August - October 2014

Examiners Report
NEBOSH International
General Certificate in
Occupational Health
and Safety (GC2)

Examiners Report
UNIT GC2:
CONTROLLING WORKPLACE HAZARDS
AUGUST OCTOBER 2014
For:

NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety

NEBOSH International General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety

CONTENTS
Introduction

General comments

Candidate performance

Learning outcomes

Examination technique

Command words

Conclusion

2015 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 2015

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

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 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 GC2
examinations sat between August and October 2014.
Feedback is presented in these key areas; examination technique, command words and learning
outcomes and is designed to assist candidates and course providers to 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 and Guide to the NEBOSH International
General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety which are available via the NEBOSH website.
In particular, the guides set out in detail the syllabus content for GC2 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 GC2 Example question paper
and Examiners feedback on expected answers which provides example questions and details
Examiners expectations and typical areas of underperformance.

Unit GC2
Controlling workplace hazards
Candidate performance
This report covers all examinations, both standard and on-demand examination sittings during the
period August to October 2014.

Learning outcomes
Candidates performed well in these areas of the syllabus:
4.3

Describe the main mechanical and non-mechanical hazards of machinery

Most items of machinery will expose operators and others to a number of both mechanical and nonmechanical hazards. Mechanical hazards tend to be associated with the moving parts of machinery
and non-mechanical hazards are more associated with the power source of machinery and aspects
that may harm a persons health. Questions in this period that asked candidates to identify hazards of
an item of machinery in general, without requiring the hazards to be sub-divided into mechanical and
non-mechanical hazards, tended to provide reasonable answers, especially if the hazards were also
associated with the working environment. However, candidates did not perform as well when
questions in this area of the syllabus require specific knowledge of mechanical and non-mechanical
hazards, especially when associated with the items of work equipment included in the syllabus.
Course providers should make candidates aware of the nature and use of the examples given and
where mechanical and non-mechanical hazards may be present.
4.4

Explain the main control measures for reducing risk from machinery hazards

A broad range of control measures are both available and required in order to reduce risk from
machinery hazards. Although the syllabus includes the application of such control measures to a
number of common items of machinery such as a bench-top grinder or pedestal drill, control measures
are fairly common across a range of machinery such as protection against moving parts, wearing
personal protective equipment and competency of operators. Therefore candidates who were not
familiar with the example of work equipment given in the question could still gain marks. Examiners
reported that candidates performed reasonably well in this area of the syllabus but did express
concern with attention to the command word.

The following learning outcomes have been identified as being the most challenging area of the
syllabus for candidates in this period:
7.5

Outline the hazards, risks and controls associated with specific agents

The specific agents element of the syllabus includes a number of substances that can affect the health
of persons at work. Candidates are not expected to be experts in the risks and controls of agents
such as asbestos, wood dust, blood-borne agents, legionella and leptospira bacteria. However,
candidates would be expected to recognise the source of the agent, know the main effects to health
and appreciate key control measures that are appropriate in each case. It is disappointing when a
candidate provides a complete answer for a question relating to a specific agent when it is clear that
they are referring to the wrong agent or have included generic answers such as cancer or breathing
difficulties. Examiners have reported that many candidates confuse legionella with leptospira and that
knowledge of blood-borne viruses amongst candidates is very limited. Nearly half of all Examiners in
this period, reported that examination answers on questions set in this area of the syllabus were weak
which may reflect on the standard of the teaching of this subject. Course providers should review their
course content and course material to ensure that candidates are provided with an adequate
opportunity to provide reasonable answers to questions in this area of the syllabus.

8.1

Outline the health effects associated with exposure to noise and appropriate control
measures

A course of study on noise and the effects of exposure to noise will require a level of technical
knowledge of sound pressure, the decibel, frequency and weighting filters, dB(A) and dB(C).
Additionally types of noise control such as isolation, absorption, insulation, damping and silencing
should be understood, along with noise measurement techniques.
Many candidates have difficulty with questions that require a degree of technical knowledge and this is
no exception when noise is the subject. Examiners reported that a significant number of candidates
did not attempt noise measurement questions and questions relating to the components of noise were
poorly understood. There were also reports that entire cohorts of candidates had no knowledge of this
element of the syllabus at all which must indicate, at least in part, that this poor performance is due to
the quality of the training by the course provider. In addition to confirming that course materials are
accurate, course providers should ensure that course tutors also have the competence to teach such
subjects adequately in order to provide candidates with a fair chance of success.

