DPLI Screening cheat sheet

Hierarchy of controls, most to least effective: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, PPE.

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

ALARP principle: risks must be reduced so far as is reasonably practicable, balancing cost against risk reduction.

Permit-to-work systems apply to hot work, confined space entry, lockout/tagout, and excavation near buried services.

Lockout/tagout sequence: notify, shut down, isolate energy, apply locks and tags, verify zero energy, then work.

Confined space entry requires atmospheric testing before entry and continuous monitoring for oxygen, flammables, and toxics.

Regulatory inspection powers typically include right of entry, sampling, photographing, interviewing, and issuing notices or prohibition orders.

Reportable incidents usually include fatalities, serious injuries, dangerous occurrences, and specified occupational diseases within set timeframes.

A prohibition notice stops an activity posing imminent serious personal injury; a improvement notice sets a deadline to remedy a contravention.

Calibration traceability requires an unbroken chain of comparisons to a national or international standard.

Measurement uncertainty must be reported with test results; a pass/fail decision accounts for uncertainty at the specification limit.

Non-destructive testing methods include visual, dye penetrant, magnetic particle, ultrasonic, and radiographic inspection.

Pressure test pressure is typically 1.5 times the design pressure for hydrostatic tests, held for a defined duration.

Electrical insulation resistance testing uses a DC voltage and measures resistance in megohms; values are temperature-corrected.

Sampling plans define lot size, sample size, acceptance number, and rejection number per a standard such as an AQL table.

Test equipment must be within its calibration interval; out-of-calibration instruments invalidate prior results and trigger impact assessment.

Witness and hold points in an inspection and test plan require the inspector's presence before the activity proceeds.

Pressure relief valves protect against overpressure; set pressure, reseat pressure, and lift are key performance parameters.

A centrifugal pump's flow varies with system resistance along its pump curve; a positive displacement pump delivers near-constant flow.

Fail-safe design means a component failure results in a safe state, such as a valve failing closed or open as specified.

Instrument loop components: sensor, transmitter, signal path, controller, and final control element.

A 4-20 mA current loop uses 4 mA as live zero, allowing broken-wire detection below 4 mA.

Corrosion types include uniform, galvanic, pitting, crevice, stress corrosion cracking, and erosion-corrosion.

Heat exchanger effectiveness compares actual heat transfer to the maximum thermodynamically possible for the flow rates.

Grounding and bonding protect against static ignition and electrical fault currents; resistance limits are specified per installation standard.

A controlled document has an identified revision, approval, issue date, and distribution list; superseded copies are withdrawn.

Records are evidence of results achieved; documents state requirements. Records are retained, not revised.

The inspection and test plan links each inspection activity to the applicable standard, acceptance criteria, and record.

Non-conformance reports document the requirement breached, the objective evidence, disposition, and corrective action.

Traceability links material or product to certificates, test results, and batch or serial numbers.

Retention periods are set by regulation, contract, or the quality management system, whichever is longest.

Corrections to records must be legible, signed or initialled, dated, and preserve the original entry.

An audit trail records who changed a document or record, when, and what changed.

Independence: an inspector must not inspect work they designed, performed, or supervised.

Confidentiality obligations cover client data, proprietary processes, and inspection findings not yet public.

Conflicts of interest must be declared and managed; undisclosed financial interest in the inspected party is a breach.

Falsifying, backdating, or signing for tests not performed is fraud and grounds for decertification.

Competence limits: decline or refer work outside your qualification, training, or authorised scope.

Bribery and facilitation payments are prohibited; gifts and hospitality must follow a declared policy threshold.

Whistleblowing duties: report safety-critical wrongdoing through defined channels even when it conflicts with employer interests.

Objectivity requires reporting findings as evidence shows, without pressure from the client, employer, or commercial targets.