How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH? At the end of 2019, NEBOSH launched its new Syllabus or design of the NEBOSH General Certificate Course (IG1+ IG2). It was no surprise that the release coincided with NEBOSH’s 40th anniversary. The NEBOSH General Certificate course has been the backbone of NEBOSH’s course offerings for many years and has provided thousands of careers in occupational health and safety management.
The new NEBOSH General Certificate course syllabuses look different from the 2014 specification. There are slight changes to hours taught, course structure, and content, but more significant is the way courses are assessed. The HSE guide (INDG 163) identifies five steps in risk assessments. You can read it here: (https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg163.pdf). Some tips by muniriyathse (safety zone).
Unit IG1: HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT
This still deals with OHS (Occupational Safety and Health) management issues such as law, risk assessment and accident investigation. It is now made up of 1 TO 4 elements.
How do I pass the NEBOSH exam in first attemp
Unit IG 2: RISK ASSESSMENT
This unit covers the practicalities of hazards and risk control in the workplace. It is now made up of 5 to 7 elements. The new item titles are:
IG 1 Elements:
- Why should we manage safety and health at work?
- How health and safety management systems work and what they consist of.
- Risk management: understanding of people and processes
- Health and safety monitoring and measuring.
IG 2 Elements:
- Physical and psychological health. How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH?
- Musculoskeletal health. How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH?
- Chemical and biological agents. How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH?
- General workplace issue. How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH?
- Work equipment. How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH?
- Fire. How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH?
- Electricity. How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH?
To summarize, there are structural changes and a few major changes in the theme. Everything has been compressed and simplified. This does not mean that depth has been subtracted, it simply does not show it to us extensively, and it will be our job to explore it.
The new course is assessed through a scenario-based written exam (for Unit 1), face-to-face (now open book due to the coronavirus) similar to the previous one with essay questions, and a practical assessment that requires you to carry out a workplace risk assessment.
How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH? IG2 unit
There is no numerical mark or rating for the risk assessment, just a pass or a refer (fail). However, there is a qualifying criterion for each of the four stages. You must get a pass in each of the four stages to get a pass for the overall unit. A refer (failure) at any of the four stages will result in refer for the entire assessment.
Conduct an overall risk assessment of your workplace, profile and prioritize risks, survey the workplace, recognize a variety of common hazards, assess risks (taking current controls into account), recommend further control measures and plan actions.
What is IG2 risk assessment?
- There is no written face-to-face exam and it is only evaluated through the practical evaluation.
- The practical assessment requires you to perform a Risk Assessment in an actual workplace and write a detailed Risk Assessment Report on a template pre-established by NEBOSH.
- The risk assessment includes basic information about the workplace and the methods used, a risk assessment of at least 10 hazards selected from several of the subject areas covered in Unit IG 2, an action plan to address all identified problems, and a detailed explanation and rationale for the Top 3 Priority Actions
- The practical assessment can be completed on your own time.
How do I fill out a risk assessment form?
From a personal point of view, I am a great admirer of the old NEBOSH General Certificate since 2015. If I had to choose the path to take again, like in 2015, I would go back to the NEBOSH International General Certificate.
You must produce a risk assessment of your workplace that identifies a variety of hazards. The risk assessment must be adequate and communicate justified improvement actions to the relevant people. The unit has its learning outcome. The risk assessment is divided into 4 parts:
- Description of your organization and its methodology
- Risk assessment and hazard identification
- A description of 3 actions with justification
- Review, check and communicate
Each stage has qualifying criteria that you must pass. We’ve broken down what’s needed at each stage to keep you on track! The new 2018 syllabus does not have a deadline for submitting your assignment. So, you can choose a submission date that works best for you. The assessment will primarily test your understanding of elements 5 through 11, but will still need to build on the risk assessment protocols from previous items.
As you work through the course materials, you should think about how these concepts apply to your work and take notes on how you can refer to them in your assignment.
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You can take as much time as you need on your homework. NEBOSH recommends that you take about three hours to complete the four stages of the assessment. This should allow you to demonstrate your understanding and complete a good-quality risk assessment.
These three hours are only indicative; you can take more or less time if you wish. Just remember to submit your final evaluation before the submission date you signed up for.
Part 1: Risk assessment (background)
- The name of the organization such as NGG Ltd etc.
- Site Location – You do not need to provide the full address, just the general location such as laydown, workshop, boiler area, furnace 4 etc.
- How many workers does the organization employ? Describe the male and female numbers of workers.
