March - April 2014

Examiners Report
NEBOSH National
General Certificate in
Occupational Health
and Safety (NGC1)
Examiners’ Report

UNIT NGC1:
MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH AND SAFETY

March - April 2014

For: NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety

NEBOSH National Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management
NEBOSH National Certificate in Construction Health and Safety

CONTENTS

Introduction

General comments

Candidate performance

Examination technique

Command words

Learning outcomes

Conclusion

 2014 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
 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 around 50,000 candidates annually and are offered
by over 600 course providers, with examinations taken in over 110 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 that applies best practice setting, assessment and marking and applies
to Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) regulatory requirements.

This report provides guidance for 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 2014

Any enquiries about this report publication should be addressed to:

NEBOSH
Dominus Way
Meridian Business Park
Leicester
LE19 1QW

tel: 0116 263 4700

fax: 0116 282 4000
email: info@nebosh.org.uk

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 General comments

Many candidates are well prepared for this unit assessment and provide comprehensive and relevant
answers in response to the demands of the questions. This includes the ability to demonstrate
understanding of knowledge by applying it to workplace situations.

There are other 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.

This report has been prepared to provide feedback on standard date and on-demand NGC1
st th
examinations sat between 1 March and 30 April 2014.

Feedback is presented in these key areas; examination technique, command words and learning
outcomes and is designed to assist candidates and course providers prepare for future assessments
in this unit.

Candidates and course providers will also benefit from use of the ‘Guide to the NEBOSH National
General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety’ which is available via the NEBOSH website. In
particular, the guide sets out in detail the syllabus content for NGC1 and tutor reference documents for
each Element.

Additional guidance on command words is provided in ‘Guidance on command words used in learning
outcomes and question papers’ which is also available via the NEBOSH website.

Candidates and course providers should also make reference to the NGC1 ‘Example question paper
and Examiners’ feedback on expected answers’ which provides example questions and details
Examiners’ expectations and typical areas of underperformance.

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 Unit NGC1
Management of health and safety

Candidate performance
This report covers all examinations, both ‘standard’ and ‘on-demand’ examination sittings during
March and April which produced an overall pass rate of 58%.

Examination technique
The following examination techniques were identified as the main areas of improvement for
candidates:

Misreading or misinterpreting the question

Examiners reported that a significant number of candidates either misread or misinterpreted some of
the questions. It appears that those who found difficulty were ‘question-spotting’. Seeing a key word or
phrase and answering the question based on that, rather than thoroughly reading the question and
answering what was set. Consequently, some candidates produced answers that contained
information that was either irrelevant and/or out of context. Clearly, many of these candidates would
have benefited from answering practice questions under examination conditions and under the
guidance of a tutor.

Rather than rushing into an answer, some candidates might improve their performance by producing a
short answer plan and then pausing for a few seconds, to confirm in their minds that this is what the
question is really asking.

Repeating the same point

A significant number of candidates repeated the same point in their answers, but in different ways. For
example, making a point about ‘safe systems of work’ and later raising ‘method statements’ as a
different point. Such practice might pad out the answer where knowledge is lacking but gains no extra
marks. Also, repetition wastes precious examination time.

Writing the question down

A number of Examiners found that some candidates had rewritten the question, in full, in the answer
script. Course providers should discourage candidates from this practice as it wastes examination time
and cannot be awarded any marks.

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Command words
The following command words are listed in the order identified as being the most challenging for
candidates:

Outline

Examiners reported that candidates found the command word ‘outline’ to be the most challenging
closely followed by ‘explain’ and ‘describe’. Outline requires a brief summary of the key aspects.

Explain

Many candidates answered in short, bullet point statements or simply listed their points. Others did
manage to raise some relevant points but seemed unable to provide the depth or level of detail
necessary to fulfil this requirement.

Describe

As with ‘explain’, answering in bullet points does not always provide a sufficient description.

