Personal Safety
Scope
Personal Safety tests enclosed-space entry, permit-to-work, risk assessment, PPE, lifting, electrical safety, chemicals and manual handling. The exam expects you to refuse an unsafe act and follow the permit.
Core rules
- Enclosed space: permit, isolation, ventilation, gas test at top, middle and bottom, standby man, rescue equipment.
- PPE must match the hazard: helmet, gloves, goggles, boots, hearing protection, harness.
- Lock out and tag out before work on machinery; test for dead.
- Risk assessment: identify hazard, assess likelihood and severity, control, record, review.
- Manual handling: keep load close, bend knees, avoid twisting; use mechanical aid.
Worked example
Before entering a ballast tank, the meter reads 20.9% oxygen, 0% LEL and no H2S at the top. The entry is still not authorised: test at mid-depth and bottom, ventilate continuously, fit the permit, station a standby man and check BA and rescue kit. A single reading at the hatch is not enough.
Traps
Entering to rescue without BA, sniffing the air, bypassing an alarm, and defeating an interlock are fatal errors. Never trust a permit that has not been signed.