- A general description of the organization. This should include the products manufactured or services provided, and the types of activities performed.
- A description of the area is included in the risk assessment.
- Any other relevant information, such as who has day-to-day responsibility for health and safety in your organization. If you feel that there is nothing relevant, you can leave this point.
Example of a good organization description
“NGG Ltd is a medium-sized garage with offices, a car repair shop and a spray paint booth. The company does a lot of bodywork repairs on vehicles involved in accidents for insurance companies. Services are also done for members.
Typical activities carried out include moving spare parts from warehouses to the workshop area, engine repairs, service-related activities, body repairs, draining fuel/oil from vehicles, and paint booth activities (including the use of solvent-based paints) Garage operates from 8 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday and is closed on weekends. Workers are only required to work 8 hours per day”.
Methodology (approximately 200 words)
After giving the description, you should describe how you carried out the risk assessment (methodology used). This allows the NEBOSH examiner to assess the reliability and validity of your assessment. For your methodology, you should include:
- The sources of information you consulted
- With whom I speak.
- How hazards and controls were identified: the hazards, what is already being done, and any additional controls/actions that may be needed.
You may also include anything else that is relevant to completing the risk assessment. This may seem like a small section, but if you don’t include it, you will fail.
Part 2: Risk Assessment
You must use the tables in Part 2 of the assessment package to complete the risk assessment. You must find and record at least 10 different hazards from at least 7 different hazard categories. You can get hazard categories in elements 5-11 of the NEBOSH General Certificate book IG2.
It may seem obvious, but you must include the 10 specified hazards from 7 categories. Many students fall for ignoring this simple point. If it only includes 9 hazards from 6 hazard categories, 11 hazards from 4 hazard categories, or includes 10 hazards but does not indicate the hazard category; then you will fail.
You must include the following details for each hazard to meet the flagging criteria:
- Hazard category and hazard (column 1)
- Who might be harmed and how (column 2)
- What are you already doing (column 3)
- What further controls/actions are required (column 4) – Remember to consider the hierarchy of control and prevention principles when deciding on additional controls.
- The time scale for further actions to be completed (column 5)
- Responsible person’s job role (column 6)
As you work through your risk assessment, you’ll see that column 3 (what you’re already doing) and column 4 (more controls needed) work together. If you’re already doing enough to control the risk, there will be many controls listed in column 3, but very few (if any) in column 4. You might even find that no further action is needed.
On the other hand, if you have very few controls, column 3 will contain very little and column 4 will contain much more. Both scenarios are fine because they are realistic.
Part 3: Prioritize 3 actions with justification
You should use the table in Part 3 of the evaluation packet to prioritize your actions and justify your selection. Once you have identified all your dangers, you need to choose the 3 that require the most urgent action. If you only include 2, you will fail. Your actions may be associated with the same or different hazard categories. The important thing is that they should be your top priorities for action. You should also justify why you believe these are the highest priority/most urgent actions.
Your justification must include:
Moral, legal and financial arguments (350 to 400 words)
You need to make the case for why these actions need to be addressed. Think about general legislation, such as the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and the legal consequences for your organization and the people involved. Then reference any financial impacts, such as sick pay, damaged equipment, enforcement actions, and prosecution fees.
Don’t forget to get the moral arguments right: protecting workers should be a priority for any organization. All workers deserve to work in a safe, healthy and happy environment.
Part 4: Review, check and communicate
- Give review date of risk assessment: write the company policy duration of review of risk assessment. Write a fixed date from what date you are submitting your risk profiling to the organization period of reviews, such as one year or six months = review date.
- How to communicate the risk assessment findings to organization people: through meetings, email, and TBT describe in 100 to 150 words.
- How will follow up the risk assessment (implementation): means strategy, action against violation etc.
Health and safety topics:
Five steps of a risk assessment
Conclusion
The NEBOSH IG2 exam is a risk assessment-based exam that tests your knowledge of risk assessment. To write the NEBOSH IG2 exam, you will need to understand the principles of risk assessment. This includes understanding the different types of hazards, how to assess risks, and how to control risks.
Be able to apply the principles of risk assessment to real-world situations. This means being able to identify hazards, assess risks, and recommend control measures. Be able to communicate your findings clearly and concisely. This means being able to write a risk assessment that is easy to understand and follow.
Here are some additional resources that you may find helpful:
- NEBOSH’s website: https://www.nebosh.org.uk/
- The Health and Safety Executive’s website: https://www.hse.gov.uk/
- The International Organization for Standardization’s website: https://www.iso.org/
