A Complete Guide To The NEBOSH General Certificate Practical Risk Assessment
- Matthew Channell
- April 24, 2021
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The NEBOSH General Certificate practical assessment, unit NG2, asks you to complete a real risk assessment at work.
The risk assessment demonstrates that you know how to apply everything you’ve learnt during the course. It’s not as high-pressure as the NG1 exam because you complete it over five weeks, but it’s still demanding and needs your focus.
Key points:
- You’ll spend five training days working on a trial run risk assessment. The practice risk assessment presents a scenario at a pretend company
- You’ll learn how to do one section of the risk assessment, then repeat the exercise in your own workplace
- The new NEBOSH General Certificate syllabus supports you through the risk assessment. The old syllabus asked you to complete the full risk assessment at the end of the course
Download your free guide to the NEBOSH General Certificate
What is the NEBOSH General Certificate practical risk assessment?
You must be able to identify hazards and act appropriately to truly keep your workplace safe. That’s the purpose of NEBOSH evaluating a risk assessment before awarding the qualification – it wants to see your learning in action.
The new NEBOSH practical risk assessment proves that you can practically apply everything you’ve learnt during your studies. Knowing the theory behind health and safety is invaluable, but as the saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
You must be able to identify hazards and act appropriately to keep your workplace safe. That’s the purpose of NEBOSH evaluating a risk assessment before awarding the qualification – it wants to see your learning in action.
The practical risk assessment covers four stages:
- A description of your place of work
- The risk assessment
- Your three prioritised actions
- Yhe review, communication and checking actions
You’ll pass depending on how you fulfil each stage.
When do you do the risk assessment?
You undertake the risk assessment in the final few weeks of the course. The new syllabus guides you through each of the four stages, week by week, breaking the assessment up into manageable chunks.
By the end of the NEBOSH General Certificate course , whether you take it over 10 weeks or 6, you should have completed the risk assessment. If you are taking the course through e-learning , you will upload your finished risk assessment to the learning portal.
The old syllabus left the risk assessment until the very end of the course – you’d complete the whole lot on your own – so it’s a much more supportive approach.
Why do you do the assessment alongside your studies?
You’ve got the chance to really think carefully about the report before you submit the real thing. Once you have mastered the scenario, you’re far better prepared to undertake your company’s version for your final submission
- The NG2 risk assessment, provided by the RRC, is based on a fabricated scenario and business. Each week, you’ll go through a stage of the risk assessment and apply it to the scenario as a practice – your trainer will wade in and guide your reasoning.
- Once you’ve built up enough knowledge, you’ll repeat the exercise for your company in your own time. It’s very well thought out, so you’re walked through each stage before you start on a marked practical.
- We give you a sandpit area to try it on first. You’ll throw around ideas, discuss and get it wrong as a group.
- You’ve got the chance to really think carefully about the report before you submit the real thing. Once you’ve mastered the scenario, you’re far better prepared to undertake your company’s version for your final submission.
- Learners get to discuss between themselves how to achieve the scenario version, which the old course never gave them time to do.
This way, we believe the quality is so much better, and learners will be far better at reporting and undertaking risk assessments.
Practical assessment examples
The NEBOSH website has an example risk assessment that you can download for free .
It contains the four stages of the risk assessment, a brief description of what you need to do and dummy content to illustrate what’s expected from you.
This is NEBOSH’s top-mark risk assessment example. It’s a good guide to set the standard, but you couldn’t lift it and apply it to your own workplace. Your risk assessment must show your understanding of the health and safety standards in your workplace.
During the training, throw yourself into the practice risk assessment, ask questions and follow your trainer’s advice. When you come to fill out the assessment, you’ll have a clear vision of what each section should detail.
As a bit of extra reading, open the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) risk assessment guidance .
The four stages of the risk assessment
One skill you’ll have to master is editing your observations and being succinct. The objective isn’t to create a risk thesis, but instead to create a record of the facts and sensible and appropriate next steps
You’ll use a NEBOSH template that’s supplied by your training provider. It’s based on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) risk assessment – You don’t need to worry about sourcing it yourself or building a risk assessment document from scratch.
You can complete the form with a pen, or fill it in electronically. There are two different forms for digital or handwritten submission.
Essentially, it’s a table in a word document that’s broken up into four sections. It’s an easy job to methodically work through the risk assessment.
- Add your learner number and name to the first sheet of the electronic risk assessment
- Write your name and learner number on every handwritten sheet
There’s a word count for each section in the template. You should use it as guidance, but you can drift over or under the word count depending on the situation.
NEBOSH wants to see recommendations that are proportional and realistic.
An outline of what’s covered at each of the four stages
#1. a description of your organisation and your methodology.
