Revision tips for NEBOSH exams - Mnemonics

The use of mnemonics is another brain association technique to aid revision and memory recall. The techniques relies on the use of key words to trigger memory recall, often when there are several key headings which require recall to fully answer a question; common ones used in health and safety include, for example, the definition of a safe system of work, PEME.  The mnemonic PEME is sufficient to trigger the answer, thus:

A safe system of work involves the combination of People, Equipment, Materials and Environment in the correct way to ensure a safe outcome.

There are many other such mnemonics which you may find useful, for example, reminders for the assessment of risk from Manual Handling operations; LITE or FIAT for the hierarchy of measures
for dangerous parts of machinery:

L oad I  ndividual T ask E nvironment

or

F ixed I  nterlocking A utomatic T rip devices

As the exam gets nearer, you will need to think about organising all the information from the course in preparation for revision.

We recommend that you refer to the NEBOSH syllabus guide applicable to your award, available on the NEBOSH website http://www.nebosh.org.uk/Qualifications/  If a topic is in the syllabus then it is possible that there will be an examination question on that topic.

You can assess your level of knowledge and recall against the syllabus.  Look at the content listed for each element.  Ask yourself the following question:

“If there is a question in the exam about that topic. Could I answer it?”

This technique will help you to identify the areas of weakness and then to prepare a plan of work which concentrates on the knowledge that you need to develop.  You can rate your current level of knowledge for each topic in each element of the syllabus guide by using the categories “High”, “Medium” and “Low”.  Use your ranking as an indication of your personal strengths and weaknesses.  For example, if you scored “High” for the topic “The key elements of a health and safety policy”, for example, in NGC1 Element 2, then obviously you don't have much work to do on that subject.  However, if you scored yourself as low for the subject of “Concept of health and safety culture” in NGC1 Element 3 then you have identified an area of weakness to focus upon.