Give

Examiners noted that responding to ‘give’ questions was not a problem area for candidates.

Identify

Similarly, Examiners noted that most candidates responded to the command word ‘identify’ with
confidence.

Learning outcomes

The following learning outcomes have been identified as being the most challenging area of the
syllabus for candidates in this period:

1.3 Explain the legal framework for the regulation of health and safety including sources
and types of law

This area of the syllabus focuses on a broad range of topics. The content starts with the influence and
role of the European Union in harmonising health and safety standards and requires the meaning,
liabilities and structure of courts for both criminal and civil law. It goes on to require the meaning of
common and statute law.

Examiners found that there was much confusion between common and statute law. A number of
candidates were either unable to give examples of common law duties of care or confused common
with statute law and gave the duties of employer to employees, under section 2 of the Health and
Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASWA). Those candidates who were well prepared were able to give
examples of common law duties of care and provide suitable explanations of how they might be met.

The statute law, criminal duties under HASWA and the civil common law duties of care are very much
alike and it is understandable that candidates might become confused. Course providers should strive
to explain the similarities as well as the differences between them.

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_________________________________________________________________________________

3.3 Outline the human factors which influence behaviour at work in a way that can affect
health and safety

This part of the syllabus focuses on three key areas of influence on the health and safety of people at
work ie organisational, job and individual factors. The link between these three factors is also
explored.

The examination scripts revealed that some candidates were able to give a range of job-related
factors and, where this was required, candidates gained good marks. However, a large number of
candidates were confused between organisational, job and individual factors. Consequently, these
candidates tend to employ a scattergun approach, producing sufficient, but mainly irrelevant, factors.

The level of understanding of this learning outcome by candidates is generally weak. Course providers
might address this problem by first, clearly distinguishing the differences between organisational, job
and individual factors and then carefully explaining the link between the three.

_________________________________________________________________________________

5.2 Explain the purpose of, and procedures, for health and safety auditing.

This area of the syllabus covers the meaning of the term ‘health and safety audit’ and goes on to
explore the scope and purpose of the auditing of management systems. It then requires candidates to
distinguish between audits and inspections. A range of issues follow relating to pre-audit preparations,
competence of auditors and the resources required to conduct an audit. The advantages and
disadvantages of both external and internal audits are dealt with and finally the actions that should be
taken following an audit.

Those candidates who were well prepared demonstrated a good understanding of auditing and were
able to give a reasonable definition of the term ‘health and safety audit’. They also tended to
appreciate the range of issues that might be covered by this important active monitoring method.

Many answers were characterised by a limited understanding of auditing as a method of monitoring

health and safety management systems. Some candidates applied their limited knowledge and wrote
extensively about what they did know, producing very narrow answers and gaining very few marks. A
number of candidates seemed unaware that if a question has a command word of ‘outline’, and is
worth 10 marks, that they should raise ten relevant points in their answer. Finally, many candidates
were unaware of the actions that might be taken following an audit and found great difficulty in
identifying how the findings of an audit could be used to improve health and safety performance.

Course providers should ensure that a candidate’s knowledge goes beyond a ‘rote-learned’ definition.
Some candidates did not understand the scope and purpose of an audit and hence many responded
with a lack of depth in their answers.

Conclusion

The feedback from Examiners highlighted that candidates taking the NGC1 examinations in March
and April 2014 needed most improvement in the areas of legal framework for the regulation of health
and safety (learning outcome 1.3), human factors which influence behaviour at work (learning
outcome 3.3) and health and safety auditing (learning outcome 5.2).

With regards to examination technique, candidates sitting this examination could save time by not
writing the question down and/or repeating the same point in different ways. It is also advised that
candidates should instead spend this time reading the question to fully grasp what it is asking.

It is pleasing to observe that the majority of candidates who took the NGC1 examinations obtained a
pass standard and therefore the combined efforts of the course providers and candidates are
rewarded with this pass rate and the achievement of this unit.

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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