In this section, tell the examiner:
- The name of your company
- Where you are in the UK, for example, ‘Worcestershire’
- How many employees there are
- What your company does, for example, if it manufactures products or offers a service
- Describe company activities and shift patterns, plus any other relevant information about your business
- Describe the area you’re assessing
You can answer these seven questions to write the description of your organisation.
- How big is your company? Small, medium or large
- What venues does the business operate from? If it’s spread across numerous sites, list them all
- What’s your company’s main activity? This is the task it completes the most frequently, or is the top earner for the business, for example, MOTs
- What other activities does your company do? For instance, servicing, oil change and tyre change
- Who are its customers? Is it business to business (b2b), or business to consumer (b2c)?
- What the typical tasks are undertaken by employees? Cleaning, maintenance, transport and so on
- What are your opening hours?
- What are the shift start and finish times?
There’s another sub-section under the description that asks you to describe your methodology for completing the risk assessment – basically, how you did it.
You must include sources of information, who you consulted, and how you chose your controls.
Think about:
- Official good practice guidance relative to your sector and organisation – what are their recommendations? The HSE is a reliable place to look.
- Physically, what you did to finish the assessment – walking around your workplace and talking to employees will demonstrate your ability to examine risks from multiple points of view.
- How you investigated recurring accidents, injuries, or sickness. For example, looking in the accident book for patterns in the last six or 12 months.
#2. The risk assessment
The second section of the template is where you’ll complete the risk assessment.
You must record at least ten hazards in five different hazard categories. The categories are covered in elements five to 11 of the NEBOSH General Certificate syllabus:
- Element 5 – Physical and psychological health
- Element 6 – Musculoskeletal health
- Element 7 – Chemical and biological agents
- Element 8 – Health, welfare and working environment
- Element 9 – Work equipment
- Element 10 – Fire
- Element 11 – Electricity
The risk assessment is split into six columns:
- Hazard category and hazard: Choose which category the hazard falls into and describe the hazard, for example, Musculoskeletal health, and manual handling.
- Who might be harmed and how?: Identify the workers most at risk in your scenario and describe why and how they might encounter the hazard.
- What are you already doing?: Describe the controls already in place. That could be signage, or clothing, or equipment, but as throwaway as an ‘unwritten rule’.
- What further actions and controls are required?: These are your realistic, sensible, and proportionate recommendations.
- Timescales for further actions to be completed: Be as specific as possible, with a date for review. In this section, you can broadly allocate a month or six months, but in section four, you must specify a date.
- Responsible person’s job role: This is who you’ll liaise with about the new controls. Avoid naming names. The responsibility for controlling the hazard should be attached to the role, whoever holds it.
#3. Prioritise three actions and justify them
Look back at your risk assessment column and pick out the three most urgent hazards and actions.
They can all be in the same hazard category, but you must be able to justify why they need the most urgent attention from a moral, legal, and financial perspective.
a) Your moral argument
Your employer has a duty of care, and morally, they shouldn’t overlook dangerous hazards that will cause harm, lengthy health issues, or potentially life-ending injuries. You can reflect on how hazards impact the mental health of the victim and those who witness the accident too.
b) The legal and compliance view
Here you can reference relevant laws and legislation. You don’t need to cite the full legislation just include the name of the law.
Tell the examiner what your employer is legally responsible for because of that legislation.
In NEBOSH’s practical example, it references the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, 2002 , highlighting that employers must ensure that exposure of employees to substances hazardous to health is either prevented or, where this is not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled.’
If your employer was exposing employees to a large amount of dust, as in NEBOSH’s example, the employer is legally required to report cases of occupational asthma and cancer to the HSE, under RIDDOR 2013, regulation 8 .
c) Fiscal review
You need to think about the costs associated with the hazard. That could be:
- Staffing and cover costs if the injured employee needs time off work
- The cost of work-related injuries and ill-health
- How much replacement equipment or repairs would cost
- The litigation fees and cost of compensation
- HSE enforcement fees
d) Likelihood and severity
You must think about how likely it is that the hazard will be to cause harm and injury, and how severe the accident would be if you didn’t apply any new controls.
You’ll know how to use a 5×5 risk calculator for this section.
You’ll assign a likelihood score between one and five, which communicates how likely it is an accident will happen if no action is taken
Then you assign a severity score which describes how severe the accident will be if you take no action.
e) New controls
Finally, you must describe how your suggestions will effectively control the risk. For every action you recommend, tell the examiner:
- What the intended impact is
- Why you’ve allocated that much time for review
- Whether you think the control is sufficient
#4. Review, communicate and check
The final section details your next steps. Firstly, set a realistic review date. During the risk assessment, you’ll have suggested a rough time frame, but here you must specify a date for review.
You must justify the review date, for example, your company policy is to review health and safety hazards every 12 months.
