NEBOSH GC3 guide

With knowledge of IGC1 & GC2, inspect a workplace and submit the report.

Experienced candidate can select his or her own site anywhere in the world. Fresher can
select industries such as Kitchen, Warehouse, Shopping Malls, food industry, manufacturing,
Hospitals, Construction sites –commercial/residential/ metro projects/ highway project,
Business Park etc., but make sure activity are happening, people, equipment, tools used and
high risks are found.

OBSERVATION section (30 marks)

Hazard & consequences

20 uncontrollable hazard + good practices, but total observations not more than 30 different
range of hazards
Time scale: Short term & long term

Range of issues

Electricity Ergonomics Falling objects

Fire / Explosion First Aid Good Practice

Hazardous substances Housekeeping Information

Machinery Manual Handling Noise

Obstructions/Trailing Cables PPE No Signage

Vehicle/Routes Vibration Welfare / Hygiene

Work at Height Work Environment Pressure / Stress

Aggression/violence Radiation Slip/trip

Categories of hazard: physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic & psychological and any
other appropriate observation without repetition of the above

Sample:
Hazard & consequence Short & long term action Timescale
Hazard: Short term:
Full acetylene cylinders were left unattended 1.Inform the concerned supervisor to move to shady area 5 min
under direct sunlight in the fabrication yard 2.TBT about the consequence of fire risk 1 day
in M1 area, and no storage area found, with 3.Alert the workers nearby & insisted to report if they see likewise 1 hour
grinding nearby
Long term:
Consequence: 1.Construct a designated cylinder storage area 1 month
Storage of compressed gas cylinders under 2.Training/ Re –training for workers, safety & supervisors 2 weeks
direct sun increase the pressure due to regarding compressed gas cylinders & hot work
temperature and can result in explosion and 3.Daily site inspection system to be implemented 1 week
fire hazard. Spark from grinding operation 4.Purchase of fire retardant blankets to isolate grinding operation 3 days
can be source of ignition, that injures and kill 5.Displinary action system to be implemented to punish the 1 week
the workers in the vicinity when it results in violators
fire
Introduction (5 mark)

You are expected explain where, when and why the inspection was carried out

Location Type of Inspection Date and Time

Size of location Total Workforce Access and Egress

Equipment
Emergency Routes Outdoor/Indoor Activity
Involved

Substance Involved Mobile Equipment Environment

Services Shift patterns Weather

Inspection Method shall involve

§ Observation / Verification of Documents
§ Questionnaires
§ Interview

Executive summary (5 mark)

• Should be written after you have completed the rest of report but should be inserted
after Introduction.
• Provide concise overview of the important points and summarize the main
conclusions and recommendations.
• Highlight the major issue, its Consequence and Recommendations
• Mention about the other issues in observation also
• Provide sufficient information to convince busy manager of the need to read your full
report and, crucially act on / implement your recommendations.

Main findings (30 mark)

Highlight 5 high risk hazard from observation in terms of highly potential to cause harm /
property damage.Do not include/duplicate everything you identified in the observation
sheet. Prioritise the issues / range of hazards your manager needs to be aware of.
Main findings must be concise, persuasive, readable and highly selective in terms of
action by management

• Explain each of the 5 high risk hazard with sufficient details and its consequence
• The report should Identify what corrective actions/recommendations must be
taken with an indication of cost implications
• Explain why corrective action is necessary with references to
ü Legal argument: Emphasis on the breaches (international & national legislation)
occurred. Write the breach of law correctly mentioning the specific section &
interpretation & the reason for the breach.
ü Economic arguments : In economic, write the financial implications including
the possible costs to organization on not taking action
ü Moral argument: Emphasis on the poor staff morale, staff turnover, poor
reputation etc
• The benefits that happens if the recommendations are done
Examples of major hazards:

Work at height – Fall from height.

Electricity – Electrocution
Fire – Explosion
Excavation – soil collapse, cave-in etc.,
Machinery – Crush, Ejection etc.,

Sample main finding:

Risk of poor storage of compressed cylinder:

As per the observation 1, during the site inspection in the M1 area, it was found that full
acetylene cylinders were left unattended in the direct sunlight in the fabrication yard in M1
area, on further query it was understood that the workplace doesn’t have a designated
storage area ,Moreover its observed that grinding, which is a spark ejecting hot work activity
was carried in its vicinity. This condition could result in fire as the compressed gas cylinders
under direct sun increase the pressure due to temperature and can result in explosion and
also Spark from grinding operation can be source of ignition, that injures and kill the workers
in the vicinity if it results in fire. So, with immediate effect a designated storage area should be
constructed, apparently the cylinders to be kept under shade, Moreover awareness to be
given to people & adequate supervision to be done. All this would account to a cost of INR
38,000.
If the above recommendations are not complied, then it could likely to result in an accident,
which could drain the financial resource of the organization by the direct and indirect cost that
could account up to approximately INR 85,000 along with the severe legal implications like
prohibition of activity along with fines to the court & even imprisonments to the management
members as it breaches the international standard like ILO C155 Occupational Safety and
Health, convention, 1981 (Article 24) - says that “ employer shall require to provide proper
storage for compressed gas cylinders and fire protection procedures for safe place without
risk to health along with the national legislation, Indian Factories Act 1948 (Section 21) –
represents the proper storage for compressed gas cylinders. Unavailability of storage are and
ignorance of the consequences were the reasons for the breach
Apart from the above argument, the inherent issue is that it affects the morale of the
employee which could lead to increase in staff turnover, thereby reducing the safety culture
and it affects the reputation of the organization that could ultimately result in poor production
and loss of new projects and client, as safety background will be assessed by the clients. If
these recommendations are done, then it reflects in a better safety standard & culture among
employees, reducing the financial losses that are mention above.
Conclusion (15 mark)

Conclusion is a concise Summary of your Main Findings. Do not introduce new issues or
additional factors. Conclusions should emphasize more on suggestions to convince the
manager of the need to take action.

• Mention the good practices seen during inspection

• Clear and concise summary of your main findings, including prioritized
recommendation.
• Discuss why the organization should consider your recommendations and why Health
and safety needs to be managed properly.
• Explain how the organisation will benefit Morally, legally and Economically on
considering your recommendation

Recommendations (15 mark )

• Priority of recommendations should be in order

• Cost must be realistic
• Cost parameters must be detailed
• Appropriate prioritization to be made
• Target date should match with observation timescale
• All observation identified in main findings should be bought here
• Review date to be some date after the last target date based on sufficient time to
assess the effectiveness of controls