NEBOSH

MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH AND SAFETY

UNIT IG1:
For: NEBOSH International General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety

MANAGEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

UNIT IGC1:
For: NEBOSH International General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety
NEBOSH International Certificate in Construction Health and Safety
NEBOSH International Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management

Open Book Examination

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Answer sheet IG1_IGC1-0009-ENG-OBE-V1 Dec21 © NEBOSH 2021 page 1 of 7

Task 1: Obligations of employers to workers

Question 1
There are many employer obligations to the workers that are likely to have been
contravened leading the accident. The employer fails to provide safe workplace and work
equipment as it is mentioned in the scenario that the machines are quite old and they
frequently need parts replacement and also safe work method of entering into oven if
breakdown occurs was not conveyed properly to the night shift workers. Also the
employer fails to provide appropriate instruction and training to the workers. The workers
were unfamiliar of using the specialist tools that need to be used for entering the oven in
the correct manner. Additionally, none of the workers at the night shift had first aid
training which may have increased the severity of the accident occurred. It is also
mentioned that induction training is provided within six weeks of joining rather than
providing them at the time of joining. Necessary supervision was also not provided by the
employer. It is mentioned in the scenario that at the time of the accident everyone was
trying to help the workers inside the oven, but no in charge was present there to take
control of the situation. This shows that there was a need of proper supervision.
Additionally it is the responsibility of the employer to put in place the health and safety
arrangements adapted to suit the size and nature of the organisation. Here the health
and safety precautions taken were not sufficient as many lapses can be found in the
health and safety standards of the organisation. Further the employer must make sure
that the working hour does not affect employees health and safety. But as it is clear from
the scenario, it is the employees who are considered responsible for delay of any order
and blame culture exist in the company. Thus the employees are forced to complete their
work even though proper safety measures are not followed.

It is clear from the scenario that the higher management does not give much importance
to health and safety as it mentioned that no separate budget is given to health and safety
and also financial support will only be provided if it is made clear the implementation of
the action will increase profit to the company. Also it is mentioned that the ‘directors often
allow workers to cut corners when it comes to safety measures, to enable them to get the
job done as quickly as possible and without costly delays’. This clearly shows the lack of
any moral responsibility of the employer towards his employees.

Task 2: Influencing health and safety culture

Question 2
There are many negative indicators of health and safety culture at the bakery

It is mentioned in the scenario that the directors do not believe that health and safety is a
full time job and no separate budget is allotted for health and safety. They also said that
any financial support will only be provided if they feel like implementation of the action
would increase profit of the organisation. Also induction training is provided to the
workers within six weeks of joining rather than at the time of joining. The new starters are
shown how to carry out their role by someone else in the relevant department in spite of
provided job specific training to the workers. Also the first aid training was provided to the
workers long back and most of the workers who received the first aid training have left
the organisation. Apart from these there are no training provided as the directors feels
like training is wastage of working time. Specific health and safety representative is also
allotted in the organisation. Further the organisation is having poor management of safety
documents as it is mentioned in the scenario that inspection and maintenance records
are not maintained other than in their work diary which shows when a machine was last
used and also the maintenance engineer says that they ‘just know’ which machines have
had work done to them as they have been working in the organisation for past 15 years.
Moreover the risk assessment of the oven and other machinery are out of date and are

Answer sheet IG1_IGC1-0009-ENG-OBE-V1 Dec21 © NEBOSH 2021 page 2 of 7

not reviewed. Besides when asked for near miss and accident reports the shift manager
says he do not maintain such records as accidents does not happen often. All the above
mentioned points depicts lack of strong safety leadership and commitment from the
management.

Blame culture persists in the organisation as it is mentioned that workers are considered
responsible for delay in the orders or if target timelines are not reached. Another issue
that can be seen in the organisation is that Health and safety is receiving lower priority
than other business issues. As it is mentioned clearly that directors often allow workers to
cut corners when it comes to safety measures in order to enable them to get the job done
as quickly as possible and without costly delays. Additionally it is heard from the works
that accidents and near missed occur frequently, but are not formally reported.

High staff turnover rates are the next major problem in the bakery organisation. It is
clearly mentioned in the scenario that most of the workers who received first aid training
have left the organisation and also following the accident some of the worker left the
organisation as the felt that they could no longer continue in the organisation. Lack of
proper resources is another issue in the company. It is given in the scenario that the
machines are quite old and need replacing of its parts frequently and that it is promised
to the workers few times that new machine will arrive but haven’t kept their promises.

Task 3: Financial arguments to improve health and safety

Question 3
There are any financial arguments in relation to accidents, that could be used to convince
the directors that health and safety needs to be improved. Basically cost following an
accident can be divided into two, ie, Direct cost and Indirect cost.