Next, you must describe how you’re going to tell relevant members of staff about your findings. That could be scheduling meetings with responsible people, and creating a toolbox for employees who need to support, or at least observe your new controls.
Then you must outline how you’ll enforce the controls and keep tabs on their progress. You’ve got to check your recommendations are in motion and working. If they fail to materialise, there are bottlenecks or obstructions, and you’ve got to put a strategy in place to keep things moving.
How to check your work and send it for marking
You’re nearly finished. All you’ve got to do now is triple-check you’ve hit the NEBOSH criteria so you’ll pass.
On to NEBOSH General Certificate website, download the NG2 risk assessment checklist . Compare your risk assessment with the checklist and fill in any gaps.
We’ve already covered everything you need to do, but this is a quick hit list of the mandatory elements so well worth the final push.
Common mistakes include:
- missing out on the methodology
- not observing the five hazard categories
- not listing ten hazards
- prioritising too few actions to review
When you’re happy, export it to a pdf (if you’re working on it electronically) and send it to your trainer, or the learning provider, to submit to NEBOSH. They’ll upload it and let you know when to expect your results.
How is the risk assessment marked?
You’ll either get a pass or refer. A pass is anything above 45 marks. Anything below 45 marks is a fail, and you’ll need to resit.
You can re-sit it as many times as you need to, but you must pass both the assessment and exam within five years, or you need to re-do the whole course.
When will you get your results?
It could be a long wait – NEBOSH estimates a maximum of 50 working days between submission and getting your results.
Get started by downloading your free guide to the NEBOSH General Certificate today
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How to successfully complete the NEBOSH Risk Assessment Project – Get it right, first time!
The second part of the Nebosh risk assessment project is filling out the risk assessment table, of which there are six columns.
Column one is the hazard and the hazard category. There is nothing else you need to include in this column, just those two things. For the hazard category, choose from the list of hazards within each of the seven element headings, not the actual element headings, for example, don’t put Physical and Psychological Health down as a hazard category, but instead, select one of the hazards categories covered within that element, such as noise, vibration, radiation, mental ill-health, violence, substance abuse.
Then, for the hazard it’s something with the potential to cause harm from within whatever hazard category you’re doing. Nothing overly-complicated is necessary, just a simple description of the hazard so that the examiner has a clear idea of what’s going on – absolutely no industry specific jargon or abbreviations. The example that Nebosh give is:
Hazard Category: Vibration
Hazard: Sanding and grinding activities
That might be ok for a minimum pass standard, but I would hope any learner studying with Stockwell Safety would have their sights set rather higher. So to improve on that example, I would suggest being a bit more helpful with the description of the hazard. The hazard category is fine as it is as it’s taken directly from the syllabus, but I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to actually state what sanding and grinding activities, for example – using a hand-held orbital sander to prepare bodywork panels for spray painting.
For the 2nd column, the who might be harmed part should be straightforward enough – you’re not listing individuals by name, but categories of people, such as people working in the workshop area, or, drivers making deliveries to the warehouse.
For the ‘how’ part – describe the harm on a very simple and practical level. Is it a physical injury like a cut, or if it’s more of a health hazard it could be an infection, for example asbestos causing lung cancer. Then describe the circumstances by which that harm might be caused. The example that Nebosh provide is “Excessive use of or use of faulty hand-held tools such as disc cutters, sanders and grinders could lead to hand-arm-vibration (HAV) conditions such as vibration white finger”.
In the example, the harm is described (VWF) along with the circumstances leading to it (excessive use of faulty tools).
Columns 3 & 4
These two columns work together. In a previous version of the course, there was a requirement for learners to identify at least 20 uncontrolled hazards, which was problematic in many cases. In the current version though you are free to consider hazards that might be being very well controlled, in which case, you should list those controls in column three. Any additional controls that you could put in place to reduce the risk even further go into column 4.
There are no hard and fast rules about how many you need in each column but what is important is that you do not leave a column empty, even if there are no controls or additional controls you want to list in that column. If this is the case, just put “not applicable”. DO NOT NEGLECT TO DO THIS. Nebosh has stated in their guidance that this is important and has been referring learners for leaving blank columns. This is such a simple and easy thing to not get wrong, so please don’t be one of the learners who get it wrong and have to resubmit.
Some advice I would have with the timescales is to ensure that they are realistic. For example, if one of your controls is to unblock a fire exit, you’ll fail to gain marks for putting a timescale of a month against it, similarly, if another of your controls is to set up a health surveillance programme across the company, using third party external contractors to conduct and report on the health surveillance tests, a week would not be a realistic timescale for something like that.
