Workplace Safety and Health
Workplace Safety and Health
This domain tests how you recognise hazards, control risks and respond to emergencies in a workplace or workshop. Expect definitions, safety-sign colours, PPE use, reporting and first-aid basics.
Core rules and concepts
- A hazard is anything with potential to cause harm; risk is the chance and severity of harm. A wet floor is a hazard; the risk rises in a busy corridor.
- The hierarchy of controls is eliminate → substitute → engineering controls → administrative controls → PPE. PPE is the last line of defence, not the first.
- Safety signs use standard colours: red for prohibition and fire equipment, yellow or amber for warning, blue for mandatory action, green for safe condition or first aid.
- Common hazards include slips and trips, electrical faults, chemicals, noise, poor ergonomics and fire. Report near misses as well as injuries.
- Fire needs fuel, oxygen and heat. Use the right extinguisher for the class of fire and never block exits.
- Basic first aid: ensure the area is safe, call for help, do not move a seriously injured person unless there is immediate danger, and record the incident.
Worked example
In a science lab, a bottle of cleaning fluid breaks. The correct order is: warn others and secure the area, avoid touching the spill with bare hands, check the label and safety data sheet if available, wear gloves and eye protection, ventilate the room, absorb the spill with the correct material, and report it. Reasoning: the hazard is chemical contact; the controls move from isolation and ventilation to PPE, and documentation prevents recurrence.
Traps that cost marks
Do not say wear PPE as the main control when the hazard can be removed. Do not use water on every fire or every chemical spill. Do not ignore near misses. Do not move an injured person with a suspected spinal injury unless there is fire or another immediate threat. Do not rely on memory for emergency numbers; know the local protocol.
Key points
- Hazard is potential harm; risk includes chance and severity.
- The hierarchy of controls puts elimination first and PPE last.
- Safety sign colours: red prohibition and fire, yellow warning, blue mandatory, green safe or first aid.
- Report near misses as well as injuries.
- Use the correct extinguisher and keep exits clear.