3.2

Explain the hazards and control measures which should be considered when assessing
risks from manual handling activities

Manual handling is the single biggest cause of injury across all workplaces and is covered by
legislation, directives and international regulations and conventions. It is also likely that the majority of
candidates sitting a NEBOSH GC2 question paper would have been exposed to manual handling at
some time in their working life. However, Examiners report that the quality of answers to manual
handling questions in this period was particularly limited.
It is most likely that this is due to misinterpreting the question (see below) rather than lack of
awareness of the subject, as responses to a question asking for types of equipment that would reduce
the risk of manual handling mainly included items of work equipment that would avoid manual
handling altogether, such as cranes and forklift trucks. Many candidates do understand the task,
individual, load and environmental elements of a manual handling assessment (TILE) but candidates
often get the specific items within these elements confused. As stated in the examination technique
section below, candidates often ignore the indicator when a question is set on one of the elements of
TILE.

Examination technique
The following examination techniques were identified as the main areas of improvement for
candidates:
Candidates misread/misinterpreted the question
NEBOSH questions are systematically and carefully prepared and are subject to a number of checks
and balances prior to being authorised for use in question papers. Questions will include indicators as
to what is required by the candidate in their answer. These indicators point to the required breadth
and depth of answer (see command words below) and signpost to direct the candidate to the required
answer. For example, candidates could be asked to outline risk factors concerning the task with
regard to manual handling, or a question could require a candidate to identify ways to prevent a fire
starting. However, Examiners report once again, that many candidates do not take notice of these
indicators.
Using the examples above, rather than providing answers with regard to the task in manual handling,
candidates provide answers relating to the load, or candidates refer to ways of extinguishing a fire
rather than ways of preventing a fire starting. This could in part be due to some candidates preparing
for the examination by rote-learning and revising a number of stock answers, or candidates being illprepared. However, many candidates are well prepared for the examination, yet do not perform
satisfactorily on the day due to misreading or misinterpreting the question. It is recognised that
candidates arrive for an examination retaining the information from many hours of study and revision
yet have a finite amount of time to provide their answers. This can result in candidates not spending
sufficient time in reading the question and focusing solely on the syllabus element (eg manual
handling, fire, machinery etc) and missing the reference to the required answer (eg task, prevention,
non-mechanical).
Preparing a time plan before the examination will indicate how many minutes are available for each
question and then part of this time allocation can be given to reading and re-reading the question.
Underlining or highlighting the key indicators can assist in keeping focused and simple mind maps or
answer plans can also be useful. Maps and plans should be kept simple so as not to use up too much
examination time.
Candidates did not respond effectively to the command word
As referred to above, a key indicator in an examination question will be the command word, which is
always given in bold typeface. The command word will indicate the depth of answer that is expected
by the candidate and relates to the amount of detail that should be included in each point of the
answer. Over half of all Examiners in this period reported that candidates continued to incorrectly
observe the command words. Some candidates provided too much information where a command
word limits the expected answer to give or identify. Candidates would not be penalised for providing
excessive detail but this would not be an efficient use of the time allocated. However, the majority of
cases where command words were not observed relate to insufficient detail being given by a
candidate in their examination answer. There were a significant number of candidates who,
irrespective of the command word given in the question, provided all answers in the form of a brief list
of one or two words. This would normally not be sufficient to gain marks where the command word
asked was outline, explain or describe.
NEBOSH has provided guidance on command words on its website and course providers should
make this available to candidates as part of their learning materials.
Candidates unnecessarily wrote the question down
Developing a time plan (as referred to above) is a key element in preparing for an examination.
Advice included on a NEBOSH National General Certificate question paper suggests that 30 minutes
should be allocated for the answer to the long 20-mark question, and 90 minutes should be allocated
to the answers for the remaining ten, 8-mark short questions. Therefore there are around 9 minutes
available to answer an 8-mark question. This time will be required for reading and re-reading the
question properly, (see above), developing an answer plan, and then committing the answer to paper.
Therefore any waste of this time should be avoided. Yet many candidates continue to write out the
question in full prior to providing their answer which is not required.