This links in with the other bit of advice I have with regard to timescales, and that is to have a good range of different timescales, ie. some short term timescales and some long term timescales too. This helps to demonstrate your grasp of the concept of the different types of potential causal factors of unsafe acts or conditions. Some casual factors are more immediate and it tends to be the case that controlling these will be quicker than more underlying and root causal factors, which might require more a more long-term view when it comes to suitable controls as they are more likely to involve things like changes to policies, processes or procedures. If all your timescales are short-term ones, it may come across as though you don’t understand the underlying and root causes of health and safety issues, which is a major part of the syllabus.
The only thing I have to say with this column is to keep it simple and just input the job title of the person who it is envisaged would actually be the person who would put the particular control into place.
Don’t go down some rabbit hole of who would be the legal duty holder with ultimate accountability for health and safety under this or that piece of legislation etc. etc.
Keep it nice and simple and practical.
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Workplace training, exam help centre, guide to the nebosh certificate unit ng2/ig2 risk assessment.
Read our step-by-step guide on how to successfully answer each section of your NEBOSH General Certificate NG2/IG2 Practical Risk Assessment. Get practice advice on what to include based on the NEBOSH examiners report. Plus, find out how to register and submit your assingment for marking.
This blog was updated in August 2022 to reflect changes to the course and changes to the learning methods available for learners across the globe.
If you’re taking the NEBOSH General Certificate, or even just thinking about it, you’ll know by now that the course is made up of two units:
- NG1/IG1: Management of Health and Safety
- NG2/IG2: Risk assessment
You need to pass both units to achieve your NEBOSH General Certificate qualification. In this guide, we’ve covered everything you need to know about how to complete your unit NG2/IG2 risk assessment.
What is the NEBOSH General Certificate Unit NG2/IG2 risk assessment?
Unit NG2/IG2 is the practical section of the NEBOSH General Certificate. It tests your ability to apply your learning in the real world.
You’re required to produce a risk assessment of your workplace that identifies a range of hazards. The risk assessment must be suitable and sufficient and communicate justified actions for improvement to the relevant people.
The unit has its own learning outcome. By the end of the unit, you’ll be able to:
“Do a general risk assessment in your workplace, profiling and prioritising risks, inspecting the workplace, recognising a range of common hazards, evaluating risks and (taking account of current controls), recommending further control measures and planning actions.”
The risk assessment is split into 4 stages:
- Description of your organisation and your methodology
- Risk assessment and hazard identification
- A description of 3 actions with justification
- Review, communicate and check
Each stage has a marking criteria which you need to pass. We’ve broken down what’s needed in each stage so you can stay right on track!
When do you complete the unit NG2/IG2 risk assessment?
The old NEBOSH General Certificate (2014) syllabus required you to submit your assignment within 2 weeks of sitting your written exam.
The new 2018 syllabus doesn’t put any timeframe on when you can submit your assignment, so you can choose a submission date that suits you. You can view upcoming NEBOSH General Certificate Risk Assessment submission dates here , under the Upcoming Dates section.
The assessment will primarily test your understanding of elements 5-11, but you’ll still need to draw on risk assessment protocols from earlier elements.
As you work through the course materials, you should think about how these concepts apply to your own workplace and make notes as to how you can refer to them in your assignment.
How long should it take to complete the NEBOSH General Certificate risk assessment?
You can take as long as you need on your assignment. NEBOSH recommend you take around three hours to complete all four stages of the assessment. This should allow you to show your understanding and complete a good quality risk assessment.
These three hours are for guidance only; you can take more or less time if you wish. Just remember to submit your final assessment by the submission date you’ve registered against.
What are the pass marks for the unit NG2/IG2 risk assessment?
There isn’t a numerical mark or grading for the risk assessment, just a pass or referral (fail).
There is, however, a marking criterion for each of the four stages. You must achieve a pass in each of the four stages to achieve a pass for the overall unit. A referral (fail) in any of the four stages will result in a referral for the whole assessment.
We’ve broken down the marking criteria for each section in this blog, so you can refer to it at any time.
Getting started with your NEBOSH Certificate Risk Assessment
Now you know what you’ve got to do, are you ready to get started? Great! Let’s cover off a few technicalities before we begin.
Register for your practical exam
As we said above, you must be registered against an exam date to submit your risk assessment. If you’re taking your course through a virtual or traditional classroom, you’ll automatically be registered against a submission date that fits your schedule.
If you’re studying online, you can choose a date that suits you. You should have sat your NEBOSH General Certificate Open Book Exam before you think about submitting your practical assessment.
You can see the NEBOSH General Certificate Risk Assessment submission dates here , under the Upcoming Dates section. Simply fill in the booking form under the Book Now section of the page to register for your assessment. Unfortunately, we can’t accept any external exam students.
Once you’ve registered, your course provider will send you a series of Word documents which you’ll use to conduct your assessment.
