DOSHS Safety Committee Exam flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

SFAIRP

So far as is reasonably practicable: the employer's duty to control risk unless the cost, time and trouble of control is grossly disproportionate to the risk reduction achieved.

DOSH

The Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services in Kenya; its inspectors enforce workplace safety law, enter premises, issue notices and prosecute breaches.

Improvement notice

A written enforcement notice requiring an employer to remedy a specified legal contravention within a stated period, failing which prosecution may follow.

Prohibition notice

An enforcement notice that stops an activity posing imminent risk of serious personal injury until the danger is removed or controlled.

WIBA

Kenya's Work Injury Benefits Act 2007; it provides no-fault compensation for work-related injuries and occupational diseases through a statutory claims process.

Committee threshold

Workplaces with 20 or more employees must establish a safety and health committee; smaller workplaces must designate a safety officer instead.

Committee composition

Members must represent all departments, sections and shifts, with worker members elected by fellow workers and balanced employer representation.

Committee quorum

The minimum agreed attendance of members from both employer and worker sides required before a committee meeting can validly transact business.

Worker safety representative

An elected worker who inspects the workplace, raises hazards, accompanies inspectors and represents colleagues on safety matters without detriment.

Committee meeting frequency

Safety and health committee meetings must be held at least once every three months, with minutes recorded and actions tracked to closure.

Committee core functions

Promote safety, review risk assessments and incident reports, monitor controls, advise the employer, and track corrective actions to closure.

Employer residual duty

The committee advises, but the employer retains legal responsibility for implementing controls, providing resources and ensuring compliance.

Hazard versus risk

A hazard is a source of potential harm; risk is the combination of the likelihood of that harm occurring and its severity.

Risk rating formula

Risk score equals likelihood multiplied by severity; a 5x5 matrix produces scores from 1 to 25 mapped to low, medium, high and critical bands.

Hierarchy of control

Order of control effectiveness: eliminate, substitute, engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment last.

Residual risk

The risk remaining after controls are applied; it must be recorded and judged acceptable against defined criteria before work proceeds.

Risk assessment review triggers

Review assessments when processes or equipment change, after incidents, and at planned intervals; record assessor, date and next review date.

Inspection checklist

A structured list based on hazards, legal requirements and prior findings, scored consistently so results can be compared over time.

Follow-up inspection

A verification visit confirming that corrective actions from earlier findings were implemented and are effective before the finding is closed.

Inspection finding record

Documentation stating location, hazard description, risk rating, responsible person and target completion date for each deficiency identified.

Root cause analysis

A structured method such as 5 Whys or fault tree analysis that identifies underlying system causes rather than blaming individuals.

Immediate versus root cause

Immediate causes are unsafe acts or conditions at the scene; root causes are system factors such as training, design, procedures and supervision.

Accident register

A statutory record of accidents and dangerous occurrences, kept by the employer and produced to inspectors on request.

TWA exposure limit

A time-weighted average exposure over a reference period, usually eight hours, used to compare worker exposure against occupational exposure limits.

Health surveillance

Planned medical monitoring such as audiometry or spirometry for workers exposed to specific health hazards, with results kept confidential.

Safety data sheet

A standardized document giving hazard, handling, storage, exposure control and first aid information for a hazardous chemical substance.

Fire triangle

The three elements needed for combustion: fuel, oxygen and heat; removing any one prevents or extinguishes fire.

PASS technique

Extinguisher use: Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the handle, Sweep side to side.

Evacuation assembly point

A designated safe location where workers gather and are accounted for after evacuation, communicated and marked in the emergency plan.

Training record content

Documentation of trainee name, training content, date, trainer and outcome, retained for audit and inspection purposes.

Toolbox talk

A short, regular briefing on a specific hazard or task, delivered in a language workers understand and recorded for verification.

Record retention

Statutory periods for keeping accident, exposure and health records; exposure records often require retention for decades after employment ends.