ISPON HSE Level 3 flashcards

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

ALARP

As Low As Reasonably Practicable: risk reduced until further reduction is grossly disproportionate to cost; central to HSE law and risk control.

Prohibition notice

Enforcement action stopping an activity immediately because it involves serious personal injury risk; issued by a regulator inspector.

Risk matrix

Tool multiplying likelihood by severity to rank risks as low, medium, high, or extreme, guiding control priorities.

Hierarchy of control

Order of risk controls: elimination, substitution, engineering, administrative, then PPE as last resort.

Residual risk

Risk remaining after controls are applied; must be acceptable before work starts and reviewed if conditions change.

JSA

Job Safety Analysis: breaks a task into steps, identifies hazards per step, and specifies controls before work begins.

OEL

Occupational Exposure Limit: maximum airborne concentration of a substance averaged over a reference period, used to judge exposure.

Health surveillance

Planned health checks (e.g., audiometry, spirometry) to detect early work-related ill health and enable intervention.

STEL

Short-Term Exposure Limit: maximum concentration averaged over 15 minutes, not to be exceeded at any time during the shift.

5 Whys

Root cause technique asking 'why' repeatedly (typically five times) to move from immediate cause to underlying system failure.

Near miss

Incident with no injury or damage but potential to cause harm; reporting and investigation prevent future incidents.

Fishbone diagram

Cause-and-effect tool (Ishikawa) categorizing potential causes into branches such as people, equipment, method, environment, and management.

Assembly point

Designated safe location where people gather after evacuation for headcount and instructions; must be known and unobstructed.

Evacuation drill

Planned practice of emergency evacuation to test alarms, routes, roles, and timing; records and lessons learned are kept.

Fire tetrahedron

Four elements needed for fire: fuel, oxygen, heat, and chemical chain reaction; removing any one extinguishes fire.

PASS technique

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

Fire class B

Fire involving flammable liquids such as petrol, oil, or paint; extinguish with foam, CO2, or dry powder, not water.

Waste hierarchy

Preferred order of waste management: prevent, reduce, reuse, recycle, recover energy, then dispose as last resort.

Secondary containment

Bund or tray around storage that holds leaks and spills, preventing pollution of soil, drains, and watercourses.

Environmental aspect

Element of an organization's activities, products, or services that interacts with the environment, such as emissions or waste.

PDCA cycle

Plan-Do-Check-Act: continual improvement cycle used in safety and environmental management systems to set, implement, review, and improve.

Safety culture

Shared values, attitudes, and behaviors toward safety; mature cultures are proactive, reporting, and learning-oriented.

Leading indicator

Proactive measure such as inspections or training hours that predicts future safety performance, unlike lagging incident counts.

Lagging indicator

Reactive measure of past performance, such as lost-time injuries or incidents, used to track outcomes after the fact.

PPE last resort

Personal protective equipment is used only after elimination, substitution, engineering, and administrative controls are considered.

LOTO

Lockout/Tagout: isolating energy sources with locks and tags and verifying zero energy before maintenance or repair.

Permit to work

Formal written authorization for high-risk tasks (hot work, confined space, excavation) specifying precautions, time limits, and sign-offs.

Respirator fit test

Check that a tight-fitting respirator seals to the face; required before use and repeated periodically or after facial changes.

Competent person

Someone with sufficient training, experience, and knowledge to perform a task safely and recognize limitations.

Bow-tie analysis

Risk diagram with a top event in the center, threats and preventive barriers on the left, consequences and mitigative barriers on the right.

COSHH assessment

Assessment of hazardous substances: identify hazards, evaluate exposure, apply controls, and monitor or health-surveil as needed.

Corrective action

Action to eliminate the cause of a nonconformity or incident and prevent recurrence; must be assigned, time-bound, and verified.