Choose a workplace
Your risk assessment should ideally be carried out based on your own workplace. This will make sure that it’s realistic and will benefit you and your organisation.
Your workplace should be large enough to provide a sufficient range of hazard categories and hazards. If you don’t have access to a suitable workplace, just get in touch with our course advisors. They’ll be able to arrange something suitable for you.
Remember to speak to the management of the premises before you start your risk assessment. You’ll want to make sure you can carry it out without endangering your own health and safety.
Download the marking criteria and your risk assessment pack
NEBOSH has detailed guidance on how you should tackle your assignment as well as a sample report. To ensure that we are only sharing the latest NEBOSH materials, including the latest assessment pack, you can access the resources section of the NEBOSH website here.
Keep these documents handy and refer to them as you go along. You should check each section of your assessment against the marking criteria to make sure you’ve included everything that is required to pass.
Stage 1: Description of Organisation and Methodology
You must use the headed tables in Part 1 of the assessment pack to complete the description of the organisation and the risk assessment methodology used.
Description of organisation (approximately 150 to 200 words)
This is where you set the scene for your assignment. You need to give a clear and concise description of your chosen organisation to make sure the examiner understands what your organisation does. You can change the name and location if you like (for confidentiality), but everything else should be factual.
You also need to think about the scope of the risk assessment. For example, are you going to look at the whole organisation or just a specific department or division? If you work for a large organisation, we recommend that you concentrate on a part of the organisation or a specific activity or process.
Remember, the NEBOSH examiner won’t be familiar with your workplace or industry. You want to give them enough information to judge whether your risk assessment is suitable and sufficient. If you provide an unclear or incomplete description, this could affect the marking of the risk assessment.
The marking criteria states you will need to include the following in your description:
- The name of the organisation
- Site location - you don’t need to give the full address, just the general location e.g., Leicestershire.
- How many workers are employed by the organisation?
- A general description of the organisation. This must include products manufactured or services provided, and the types of activities undertaken.
- A description of the area included in the risk assessment.
- Any other relevant information, such as who has the day-to-day responsibility for health and safety in your organisation. If you feel like there’s nothing relevant, then you can leave this point out.
NEBOSH gives the following as an example of a good organisation description:
"NGG Ltd is a medium-sized garage with offices, vehicle repair shop and paint spray booth. The business does a lot of body repairs on vehicles involved in accidents for insurance companies. Servicing and MOTs are also carried out for members of the public. Typical activities undertaken include moving spare parts from the stores to the workshop area, engine repairs, activities relating to servicing/MOTs, body repair, draining fuel/oil from vehicles, spray booth activities (including the use of solvent-based paints). The garage operates from 8 am to 6 pm on weekdays and is closed at the weekends. Workers are only required to work 7 hours per day so there are staggered start and finish times in place."
Methodology (approximately 200 words)
After you’ve given the description, you need to outline how you carried out the risk assessment (methodology used). This allows the NEBOSH examiner to evaluate the reliability and validity of your assessment.
You want to make the case for why you did what you did. You should fill in this section after you’ve completed your risk assessment, so you have work to refer to.
For your methodology, you must include:
- The sources of information that you consulted
- Who you spoke to.
- How the hazards and controls were identified – the hazards, what is already being done, any additional controls/actions that may be required.
You may also include anything else that is relevant to the completion of the risk assessment. This may seem like a small section, but if you don’t include it, then you’ll fail.
Stage 2: Risk Assessment
You must use the tables in Part 2 of the assessment pack to complete the risk assessment.
You need to find and record at least 10 different hazards from at least 5 different hazard categories. The hazard categories are the focus of elements 5-11 of the NEBOSH General Certificate syllabus :
- Physical and psychological hazards
- Musculoskeletal health
- Chemical and biological agents
- General workplace issues
- Work equipment
- Electricity
It may seem obvious, but you must include the specified 10 hazards from 5 categories. Many learners fall by ignoring this simple point. If you only include 9 hazards from 6 hazard categories, or 11 hazards from 4 hazard categories, or include 10 hazards but don’t state the hazard category; then you’ll fail.
You must include the following details for each hazard to meet the marking criteria:
- The hazard and the hazard category (column 1)
- Who may be harmed and how (column 2)
- What you are already doing to control the hazard (column 3)
- What further controls or actions might be needed (column 4) – remember to take account of the hierarchy of control and the principles of prevention in when deciding on further controls.
- The timescales for completion of each action (column 5)
- The role of the person responsible for completing each action (column 6)
As you work through your risk assessment, you’ll see that column 3 (what you’re already doing) and column 4 (further controls needed) work together.
If you’re already doing enough to control the risk, there will be lots of controls listed in column 3 but very few (if any) in column 4. You might even just note that no further action is necessary.
