Workplace Safety, Health, Hygiene and Environmental Awareness
What the exam tests
Workplace safety, health, hygiene and environmental awareness-the guard's own safety and the site's wellbeing.
Core rules and concepts
- Hazards: slips, trips, falls, electrical, manual handling, heat, noise, stress, biological needles and violence.
- PPE: helmet, shoes, gloves, mask, vest and torch; use only for the task.
- Hygiene: handwashing, clean drinking water, clean rest area, safe food and toilet cleanliness.
- Environment: waste segregation, spill control, energy and water saving, and no open burning.
- Reporting: near misses, injuries, broken lights, wet floors and blocked exits.
- Manual handling: bend knees, keep the load close and use a team lift.
Worked example
A water cooler leaks across a lobby. Reasoning: place a wet-floor sign, isolate the area, mop or absorb the spill, switch off power if water reaches sockets, report the leak and log it. Do not ignore it because housekeeping will come.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating a near miss as nothing happened.
- Using the wrong PPE or none at all.
- Not reporting a needle-stick or sharps injury immediately.