According to the scenario various direct cost that the organisation needed to pay
following the accident are the fines imposed to the organisation as they have found guilty
for breaching health and safety legislation (ie, £350000). The immediate medical
expense and compensations paid to all the injured workers can also be counted under
direct cost. As it is mentioned in the scenario that the fellow workers who helped to
rescue the workers who entered the oven were traumatised by what they had witnessed
and had to take extended periods off work to recover. Thus the sick pay leave cost must
be incurred by the organisation. Additionally a significant production time was lost while
dealing with the accident. Also the loss of production (for 2 weeks) when the bakery was
closed for investigation purpose.

There are many indirect costs the organisation needed to bear following the accident.
The staff morale is decreased and a result some of the workers resigned from the
organisation following the accident as they felt that they cannot continue further in the
company. Recruiting of new workers and training provided to them to use the machines
adds on to indirect cost. There also exists a chance that the workers may not work in that
machine in future as an accident had occurred in that machine killing two workers.
Another major indirect cost is loss of goodwill and reputation of the organisation. As it is
mentioned in the scenario that following the accident the bakery had lost many orders
from their clients as they hesitate to associate with the bakery anymore.

All these above mentioned costs can be avoided if proper health and safety precautions
were taken and followed thus preventing such an accident from occurring. So it is better
to follow health and safe practices and precautions to prevent an accident rather that
spending huge amount of money following an accident.

Answer sheet IG1_IGC1-0009-ENG-OBE-V1 Dec21 © NEBOSH 2021 page 3 of 7

Task 4: Investigating incidents

Question 4
There are many reactive (lagging) monitoring measures that could be put in place by the
organisation. Accident investigation records must be maintained as it can be used find
the cause of the accidents occurred in the organisation and thus preventing its
reoccurrence. Records of near misses, dangerous occurrences, accidents etc. must be
maintained as these data helps for the analysis of trends and patterns of such events.
Absenteeism and sick leave data must also be maintained. Data of complaints from the
workforce need to be maintained which would help to identify the needs of the workers.
Data of enforcement actions received against the organisation can be collected in order
to identify the reason for which such enforcement actions are received and also it helps
to identify the losses that the company incurred due to such enforcement actions. Data f
claims and compensation provided by the organisation can be maintained. Various
training data can be collected in order to identify the lapses present in them. Reviewing of
risk assessments can be done as an accident had occurred due to presence some lapse
in the risk assessment. Inspection and maintenance records can be maintained which
would help to identify the issues found during inspection and maintenance of the
machine. Accident and near miss reporting can be implemented in the organisation.

Task 5: Prioritising health and safety issues

Question 5
Ten health and safety issues that the committee should prioritise at their first meeting are
as follows:
1. A designated health and safety person (representative) must be selected or
appointed on regular basis in the organisation.
2. Ensuring reporting and maintaining records of near misses, dangerous occurrences
and accidents within the organisation as they will help for lesson learning
purpose.
3. Need of various trainings like induction training (at the time of joining), first aid
training etc., refresher trainings etc. can be discussed.
4. Reviewing of existing risk assessments, safe operation methods etc. must be
prioritised.
5. Ensuring the availability of competent supervisors and engineers at both the shifts
( ie, day and night shifts)
6. Leadership and commitment from management towards health and safety must be
ensured and maintained.
7. Records of inspection and maintenance of all the machines must be maintained
properly.
8. Importance of allocation of budget for Health and safety.
9. Need of new machinery and safety precautions that need to be followed for the
same.
10. Ensuring worker complaints are taken care of and necessary actions are taken.

Task 6: Training recommendations

Question 6
Training that the bakery should arrange for the different types of workers, to make a
repeat of the recent accident less likely are as follows:
1. Training on importance, requirement and procedure of maintenance must be given
to maintenance engineer f both day and night shift.
2. Training on usage and location of specialised tools to be used for maintenance

Answer sheet IG1_IGC1-0009-ENG-OBE-V1 Dec21 © NEBOSH 2021 page 4 of 7

 must be given.
3. Training on inside confined space entry (oven), establishing of proper
communication etc. must be given to the engineers, shift managers and workers.
4. Since all the machines are electrically operated electrical safety training (including
Lock Out Tag Out system) can be given to all the managers, engineers and
workers.
5. Training on Permit to work system can be given to shift managers, engineers and
workers.
6. Training on general site rules, duties and responsibilities of each individual must be
given to all shift managers, engineers and workers.
7. First Aid training must be provided to shift manager, engineers and workers.
8. Fire fighting training can be given to workers, engineers and shift managers.
9. Training on emergency and rescue procedures must be given to the workers,
engineers and shift managers.
10. Training on reporting of near miss, dangerous occurrence and accidents can be
given to the workers and engineers.
11. Training on proper usage of risk assessment can be given to the workers and
engineers.
12. Training on how to improve the induction training can be given to the
management.

Task 7: Emergency procedures

Question 7 (a)
There exist many reasons why emergency procedures must be developed.
Everyone must be aware of the procedures to be followed if emergency situation
arises at what must be done, where everyone must assemble, who are the
responsible persons etc. This would help to deal with the emergency situation in a
much more effective manner.

Specialised equipments need to be used while dealing with different emergency

situation. In order to identify them and use them properly emergency procedure
must be developed.