On the other hand, if you have very few controls in place, column 3 will contain very little and column 4 will contain a lot more. Both scenarios are fine because they are realistic.
Stage 3: Prioritise 3 actions with justification
You must use the table in Part 3 of the assessment pack to prioritise your actions and justify your selection.
Once you’ve identified all your hazards, you need to pick the 3 that requires the most urgent action. If you only include 2, then you’ll fail.
Your actions can be associated with the same or different hazard categories. The important thing is that they need to be your highest priorities for action. You must also give a justification for why you think these are the highest priority/most urgent actions.
Your justification must include:
Moral, legal, and financial arguments for ALL actions (350 to 400 words)
You must make the case as to why these actions need to be addressed. Think about the over-arching legislation, such as the Health and Safety at Work Act, and the prosecution consequences for your organisation and those involved. Then refer to any financial impact such as sick pay, damaged equipment, enforcement actions and prosecution fees.
Don’t forget to hit home about the moral arguments – protecting workers should be a priority for any organisation. All workers deserve to work in an environment that is safe, healthy, and happy.
You can then move on to each specific action in more detail.
Legal implications for each action (100 – 150 words)
Your legal argument for your specific action must reference relevant legislation/standards.
For example, when talking about the control of hazardous substances in the UK, you should reference relevant duties under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.
Likelihood and severity (75 - 150 words)
You need to consider the likelihood AND probable severity (taking account of current control measures) of injury, ill-health or harm occurring. You should consider:
- The types of injury, ill-health, or harm likely to occur
- The number of workers at risk
- How often the activity is carried out and how widespread the risk is. For example, does the same threat exist in other parts/branches/divisions/sites of the organisation?
Effectiveness of each action (100 to 150 words).
Here, you should detail how effective each action is likely to be in controlling the risk. You should describe:
- The intended impact of each action
- Justification for the timescale for completion for each action
- Whether you think the action will fully control the risk
Each action should be as impactful as the next. If you spend more time justifying one action, and not enough on the other, then you’ll fail.
Stage 4: Review, communicate and check
You must use the tables in Part 4 of the assessment pack to complete the review, communicate and check exercise.
The final part of the assessment is where you show your ability to communicate your recommendations to the relevant person. To meet the marking criteria, you must include:
- A realistic review date for the risk assessment and why you have chosen that review date (50-100 words).
- An indication of how the findings of the risk assessment are to be communicated (100 to 150 words). Think about whether it will be verbal or written, timeframes, methods (email, noticeboards, intranet), and who needs to know the information.
- An indication of how you will follow-up on the risk assessment to check that the actions have been carried out. (100 to 150 words)
If you miss any of these pointers in your communication review, then you’ll fail.
How to submit your assessment
You need to send your completed forms to your learning provider by email or post by your chosen submission deadline. They’ll send your assessment off for marking by an examiner appointed by NEBOSH.
NEBOSH General Certificate NG2/IG2 Risk Assessment Results
NEBOSH will email you your results within 50 working days of your chosen submission date. Provided you’ve passed your NG1/IG1 Open Book Exam, you’ll receive a hard copy certificate in the post within 12 weeks.
NEBOSH General Certificate Practical Risk Assessment Resources
We recommend you discuss your plan for your assignment with your course tutor. They can let you know whether your workplace is suitable and will give enough scope to be able to tackle this assessment properly.
You can’t submit drafts of your work to your tutor. They’re not allowed to pre-mark or comment on specific details. Still, they can give you pointers and answer your questions.
Click here to view our workplace risk assessment example
NEBOSH have a range of resources to help you with your assignment, including a sample report. You should read them all carefully before you start your assignment and refer to them regularly along the way:
- NG2: Risk assessment example
- NG2: Guidance and information for learners
- IG2: Risk assessment example
- IG2: Guidance and information for learners
All that's left to say is, good luck!
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How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH?
How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH? At the end of 2019, NEBOSH launched its new Syllabus or design of the NEBOSH General Certificate Course (IG1+ IG2). It was no surprise that the release coincided with NEBOSH’s 40th anniversary. The NEBOSH General Certificate course has been the backbone of NEBOSH’s course offerings for many years and has provided thousands of careers in occupational health and safety management.
The new NEBOSH General Certificate course syllabuses look different from the 2014 specification. There are slight changes to hours taught, course structure, and content, but more significant is the way courses are assessed. The HSE guide (INDG 163) identifies five steps in risk assessments. You can read it here: ( https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg163.pdf )
Unit IG1: HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT
This still deals with OHS (Occupational Safety and Health) management issues such as law, risk assessment and accident investigation. It is now made up of 1 TO 4 elements.
