Safety, Human Factors, and Environmental Practices
Core concepts
Understand human factors: fatigue, complacency, distraction, pressure, and communication. Learn the dirty dozen and how to mitigate each. Know the importance of checklists, proper handover, and situational awareness. Study safety practices: lockout/tagout, fire prevention, fuel handling, and hazardous materials. Understand environmental rules for fuel spills, waste oil, and refrigerant handling. Know the principles of risk assessment and the importance of reporting hazards. Learn about personal protective equipment and safe use of tools.
Traps to expect
Questions often test whether you know that human error is usually systemic, not just individual. Watch for complacency traps: a task done many times without incident can still be dangerous. Another trap is assuming a small spill is harmless; even small fuel spills require containment and reporting. Also know that PPE is the last line of defense, not the first.
Worked example
If a task has a 1 in 100 chance of an incident per repetition and is repeated 50 times, the chance of at least one incident is 1 − (0.99)^50 ≈ 39 percent. Rule of thumb: repeated exposure accumulates risk, so even low-probability hazards deserve controls.
Study habit
For each task you perform, identify the hazard, the control, and the residual risk. Practice speaking up about unsafe conditions as a normal part of the job.