Also in the scenario it is mentioned that there was a absence of a person taking
in-charge for controlling the situation, This can be avoided if proper emergency
procedures are maintained.

In case of emergency first aiders and fire fighters must be available. In order to
identify them and provide proper training to them emergency procedures must be
developed.

Further there may be need to contact emergency services at the time of

emergency situation. Contact numbers, device for contacting them, person
responsible for contacting the emergency services must be pre planed. Thus
there is need for preparing emergency procedure.

Additionally it is legal requirement that emergency procedures must be

maintained in the organisation. Hence to fulfil the legal requirement emergency
procedure must be developed.

Moreover it is important to develop emergency procedures to prevent panic of the

workers at the time of emergency situations as panic will only make the situation
worse.

Answer sheet IG1_IGC1-0009-ENG-OBE-V1 Dec21 © NEBOSH 2021 page 5 of 7

Question 7 (b)
There are many reasons that have contributed to the failure of the emergency
arrangements when dealing with the recent accident. First of all there was no emergency
plan or procedure in place which is the major reasons why proper arrangement were not
provided at the time of incident. If proper emergency procedures were in place then te
severity f the incident could have been reduced. Also no person was present during the
incident to take in-charge of controlling the situation. Additionally no trained first aiders
were available during the night shift. If trained first aiders were available the severity of
the accident could have been minimized. Also no person was present during the incident
to take in-charge of controlling the situation. None of the person present during the
incident were aware of what need to be done during such situation. Also it is clearly
visible that there is lack of any mock drills conducted as no one was aware of what
should be done at the time of the incident and as a result workers were panicked leading
to worsening of the situation. Further contact details, device for contacting, person
responsible for contacting emergency services were not mentioned previously. Moreover
no rescue arrangements and rescue team were available at the bakery for dealing with
such situations. This clearly shows the lack of allocation of responsibilities among the
employees for dealing with such situations.

There was no Permit To Work system followed at the organisation even though entering
into the oven requires confined space entry permit. If proper permit system was followed
prior checking of the oven temperature would have been done prior to entering inside it
and thus this accident could have been prevented. Proper communication procedures for
the workers entering inside the oven with the outsiders were lacking which increased the
severity of the incident. Also there was lack of competent maintenance engineer (usually
assigned to fix breakdowns) at night shift when maintenance of the oven was needed.
Therefore none of the workers or engineers present in the night were aware of the safe
entry procedure inside the oven. Proper training to the workers was not provided as the
directors felt like providing training is wastage of working time.

Task 8: Setting suitable health and safety targets

Question 8
Suitability of the target action table in helping to improve health and safety management
system performance by checking if the objective provided are SMART(Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Reasonable and Time bound).
Here in the target action table, the target mentioned is “Reduce recorded accidents by
50%”. But in order improve health and safety management system performance, it should
be made sure that all accidents are recorded at first place. If proper recording of
accidents are not done then there is no meaning in achieving this target. Hence in order
to improve health and safety management system performance, there is lack in clarity of
the target suggested.

The target provided here is also measurable. It is possible to measure the number of
accidents occurring now and also after 12 months. By comparing these two data it is
possible to identify if the target is been achieved or not. For the target to become
measurable, it is important that a system of reporting of all the accidents must be
implemented within the organisation. Without proper reporting of accidents, it is not
possible to get the correct data and hence the objective cannot be correctly quantified.

The next parameter is to check whether the action is achievable or not. At first it may
sound like within the specified time it is impossible to reduce the accident rate by 50% for
an organisation like this as it is clearly visible from the scenario that there is lack of
leadership and commitment of top management towards health and safety. And also the
organisation gives priority only to complete the order within the target time even if it

Answer sheet IG1_IGC1-0009-ENG-OBE-V1 Dec21 © NEBOSH 2021 page 6 of 7

needs to compromise with health and safety. The attitude of managers is also in such a
way that they have vast experience in the company and hence there is no need of
keeping records or documents of any inspection or maintenance. Also the shift manager
says that there is no need of keeping records of accidents as accidents does not happen
often. With such prevailing condition and nature of the organisation it is impossible to
achieve the target. But if proper resources are allotted and the strict safety precautions
are taken along with strong leadership and commitment from management side we can
say that there exists a chance of the specified target to be achieved.

Another parameter to be considered is whether the action is reasonable or not. As

mentioned above, with the prevailing condition, the 12 months time period provided to
reduce the accident rate to 50% is not reasonable. But with proper support from the
management and worker side, we can say that the 12 months time provided is hard to
achieve but not impossible.

The last parameter that needs to be considered is whether a deadline or timescale is set
for the completion of the target. As it is clear from the table that 12 months time period is
provided to achieve the target of reducing the recorded accidents by 50%. Hence the
target is time bound.

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Documents and sources Course notes, RRC International Text, ILO Conventions and
of information you used Recommendations
in your examination

End of examination

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Answer sheet IG1_IGC1-0009-ENG-OBE-V1 Dec21 © NEBOSH 2021 page 7 of 7