Unit IG 2: RISK ASSESSMENT
This unit covers the practicalities of hazards and risk control in the workplace. It is now made up of 5 to 7 elements. The new item titles are:
IG 1 Elements:
- Why should we manage safety and health at work?
- How health and safety management systems work and what they consist of.
- Risk management: understanding of people and processes
- Health and safety monitoring and measuring.
IG 2 Elements:
- Physical and psychological health. How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH?
- Musculoskeletal health. How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH?
- Chemical and biological agents. How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH?
- General workplace issue. How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH?
- Work equipment. How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH?
- Fire. How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH?
- Electricity. How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH?
To summarize, there are structural changes and a few major changes in theme. Everything has been compressed and simplified. This does not mean that depth has been subtracted, it simply does not show it to us extensively, it will be our job to explore it.
The new course is assessed through a scenario-based written exam (for Unit 1), face-to-face (now open book due to the corona) similar to the previous one with essay questions, and a practical assessment that requires you to carry out a workplace risk assessment.
Table of Contents
How do I write a risk assessment for NEBOSH IG2 unit?
There is no numerical mark or rating for the risk assessment, just a pass or a refer (fail). However, there is a qualifying criterion for each of the four stages. You must get a pass in each of the four stages to get a pass for the overall unit. A refer (failure) at any of the four stages will result in refer for the entire assessment. Conduct an overall risk assessment of your workplace, profile and prioritize risks, survey the workplace, recognize a variety of common hazards, assess risks (taking current controls into account), recommend further control measures and plan actions.
What is IG2 risk assessment?
- There is no written face-to-face exam and it is only evaluated through the practical evaluation.
- The practical assessment requires you to perform a Risk Assessment in an actual workplace and write a detailed Risk Assessment Report on a template pre-established by NEBOSH.
- The risk assessment includes basic information about the workplace and the methods used, a risk assessment of at least 10 hazards selected from several of the subject areas covered in Unit IG 2, an action plan to address all identified problems, and a detailed explanation and rationale for the Top 3 Priority Actions
- The practical assessment can be completed on your own time.
How do I fill out a risk assessment form?
From a personal point of view, I am a great admirer of the old NEBOSH General Certificate since 2015. If I had to choose the path to take again, like in 2015, I would go back to the NEBOSH International General Certificate.
You must produce a risk assessment of your workplace that identifies a variety of hazards. The risk assessment must be adequate and communicate justified improvement actions to the relevant people. The unit has its learning outcome.
The risk assessment is divided into 4 parts:
- Description of your organization and its methodology
- Risk assessment and hazard identification
- A description of 3 actions with justification
- Review, check and communicate
Each stage has qualifying criteria that you must pass. We’ve broken down what’s needed at each stage to keep you on track!
The new 2018 syllabus does not have a deadline for submitting your assignment. So, you can choose a submission date that works best for you. The assessment will primarily test your understanding of elements 5 through 11, but will still need to build on the risk assessment protocols from previous items. As you work through the course materials, you should think about how these concepts apply to your work and take notes on how you can refer to them in your assignment.
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You can take as much time as you need on your homework. NEBOSH recommends that you take about three hours to complete the four stages of the assessment. This should allow you to demonstrate your understanding and complete a good quality risk assessment.
These three hours are only indicative; you can take more or less time if you wish. Just remember to submit your final evaluation before the submission date you signed up for.
Part 1: Risk assessment (background)
- The name of the organization such as NGG Ltd etc.
- Site Location – You do not need to provide the full address, just the general location such as laydown, workshop, boiler area, furnace 4 etc.
- How many workers does the organization employ? Describe the male and female numbers of workers.
- A general description of the organization. This should include the products manufactured or services provided, and the types of activities performed.
- A description of the area is included in the risk assessment.
- Any other relevant information, such as who has day-to-day responsibility for health and safety in your organization. If you feel that there is nothing relevant, you can leave this point.
Example of a good organization description
“NGG Ltd is a medium-sized garage with offices, a car repair shop and a spray paint booth. The company does a lot of bodywork repairs on vehicles involved in accidents for insurance companies. Services are also done for members.
Typical activities carried out include moving spare parts from warehouses to the workshop area, engine repairs, service-related activities, body repairs, draining fuel/oil from vehicles, and paint booth activities (including the use of solvent-based paints) Garage operates from 8 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday and is closed on weekends. Workers are only required to work 8 hours per day”.
Methodology (approximately 200 words)
After giving the description, you should describe how you carried out the risk assessment (methodology used). This allows the NEBOSH examiner to assess the reliability and validity of your assessment. For your methodology, you should include:
- The sources of information you consulted
- With whom I speak.
- How hazards and controls were identified: the hazards, what is already being done, and any additional controls/actions that may be needed.