While writing out the question will not lose marks, there is no need for the candidate to repeat it. A
number of Examiners reported that candidates did not answer all of the questions in the time permitted
and failed to complete the question paper, some of whom obviously ran out of time.
Course providers should remind candidates that it is not necessary to include the question with their
answer.

Command words
The following command words are listed in the order identified as being the most challenging for
candidates:
Outline
By a significant majority, Examiners have reported, once again that the command word outline was
found challenging by many candidates in this period. The NEBOSH guidance on command words
available on the NEBOSH website, refers to outline as meaning to indicate the principal features or
different parts of, and also includes that an exhaustive description is not required. What is sought is a
brief summary of the major aspects of whatever is stated in the question. Candidates continue to
give insufficient information and outline answers are often limited to a bulleted list of one or two
words.
Candidates should consider the use of command words in everyday communication. Should a person
be asked to outline the contents of a shopping basket, the answer two tins, a bottle and a jar would
not contain the sufficient requested. Providing details of the contents, the brand and price of each
item would be an appropriate answer.

Describe
The command word describe clearly requires a description of something. The NEBOSH guidance on
command words says that describe requires a detailed written account of the distinctive features of a
subject such that another person would be able to visualise what is being described. However
candidates either see the command word describe as an opportunity to fill out an answer with
irrelevant detail, or conversely some candidates fail to recognise the difference between an outline
and describe qualified question and provide insufficient detail in their answer. In either case the
marks that can be awarded will be limited. If a person was asked to describe the chair they were
sitting on, they would have little difficulty in doing so and would not give general unconnected
information about chairs in general, fill a page with everything they know about chairs, or explain why
they were sitting on the chair. Candidates should consider the general use of the command word
when providing examination answers.

Identify
To identify something will require reference to an item, which could be its name or title. Therefore
when the command word identify is used in a question the answer can be brief with one or two word
answers generally being acceptable. To identify the forms of a hazardous substance can be achieved
with one word answers as can the identification of types of safety sign.
Some candidates appear to believe that more words equal more marks and expand their identify
answers with detail that is not required by the identify command word.

Give
Give is usually in a question together with a further requirement, such as give the meaning of or
give an example in EACH case. Candidates tend to answer such questions satisfactorily, especially
where a question might ask to identify something and then give an example. The candidate who
can answer the first part, invariable has little difficulty in giving the example. However, Examiners
reported that a number of candidates did have difficulty with a give command word, which may be
due to candidates not giving the example as required or not being able to give a meaning.

Explain
When a question asks to explain a point, the candidate is required to provide an understanding or
make clear an idea or relationship. For example, explain the principles of two handed controls with
respect to machinery safety. In this period, Examiners have reported fewer problems with answers to
an explain command word. However, some candidates do see the command word explain as
requiring more information than identify and answer in a similar manner to that of an outline question
providing a number of individual points rather than a clear, cohesive answer.

For additional guidance, please see NEBOSHs Guidance on command words used in learning
outcomes and question papers document, which is available on our website:
www.nebosh.org.uk/students/default.asp?cref=1345&ct=2.

Conclusion
The feedback from Examiners highlighted that candidate taking the GC2 examinations in August to
October 2014 needed most improvement in the areas of hazards, risks and controls associated with
specific agents (learning outcome 7.5), health effects associated with exposure to noise and
appropriate control measures (learning outcome 8.1) and health effects associated with exposure to
noise and appropriate control measures (learning outcome 3.2).
With regard to examination technique, a number of candidates appeared to either misread the
question or misinterpreted the question. Some candidates did not respond to the command word
while others unnecessarily wrote the question down.

NEBOSH
Dominus Way
Meridian Business Park
Leicester LE19 1QW
telephone +44 (0)116 263 4700
fax +44 (0)116 282 4000

www.nebosh.org.uk

Registered in England and Wales

Company number: 2698100
Registered charity number: 1010444

NEBOSH, the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health,

is the worlds leading provider of Health, Safety and Environmental qualifications.