ISPON HSE Level 1 cheat sheet

HSE definition: the discipline that protects worker health, prevents injury, and minimises environmental harm from work activities; its three pillars are occupational health, occupational safety, and environment.

ILO estimate: roughly 2.3 million work-related deaths occur globally each year, of which about 2.0 million are attributed to disease and the remainder to injury.

Accident ratio (Heinrich): for every 1 serious injury there are about 29 minor injuries and 300 near-miss incidents; the pyramid logic is that reducing near-misses reduces serious outcomes.

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

Occupational health deals with chronic, exposure-driven conditions (noise-induced hearing loss, silicosis, dermatitis); safety deals with acute energy-release events (falls, struck-by, electrical).

The hierarchy of control ranks measures from most to least effective: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, then PPE.

Environmental pillar covers emissions to air, discharges to water, land contamination, waste generation, and resource/energy consumption attributable to the workplace.

Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) = (number of lost time injuries x 1,000,000) / total hours worked; the 1,000,000 base normalises rates across sites.

Factory Act (1990, Cap F1 LFN 2004) is the core occupational safety statute: it requires registration of factories, notification of accidents and dangerous occurrences, and minimum welfare and safety provisions.

Labour Act (Cap L1 LFN 2004) governs employment terms including hours of work, rest periods, and provisions on the health and welfare of workers.

Employee's Compensation Act 2010 (replacing the Workmen's Compensation Act) is administered by NSITF and provides compensation for workplace injury, disability, and death.

NOSDRA (National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency) administers the Oil Pollution (Spill Response, Planning and Reporting) framework, including the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan.

NESREA Act 2007 established the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency; it enforces environmental standards and permits and supersedes the earlier FEPA role.

Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) issues Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS); NIS 150 is the national code of practice for occupational health and safety management systems.

Dangerous Goods and other transport rules sit under agencies such as NAFDAC, NNRA (radiation safety), and the Nigeria Police/FRSC for road transport of hazardous materials.

Hierarchy of Nigerian legal sources: the Constitution, then Acts of the National Assembly, then subsidiary regulations and agency guidelines; state laws apply where not inconsistent with federal Acts.

Common hazard categories: physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, psychosocial, and mechanical/electrical; each requires a different control approach.

Risk score = Likelihood x Severity on a typical 5x5 matrix, giving scores from 1 to 25; scores of 15-25 are usually treated as high or unacceptable risk requiring immediate action.

ALARP principle: risk should be reduced to As Low As Reasonably Practicable, weighing the cost of further control against the benefit gained.

Job Safety Analysis (JSA) breaks a task into sequential steps, identifies hazards at each step, and specifies controls before work starts; it is task-specific rather than site-wide.

HAZOP is a structured, guide-word-based technique (no, more, less, reverse, as well as, part of, other than) used for process plant deviations.

Hierarchy of control order: elimination > substitution > engineering (isolation, guarding, ventilation) > administrative (procedures, training, rotation) > PPE; PPE is last because it protects only the wearer and depends on correct use.

Hierarchy does not apply to all hazards equally: for ergonomic risks, redesign of the task and workstation (engineering) usually outperforms training and lifting technique instruction.

Residual risk is the risk remaining after controls are applied; it must be recorded and re-assessed whenever the process, equipment, or workforce changes.

PPE is the last line of defence: it does not remove the hazard, protects only the individual wearer, and fails if fit, maintenance, or training is inadequate.

Head protection: industrial safety helmets to EN 397 or ANSI Z89.1; replace after any impact, and inspect for cracks, degraded straps, and expired service life.

Eye/face protection: safety spectacles for impact, goggles for chemical splash and dust, face shields for grinding and hot work; selection must match the specific hazard.

Hearing protection: earmuffs typically give higher attenuation than earplugs; the Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) is derated (commonly by about 50% for earmuffs, 70% for plugs) for real-world use.

Respiratory protection: filtering facepieces (FFP2/N95) for particulates; air-purifying respirators with chemical cartridges for gases and vapours; supplied-air or SCBA where oxygen is deficient or IDLH conditions exist.

Hand protection selection is chemical-specific: no single glove material resists all chemicals, and breakthrough time must be checked against the substance's safety data sheet.

Fall protection: full-body harness with lanyard and anchor point rated for the load; a shock-absorbing lanyard limits fall arrest forces, and rescue planning is required before work at height.

PPE programme elements: hazard-based selection, fit testing (especially respirators), training, inspection and maintenance records, and replacement schedules.

Accident causation: the Domino theory (Heinrich) treats accidents as a chain of factors that can be broken; the Swiss Cheese model shows multiple failed defences aligning to allow an accident.

Unsafe acts and unsafe conditions are immediate causes; underlying causes are management-system failures such as inadequate training, poor supervision, or missing procedures.

Slips, trips, and falls are among the most common workplace injury mechanisms; housekeeping, flooring, lighting, and walkway design are the main controls.

