Open Book Examination
Guidance to learners
This is an open book examination. It is not invigilated, and you are free to use any learning resources
to which you have access, eg your course notes, or a website, etc.
By submitting this completed examination for marking, you are declaring it is entirely your own
work. Knowingly claiming work to be your own when it is someone else’s work is malpractice, which
carries severe penalties. This means that you must not collaborate with or copy work from others.
Neither should you ‘cut and paste’ blocks of text from the Internet or other sources.
The examination begins with a realistic scenario to set the scene. You will then need to complete a
series of tasks based on this scenario. Each task will consist of one or more questions.
Your responses to most of these tasks should wholly, or partly, draw on relevant information from
the scenario. The task will clearly state the extent to which this is required.
The marks available are shown in brackets to the right of each question, or part of each question.
This will help guide you to the amount of information required in your response. In general, one mark
is given for each correct technical point that is clearly demonstrated. Avoid writing too little as this will
make it difficult for the Examiner to award marks. Single word answers or lists are unlikely to gain
marks as this would not normally be enough to show understanding or a connection with the scenario.
You are not expected to write more than 3000 words in total.
Try to distribute your time and word count proportionately across all tasks. It is recommended that
you use the available answer template.
Please attempt ALL tasks.
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SCENARIO
A steel-working organisation operates 30 steel-working plants globally, including a plant located
on the outskirts of a large town, where you are employed. This steel work contains many different
workshops that cover the whole steel-producing process. This involves repair, maintenance,
fabrication, and welding of large steel structures.
Within the fabrication and welding workshop an overhead crane is used to move heavy steel
into position. There are signs on this crane stating that only trained workers can operate it.
Workers understand that manual handling and mechanical lifting aids should be considered
first, with the crane only used as a last resort.
The workforce consists of 20 workers. These include a general workshop manager (GWM) and 2
workshop supervisors. There are also 3 apprentices, who are not trained in the use of the crane.
In your new role, you work in the fabrication and welding department as the Health and Safety
Manager, reporting to the GWM. The GWM does not believe that they should be responsible for
health and safety, and they do not have time for it. They welcome the fact that you are taking on
this role and acknowledge that you have recently started to study the NEBOSH General
Certificate.
You have observed hazards such as scrap metal in walkways. This sometimes forces workers to step
into the path of the overhead crane, while walking through the workshop. Because of these
obstructed walkways workers often carry heavy objects instead of using mechanical aids. Workers
inform you(H & S Manager) that there are frequent near misses, involving the overhead crane,
when it is being operated by the apprentices. You find an email from one of the supervisors to the
GWM requesting crane operation training for the apprentices, but this seems to have been
ignored.
There are no written records of any of these near misses. Workers have told you that they have
complained to the GWM many times about the workshop working conditions. They have also
informed the GWM that the crane operation alarm is not working. You cannot find any written
records of such complaints.
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No-one represents the workers in raising health and safety concerns. The GWM is not interested in
people moaning about insignificant issues, which makes workers believe their views are not heard.
The GWM is only seen if something goes wrong.
Workers tell you that the GWM wants tasks completed quickly and demands too much of them. The
GWM knows that shortcuts are taken to achieve this.
You start looking for different risk assessments, but only find one generic risk assessment. This
lacks specific details and seems to focus on low-risk activities. It was completed three years ago.
You try to convince the GWM that health and safety in the workshop needs prioritizing. The
GWM says that there is “no money for that kind of thing, and even if it were available, it would
cause too much disruption to production”.
There have been many injuries recorded over the years that have led to worker absences. Most
recently, an apprentice was injured after being hit by a load suspended from an overhead crane.
On one of the dedicated ground-level walkways, an apprentice was typing a message on their
mobile phone, although they knew that the use of mobile phones was banned in the workshop. At
the same time, an overhead crane, operated by another apprentice, was moving a steel beam. The
apprentice, on the ground-level walkway, tripped on a trailing cable. This forced them to move
outside of the dedicated walkway and into the path of the steel beam. Fortunately, they noticed the
steel beam and bent down to avoid it, instinctively raising their arm. The beam struck their forearm,
which caused them to fall onto some scrap metal.
A first-aider attended the scene and said that the apprentice’s arm appeared to be broken. The first-
aider also treated a deep cut on the apprentice’s leg. The first-aider reported this to one of the
workshop supervisors, who then called for an ambulance.
The hospital confirmed that the apprentice had broken their arm in several places and
required an operation. They were expected to be off work for six to eight weeks to recover from
the initial injuries. However, there were complications following surgery that extended their time
off work.
The apprentice, who operated the crane, was off work for one week due to post-traumatic
stress. You talk to the GWM about the accident, they tell you to take no further action for now,
and that an investigation will be carried out in a few weeks.
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Task 1: Workers’ responsibilities in the workplace
1 The two apprentices may have contravened(breached) some of their
obligations (responsibilities or regulation) as workers within International
Labor Organisation Convention C155 – Occupational Safety and Health
Convention, 1981 (No.155) Article 19 and associated Recommendation
R164 – Occupational Safety and Health Recommendation, 1981 (No.164)
recommendation 16.
Comment on the extent to which Article 19 of C155 and recommendation 16
of R164 may have been contravened. (10)
Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant
information from the scenario.
Task 2: Financial arguments for the GWM to improve health and safety
2 What financial arguments could you use to convince the GWM that health
and safety needs to be improved? (10)
Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant
information from the scenario.
Task 3: Suitability of the generic risk assessment
3 Based on the scenario only, what is negative about the management
approach to assessing health and safety risks in the fabrication workshop? (10)
Note: Learners only need to focus on the general approach of the
organisation to assessing health and safety risks, and NOT a detailed 5-step
approach.
Task 4: Management failures
4 Based on the scenario only, what management failures could have contributed
to this accident? (10)
Task 5: Reporting the accident
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5 (a) Why must this accident be reported by the employer to the
competent authority? (5)
(b) How would you notify the competent authority about this accident? (5)
Task 6: Health and safety management systems
6 Part of a health and safety management system is having good leadership in
place.
Comment on the negative GWM leadership in the fabrication and welding
workshop. (15)
Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant
information from the scenario.
Task 7: Near misses
7 It is often a matter of chance that a near miss turns into an accident.
How could an investigation of the previous near misses have helped
prevent this accident? (15)
Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant
information from the scenario.
Task 8: Prioritizing health and safety issues
8 You have decided to form a health and safety committee to help improve
health and safety at the steelworks.
Based on the scenario only, identify TEN health and safety issues that the
committee should priorities at their first meeting. (10)
Task 9: Training
9 You have decided to compile an induction pack for new apprentices.
Based on the scenario only, what information should you prioritize in
this induction pack? (10)
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