You may also include anything else that is relevant to completing the risk assessment. This may seem like a small section, but if you don’t include it, you will fail.
Part 2: Risk Assessment
You must use the tables in Part 2 of the assessment package to complete the risk assessment. You must find and record at least 10 different hazards from at least 7 different hazard categories. You can get hazard categories in elements 5-11 of the NEBOSH General Certificate book IG2.
It may seem obvious, but you must include the 10 specified hazards from 7 categories. Many students fall for ignoring this simple point. If it only includes 9 hazards from 6 hazard categories, or 11 hazards from 4 hazard categories, or includes 10 hazards but does not indicate the hazard category; then you will fail.
You must include the following details for each hazard to meet the flagging criteria:
- Hazard category and hazard (column 1)
- Who might be harmed and how (column 2)
- What are you already doing (column 3)
- What further controls/actions are required (column 4) – Remember to consider the hierarchy of control and prevention principles when deciding on additional controls.
- The time scale for further actions to be completed (column 5)
- Responsible person’s job role (column 6)
As you work through your risk assessment, you’ll see that column 3 (what you’re already doing) and column 4 (more controls needed) work together. If you’re already doing enough to control the risk, there will be many controls listed in column 3, but very few (if any) in column 4. You might even find that no further action is needed.
On the other hand, if you have very few controls, column 3 will contain very little and column 4 will contain much more. Both scenarios are fine because they are realistic.
Part 3: Prioritize 3 actions with justification
You should use the table in Part 3 of the evaluation packet to prioritize your actions and justify your selection.
Once you have identified all your dangers, you need to choose the 3 that requires the most urgent action. If you only include 2, you will fail. Your actions may be associated with the same or different hazard categories. The important thing is that they should be your top priorities for action. You should also justify why you believe these are the highest priority/most urgent actions.
Your justification must include:
Moral, legal and financial arguments (350 to 400 words)
You need to make the case for why these actions need to be addressed. Think about general legislation, such as the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and the legal consequences for your organization and the people involved. Then reference any financial impacts, such as sick pay, damaged equipment, enforcement actions, and prosecution fees.
Don’t forget to get the moral arguments right: protecting workers should be a priority for any organization. All workers deserve to work in a safe, healthy and happy environment.
Part 4: Review, check and communicate
- Give review date of risk assessment: write the company policy duration of review of risk assessment. And write a fixed date from what date you are submitting your risk profiling to the organization period of reviews, such as one year or six months = review date.
- How to communicate the risk assessment findings to organization people: through meetings, email, and TBT describe in 100 to 150 words.
- How will follow up the risk assessment (implementation): means strategy, action against violation etc.
Health and safety topics:
Five steps of a risk assessment
Safety Job Analysis
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How to complete the practical risk assessment for your NEBOSH certificate
Managing risks and risk assessment at work
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3. Risk assessment template and examples
You can use a risk assessment template to help you keep a simple record of:
- who might be harmed and how
- what you're already doing to control the risks
- what further action you need to take to control the risks
- who needs to carry out the action
- when the action is needed by
- Risk assessment template (Word Document Format)
- Risk assessment template (Open Document Format) (.odt)
Example risk assessments
These typical examples show how other businesses have managed risks. You can use them as a guide to think about:
- some of the hazards in your business
- the steps you need to take to manage the risks
Do not just copy an example and put your company name to it as that would not satisfy the law and would not protect your employees. You must think about the specific hazards and controls your business needs.
- Office-based business
- Local shop/newsagent
- Food preparation and service
- Motor vehicle repair shop
- Factory maintenance work
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IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
The NEBOSH HSE Award in Managing Risks and Risk Assessment at Work is introductory health and safety qualification which will help you go beyond risk
Outline how the risk assessment was carried out this should include: • sources of information consulted;. • who you spoke to; and. • how you identified: - the
This video will help steer you clear of a few common errors we learners make with Part 2 of the Risk Assessment Project - the risk
In this video, Adam offers a few tips for Part 1 of the NEBOSH Certificate Risk Assessment Project.00:00 Intro00:03 Description of
What is the NEBOSH General Certificate practical risk assessment? ... You must be able to identify hazards and act appropriately to truly keep
The second part of the Nebosh risk assessment project is filling out the risk assessment table, of which there are six columns. Column one is the hazard and
Unit NG2/IG2 is the practical section of the NEBOSH General Certificate. It tests your
There is no numerical mark or rating for the risk assessment, just a pass or a refer (fail). However
Risk assessment is the formalised process of identifying hazards, evaluating risk and then either eliminating or controlling that risk to an acceptable
The NEBOSH risk assessment should take around three hours to complete and it is vital to use the time wisely. If you finish earlier, you may not
A template you can use to help you keep a simple record of potential risks for risk assessment, as well as some examples of how other companies have