care.

(3)

For part (a) of the question, in outlining the meaning of punitive damages,
candidates should have explained that they are a financial or monetary award which,
whilst paid to a claimant, are not awarded to compensate, but in order to reform or
deter the defendant and similar persons from pursuing a course of action such as that
which damaged the claimant. As such they are both a punishment and a deterrent.
The amount of the award is determined by a court and is not linked to the losses
suffered by the claimant.
No fault liability is a liability which is independent of any wrongful intent or
negligence. As such, an injury alone is sufficient to confer liability with compensation
being paid either by an insurance company or from a government fund.
There are three standard conditions that must be satisfied in order to establish a
breach of duty of care. These are that a duty of care was owed by an employer to his
employee; that the employer acted in breach of that duty by not doing everything that
was reasonable to prevent foreseeable harm and lastly that the breach led directly to
the loss damage or injury.

Question 6

(a)

(b)

In relation to a binding contractual agreement state the meaning

of:
(i)

express terms, and

(ii)

implied terms.

(5)

In relation to a new grounds maintenance contract, give

examples of the information which should be stated in the
contract terms, in order for the work to be undertaken safely.

(5)

Express terms are those specifically mentioned and agreed by all parties at the time
the contract is made. They may take account of unusual circumstances but should not
include unfair terms. Implied terms are neither written in the contract nor specifically
agreed. They include terms such as matters of fact, matters of law and matters of
custom and practice. In cases of dispute they may ultimately have to be determined
by a court of law.
Part (b) required candidates to give examples of information which should be included
in a grounds maintenance contract to ensure the work was carried out in a safe
manner. Examples could have included the responsibility of the contractor to provide a
safe working environment including safe means of access and egress to the site; to
provide safe plant and equipment tested and examined in accordance with any legal
requirements; to provide adequate welfare facilities for the workforce and to ensure
they were given relevant information, instruction and training and were properly
supervised and to put in place procedures for dealing with any emergency that might
occur.

Section B three from five questions to be attempted

Question 7

A chemical reaction vessel is partially filled with a mixture of highly

flammable liquids. It is possible that the vessel headspace may contain a
concentration of vapour which, in the presence of sufficient oxygen, is
capable of being ignited. A powder is then automatically fed into this
vessel.
Adding the powder may sometimes cause an electrostatic spark to occur
with enough energy to ignite any flammable vapour. There is concern
that there may be an ignition during addition of the powder.
To reduce the risk of ignition, an inert gas blanket system is used within
the vessel headspace designed to keep oxygen below levels required to
support combustion. In addition, a sensor system is used to monitor
vessel oxygen levels. Either system may fail. If the inert gas blanketing
system and the oxygen sensor fail simultaneously, oxygen levels can be
high enough to support combustion.
Probability and frequency data for this system are given below.
Failure type/event
Vessel headspace contains concentration of
vapour capable of being ignited
Addition of powder produces spark with enough
energy to ignite vapour
Inert gas blanketing system fails
Oxygen system sensor fails

(a)

(b)

Probability
0.5
0.8
0.2 per year
0.1

Draw a simple fault tree AND using the above data calculate the
frequency of an ignition.

(16)

Describe, with justification, TWO plant OR process modifications

that you would recommend to reduce the risk of an ignition in the
vessel headspace.

(4)

In answering part (a) of the question, Examiners were expecting candidates to supply
a simple fault tree similar to that shown below and to calculate that the frequency of
ignition would be 0.008/yr or once in every 125 years. Those candidates who had a
good understanding of the construction of a fault tree did well.

Ignition 0.008/yr
(once every 125 years)

&

Oxygen > limit

0.02

Spark
0.8

Flammable vapours
0.5

&

Blanketing
system fail
0.2/yr

O2 sensor
system fail
0.1

In answering part (b), candidates could have included a description of any relevant
modifications but were expected to select those which would make a greater
contribution to reducing the overall risk. These could have included replacing the
powder feed with a slurry in a conducting liquid; selecting and using materials with
higher flashpoints to minimise the probability of a flammable atmosphere; and
redesigning the nitrogen blanketing system to improve reliability.

