NEBOSH IGC cheat sheet

Hierarchy of control (most to least effective): eliminate the hazard; substitute with something less hazardous; engineering controls (isolation, guarding, ventilation); administrative controls (procedures, training, rotation); PPE as the last resort.

Risk = likelihood of harm × severity of harm. A risk assessment records hazards, who is at risk, existing controls, residual risk rating, and further action required with an owner and target date.

The five-step risk assessment process: identify hazards; decide who might be harmed and how; evaluate risks and decide on precautions; record significant findings; review and update.

PDCA (plan-do-check-act) underpins management systems such as ISO 45001: policy and planning, implementation and operation, checking and corrective action, management review.

Accident ratio pyramid (Heinrich/Bird): many near misses and minor injuries precede a serious injury or fatality, so reporting near misses is a leading indicator of failure.

Immediate causes of accidents are unsafe acts and unsafe conditions; root (underlying) causes are management failures such as inadequate training, poor supervision, or missing procedures.

RIDDOR-style reporting thresholds: fatalities and specified injuries; over-7-day incapacitation; reportable occupational diseases; dangerous occurrences; and near-miss incidents with potential for serious harm.

Proactive (leading) indicators measure what is done before harm (inspections, training completed, audit scores); reactive (lagging) indicators measure outcomes after harm (injury rates, lost days, claims).

A permit-to-work controls high-risk tasks by formally authorising work, isolating energy sources, and defining handover and cancellation; it supplements, not replaces, risk assessment.

Safety culture maturity progresses from pathological (blame) through reactive, calculative, proactive, to generative, where safety is embedded in everyday decisions.

Competent advice, worker consultation, and clear allocation of responsibilities are legal and practical foundations; duties cannot be delegated away by managers.

Audits examine management system conformity; inspections examine physical conditions and behaviours. Both feed corrective action tracking to closure.

Emergency planning requires risk-based scenarios, alarm and evacuation arrangements, competent marshals, drills, and review after every test or real event.

Contractor management: pre-qualification, exchange of risk information, coordination of activities, supervision, and post-work review are all required to control shared risks.