DOSHS Safety Committee Exam study plan

Outline the hierarchy of Kenyan OSH law from the Constitution through the Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2007 to subsidiary regulations, and state where DOSHS sits in the enforcement structure.

List the core employer duties under the OSH Act (general duties, safety and health policy, notification and reporting, employee participation) and restate each in one sentence in your own words.

Map the main subsidiary regulations (workplace, machinery, fire risk reduction, hazardous substances, noise, PPE, first aid, medical examination) to the hazards they govern.

Explain the roles of the Director of Occupational Safety and Health Services, occupational safety and health officers, and the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, including inspection and enforcement powers.

Identify the rights and duties of employees and the protections against victimisation for raising safety concerns.

Distinguish a safety and health committee from a safety representative, and state the legal trigger, size thresholds and composition rules for establishing a committee at a workplace.

Describe how committee members are selected or elected, the required balance between worker and management representatives, and how the chairperson and secretary are appointed.

Draft a 12-month committee meeting cycle showing frequency, quorum, agenda preparation, minute-taking and how decisions are escalated to management.

Explain the committee's advisory functions: reviewing risk assessments, promoting worker consultation, monitoring incident trends and recommending corrective action.

Compare what a committee may decide on its own with what must be referred to the employer, and note the limits of committee authority.

Apply a five-step risk assessment method (hazard identification, who is harmed and how, evaluate and prioritise, record, review) to a real task from your own workplace.

Classify hazards by type (physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, psychosocial, mechanical, electrical) and give two workplace examples of each.

Build a risk matrix and use it to rank at least ten hazards from low to intolerable, justifying each rating.

Apply the hierarchy of control to your top three risks and explain why elimination and substitution outrank administrative controls and PPE.

Evaluate residual risk after controls are applied and set a review date and trigger for reassessment.

Prepare a structured workplace inspection checklist covering housekeeping, fire equipment, electrical installations, machine guarding, chemical storage and welfare facilities.

Conduct a documented walkthrough inspection and record findings with location, photograph-free description, risk rating and recommended action.

Explain the statutory duty to notify DOSHS of accidents, dangerous occurrences and occupational diseases, including which events are reportable and the reporting timelines.

Investigate a sample incident using a root-cause method such as the five whys or a fishbone diagram, separating immediate causes from underlying and root causes.

Draft corrective action recommendations that address root causes and assign owners and completion dates.

Explain the purpose and structure of an incident register and how trend analysis from the register feeds committee decisions.

Describe statutory medical examinations and health surveillance requirements for workers exposed to noise, dust, chemicals and other specified hazards.

Summarise occupational hygiene principles: anticipation, recognition, evaluation and control of exposures, including workplace exposure limits and air monitoring basics.

List welfare provisions an employer must provide, such as drinking water, sanitation, washing facilities, rest areas, changing rooms and accommodation for expectant and nursing mothers.

Outline the main occupational health issues a committee should monitor, including noise-induced hearing loss, respiratory disease, musculoskeletal disorders, fatigue and psychosocial stress.

Outline the fire risk reduction requirements for a workplace, covering means of escape, fire detection and warning, extinguisher provision and maintenance, and evacuation drills.

Draft an emergency response plan naming roles for evacuation marshals, fire wardens, first aiders and the person who calls emergency services.

Specify first aid requirements by workforce size and hazard level, including numbers of trained first aiders, kit contents and record keeping.

Describe the correct response sequence for common emergencies: fire, chemical spill, electrical contact, fall from height and medical collapse.

Design an evacuation drill with a scenario, timed objectives and a debrief that records lessons learned.

Identify the safety and health training obligations the law places on employers, including induction, task-specific training and refresher intervals.

Build a training matrix that maps job roles to required competencies and records completion dates.

Design a toolbox talk or short briefing on one hazard, with learning objectives, key messages and a check for understanding.

Explain how the committee communicates with workers, including noticeboards, consultation before changes to work processes, and reporting back on actions taken.

List the records an employer must keep (training, inspections, incidents, medical examinations, committee minutes) and state sensible retention periods.

Consolidate weak areas by re-testing yourself on the two domains where your practice scores were lowest.

Answer a full-length timed mock exam under exam conditions and review every wrong answer to its source provision or principle.

Rehearse explaining committee functions, risk assessment and incident reporting aloud as if advising a newly formed committee.

Verify that each of your seven deliverables is complete and that you can defend the reasoning behind it.