Question 8

(a)

(b)

A production process has a safety critical control system that

depends on a single component to remain effective. Outline
ways of reducing the likelihood of failure of this component AND
describe additional ways to increase the reliability of the system.

(16)

Describe the meaning of common mode failure AND outline

equipment design features which could help to minimise the
probability of such failures.

(4)

Good answers to part (a) of this question would have dealt separately with component
and system reliability in the circumstances described. This type of answer would have
included such issues as burning in the component before placing it correctly in the
system; planned replacement of the component before wear out; increasing its useful
life by a planned programme of maintenance; and the initial design of and material
specification for the component together with the use of quality assurance. The
reliability of the system might be increased by the use of parallel components and
standby systems and parallel redundancy; operational and detection protective
systems to maintain the system within its design specification; the use of hazard
analysis techniques to predict failure routes; the use of more reliable components to
minimise failures to danger and the monitoring, collection and use of failure data.

For part (b), a common mode failure might be described as a type or cause of failure
that could affect more than one component at a time, even when the components are
supposed to be arranged to operate independently of each other. It is particularly
relevant for components in parallel designed to improve reliability of a system by
redundancy. Measures that could be taken to help minimise the probability of this
type of failure include functional diversity where reliance is placed on safety
components designed to act by different mechanisms, for example one detector for
pressure and another for temperature, and one hydraulic interlock and one electrical
interlock; equipment diversity where components are sourced from different
manufacturers or from different manufacturing processes to avoid common
manufacturing defects and vulnerabilities; isolating components from each other and
from the environment so that they do not fail from common causes such as high
temperature or vibration; routing cables by multiple routes so that local physical
damage does not affect all components and using well known and established
equipment designs where most of the failure modes will have been understood.

10

Question 9

Below is an extract from an incident investigation report form.

XYZ Ltd. INCIDENT INVESTIGATION
Details of Incident
Date June 2007

Ref No 2007/01

Time

Description of how incident occurred

Whilst accessing a filing cabinet within the general office area a paper hole punch
fell, from a box located on top of the cabinet, striking Lynne on the head.
Lynne visited the hospital emergency department some hours after the incident
after advice from her line manager.

Details of any injury or property damage

Surname Jones

First Name Lyn

Age N/A

Extent of injury/property damage

Bruising and nausea.

Witness name and contact No

L Jones IT Manager XYZ Ltd.
Returned to Work: YES
Referred to Hospital: YES (not immediately)
Referred to Company Doctor: NO
Causes of the Incident
Paper hole punch fell and landed on head

Details of Investigation and Actions to prevent recurrence

Actions taken as a result of the incident
Accident recorded.
All storage areas checked.
Workplace inspection carried out to identify other hazards.
Materials unnecessarily stored at high level removed to lower locations and filing
cabinets.

Actions required.

By whom and by when.

1. Formal 3 monthly workplace

inspection
regime
to
be
implemented.

Safety Manager. Ongoing Time to be

planned into work schedule to carry out
inspections.

Investigated by:
Name: D. Briefing

Signature .

Actions complete:
Date

(a)

(b)

Name

Signature .

Evaluate the report in terms of its suitability to provide adequate

information for record keeping purposes and for subsequent
statistical analysis.

(10)

With reference to a suitable model (eg HSG 245, Investigating

Accidents and Incidents) outline the key stages in health and
safety incident investigations.