Machine guarding: guards must prevent access to danger points (nip points, rotating parts) and interlocked guards must stop the machine when the guard is opened.

Lockout/Tagout (LOTO): isolate all energy sources, apply personal locks and tags, verify zero energy state, and only remove locks by the person who applied them.

Electrical safety: earth/ground circuits, residual current devices (RCDs), insulation testing, and safe clearance distances are core controls; never work live unless justified and authorised.

Manual handling injuries are reduced by mechanical aids, team lifting, load reduction, and workstation redesign rather than by lifting technique training alone.

Incident investigation: preserve the scene, gather evidence and witness statements, identify root causes (not just blame), and track corrective actions to closure.

Fire tetrahedron: fuel, oxygen, heat, and the chemical chain reaction; removing any one element extinguishes the fire.

Fire classes: A (solid combustibles), B (flammable liquids), C (flammable gases), D (combustible metals), F/K (cooking oils); extinguisher selection must match the class.

Extinguisher types: water (Class A only), foam (A and B), CO2 (B and electrical), dry powder (A, B, C, electrical), wet chemical (F/K).

PASS technique for using an extinguisher: Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the handle, Sweep side to side.

Flash point is the lowest temperature at which a liquid gives off enough vapour to ignite; a lower flash point means a higher fire hazard.

Emergency response sequence: raise the alarm, evacuate to the assembly point, account for all personnel, and only then allow trained responders to act.

Fire evacuation: know at least two exit routes, keep exits unobstructed, and follow the fire warden; never re-enter a building until the all-clear is given.

Fire detection systems: smoke, heat, and flame detectors each respond to different signatures; sprinkler systems activate locally by heat, not by smoke.

DRSABCD sequence: Danger, Response, Send for help, Airway, Breathing, CPR, Defibrillation.

Adult CPR: compressions at 100-120 per minute, depth 5-6 cm, with a compression-to-ventilation ratio of 30:2; allow full chest recoil between compressions.

Recovery position: for an unresponsive but breathing casualty, place on the side to maintain the airway and prevent aspiration; monitor continuously.

Choking: encourage coughing if effective; for severe obstruction give up to 5 back blows then up to 5 abdominal thrusts, alternating, and call for emergency help.

Severe bleeding: apply direct pressure with a clean dressing, elevate if possible, and use a tourniquet only when direct pressure fails and the limb is at risk.

Burns: cool with running water for at least 20 minutes, remove jewellery and loose clothing, do not burst blisters, and cover with a sterile non-adherent dressing.

Anaphylaxis and shock: recognise swelling, breathing difficulty, and collapse; use an adrenaline auto-injector if prescribed and call emergency services.

AED use: apply pads to a bare, dry chest, follow voice prompts, and do not touch the casualty during analysis or shock delivery.

Waste hierarchy (most to least preferred): prevention, reuse, recycling, recovery (including energy recovery), then disposal.

Waste categories: municipal/solid, hazardous (including clinical and chemical), electronic (e-waste), and construction/demolition; each has different handling requirements.

Hazardous waste characteristics: ignitable, corrosive, reactive, toxic, infectious, or radioactive; these require manifest tracking and licensed disposal.

Segregation at source is the primary control: colour-coded bins and labelled containers prevent mixing of hazardous and non-hazardous streams.

Spill response: stop the source if safe, contain with absorbents or bunding, protect drains, clean up, and dispose of contaminated material as hazardous waste.

Environmental aspects and impacts: an aspect is an activity or product that interacts with the environment; an impact is the resulting change (e.g., discharge of effluent causing water pollution).

Environmental monitoring includes air emissions, effluent quality, noise levels, and soil/groundwater sampling, compared against regulatory limits.

Environmental Management System (EMS) follows the ISO 14001 Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle: identify aspects, set objectives, implement controls, monitor, and review.

ISO 45001 is the international standard for occupational health and safety management systems; it replaced OHSAS 18001 and follows the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle.

Key ISO 45001 elements: context of the organisation, leadership and worker participation, planning, support, operation, performance evaluation, and improvement.

Safety culture maturity levels (typical model): reactive (blame and respond to incidents), dependent (rules and supervision), independent (personal commitment), interdependent (team-based ownership).

Lagging indicators measure outcomes after the fact (injury rates, lost-time incidents); leading indicators measure preventive activity (near-miss reporting, training completion, inspection closure).

Behaviour-Based Safety (BBS) focuses on observable at-risk behaviours, using observation, feedback, and reinforcement rather than punishment.

Safety climate surveys measure workers' perceptions of management commitment, communication, and fairness; they are leading indicators of culture.

Permit-to-Work (PTW) system: a formal authorisation for high-risk tasks (hot work, confined space entry, work at height) that verifies controls before work starts.

Management review is a required top-management activity that evaluates system performance and drives continual improvement.