(10)

11

In evaluating the suitability of the report, it was expected that candidates would
recognise its deficiencies in that it was incomplete, at times vague and other times
inconsistent. It was incomplete in that it provided no information on the time of the
accident, the type of first aid that was given or the precise action taken to prevent a
recurrence. It was vague in its description of the injury actually received, of the
treatment given at the hospital, of the actual circumstances which caused the punch to
fall and thus of the immediate and underlying causes of the accident. Its
inconsistencies lay in a failure to provide information on the details and findings of the
investigation, in the inappropriate nature of the solutions given the likely cause of the
accident and in the identification of the injured person with different names being
used. Additionally, it was perhaps unnecessary to name the injured person as a
witness of the accident in the absence of any other witnesses.
For part (b), candidates were expected to outline the key stages involved in the
investigation of health and safety incidents. The first stage would involve gathering all
relevant information to establish exactly what had happened including the location and
time of the incident and the persons who might have been affected. This would involve
a visual inspection of the location, interviewing witnesses and reviewing relevant
documentation. Once all the information had been gathered, it would be necessary to
analyse it, perhaps making use of FTA or a similar tool, to establish the immediate
and underlying causes of the incident. This would then enable the investigators to
identify the appropriate risk control measures to prevent a recurrence of a similar
incident. The final stage would be to produce an action plan, setting out objectives to
be achieved, clearly identifying responsibilities for their completion and maintaining a
record of the progress being made.

Question 10

A financial review within your organisation has resulted in a proposal to

the Board of Directors to cut its health and safety budget and to cancel a
project that was designed to lead to significant improvements in the
working environment.
Write a report to the Board giving reasons why the proposal should be
rejected.

(20)

This question required a balanced review of the issues surrounding the resourcing of
health and safety which recognised the overlapping nature of the legal, moral and
economic benefits of maintaining good standards. The benefits of investing in health
and safety would result in compliance with legal requirements and the avoidance of
legal action particularly in view of the possible liability of directors and /or managers.
The investment in improving the working environment would also indicate the
organisations commitment to health and safety and would have a beneficial effect on
the morale of the workforce which could lead to an improvement in productivity,
efficiency, quality and employment relations. On the other hand, the potential costs to
the organisation of a decision to reduce the health and safety budget would include
those normally associated with an accident involving injury and/or plant failure or fire
such as the interruption to normal production and product damage; the cost of
replacement labour and equipment; the costs associated with a criminal prosecution
and those following civil litigation including uninsured costs and a likely increase in
insurance premiums; and the damage that such events might cause to the
organisations image and to public confidence which in turn could affect the demand
for its products.
The question required the answer to be given in the form of a report to the Board and
marks were accordingly available for the format, structure and language used in
answers.

12

Question 11

Outline the desirable design features of controls AND displays on a

control panel for a complex industrial process aimed at reducing the
likelihood of human error.

(20)

This question addressed a specific aspect of ergonomics namely the design

features of controls and displays that would influence the rate of human error. The
more successful candidates made a clear distinction in their answers between
controls and displays.
Desirable design features of controls include keeping their number to a minimum
whilst ensuring a sufficient number to control the state of operation. A change of
system state should only occur after operating a control and should require a positive
action of the control with immediate feedback to the user. A system restart should
again only occur after operating a control after a deliberate or non-intentional stop. A
stop function should be easy to activate and override start and adjust controls. All
controls should be visible, positioned and ordered logically so as to follow the process
and be within easy reach of the operator while labelling, shape or colour can be put to
effective use to ensure controls are easily identified. The type of control should be
appropriate to the degree of control required, for example a lever may be more
appropriate than a knob. Recognised conventions should be followed such as up for
off, green for on and clockwise to increase. Controls positioned next to their respective
displays are also desirable.
Displays should be clearly visible and labelled and show steady state. They should
also clearly indicate change, match expectations and attract the appropriate sense
such as flashing to draw visual attention. It is important to use the appropriate type of
display for the reading, ie analogue or digital, and ensure that all dials are in a similar
position for normal operation. Markings on dials and the application of different
colours can be used to indicate abnormal situations. Additional design features
include shielding bulbs from strong ambient light; shielding glass dials from glare and
placing displays against a panel of neutral colour. Displays should be kept to a
minimum and safety critical displays should be separated from other displays.

13

The National Examination

Board in Occupational
Safety and Health
Dominus Way
Meridian Business Park
Leicester LE19 1QW
telephone +44 (0)116 2634700
fax +44 (0)116 2824000
email info@nebosh.org.uk
www.nebosh.org.uk