March - April 2014

Examiners Report
NEBOSH
International Techni-
cal Certifcate in Oil and
Gas Operational Safety

Examiners Report

NEBOSH INTERNATIONAL
TECHNICAL CERTIFICATE IN OIL
AND GAS OPERATIONAL SAFETY


UNIT IOG1: MANAGEMENT OF
INTERNATIONAL OIL AND GAS
OPERATIONAL SAFETY


March - April 2014







CONTENTS



Introduction


General comments


Candidate performance


Examination technique


Command words


Learning outcomes


Conclusion






2014 NEBOSH, Dominus Way, Meridian Business Park, Leicester LE19 1QW
tel: 0116 263 4700 fax: 0116 282 4000 email: info@nebosh.org.uk website: www.nebosh.org.uk

The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health is a registered charity, number 1010444

Introduction






NEBOSH (The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health) was formed in 1979 as
an independent examining board and awarding body with charitable status. We offer a comprehensive
range of globally-recognised, vocationally-related qualifications designed to meet the health, safety,
environmental and risk management needs of all places of work in both the private and public sectors.

Courses leading to NEBOSH qualifications attract around 50,000 candidates annually and are offered
by over 600 course providers, with examinations taken in over 110 countries around the world. Our
qualifications are recognised by the relevant professional membership bodies including the Institution
of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and the International Institute of Risk and Safety
Management (IIRSM).

NEBOSH is an awarding body that applies best practice setting, assessment and marking and applies
to Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) regulatory requirements.

This report provides guidance for candidates which it is hoped will be useful to candidates and tutors in
preparation for future examinations. It is intended to be constructive and informative and to promote
better understanding of the syllabus content and the application of assessment criteria.

NEBOSH 2014


Any enquiries about this report publication should be addressed to:

NEBOSH
Dominus Way
Meridian Business Park
Leicester
LE19 1QW

tel: 0116 263 4700
fax: 0116 282 4000
email: info@nebosh.org.uk






























2
General comments



Many candidates are well prepared for this unit assessment and provide comprehensive and relevant
answers in response to the demands of the questions. This includes the ability to demonstrate
understanding of knowledge by applying it to workplace situations.

There are other candidates, however, who appear to be unprepared for the unit assessment and who
show both a lack of knowledge of the syllabus content and a lack of understanding of how key
concepts should be applied to workplace situations.

This report has been prepared to provide feedback on standard date and on-demand IOG1
examinations sat between 1
st
March and 30
th
April 2014.

Feedback is presented in these key areas; examination technique, command words and learning
outcomes and is designed to assist candidates and course providers prepare for future assessments in
this unit.

Candidates and course providers will also benefit from use of the Guide to the NEBOSH International
Certificate in Oil and Gas Operational Safety which is available via the NEBOSH website. In particular,
the guide sets out in detail the syllabus content for IOG1 and tutor reference documents for each
Element.

Additional guidance on command words is provided in Guidance on command words used in learning
outcomes and question papers which is also available via the NEBOSH website.

Candidates and course providers should also make reference to the IOG1 Example question paper
and Examiners feedback on expected answers which provides example questions and details
Examiners expectations and typical areas of underperformance.
3





Candidate performance

This report covers all examinations, both standard and on-demand examination sittings during March
and April which produced an overall pass rate of 48%.

Examination technique

The following examination techniques were identified as the main areas of improvement for
candidates:

Did not respond to the command word

Many answers were not specific enough and failed to mention the finer details that would have
completed the answer. Candidates had particular difficulty with providing enough detail in many
answers, and often lacked sufficient knowledge to differentiate between the different parts of a
question, writing the wrong answer or repeating themselves within each section. Generally, there was
not enough information for a response to an outline question.

Provided rote learned responses that did not fit the question

A number of candidates provided answers that were actually not required and instead provided
information that they did know and hoped that some of the points covered would earn them marks.

Did not answer all of the questions

Many failed to attempt all the questions. Course providers should ensure that their candidates are
sufficiently prepared for the examinations and that they have provided sufficient content for the
suggested time allocation in the syllabus.

Command words

The following command words are listed in the order identified as being the most challenging for
candidates:

Outline

Most candidates were unable to provide sufficient information when answering outline questions. They
either used lists or identifies where an outline was required. Many candidates relied too heavily on key
words or phrases without being able to expand their answers. For example, most would make
reference to a permit but very few were able to expand their answers if the question was dealing with
welding to include a hot work permit. Also many referred to the need for P.P.E but failed to give
suitable examples.

Explain

Whilst explaining was a strong point for candidates, it appeared that alarge number of the candidates
were not able to obtain sufficient marks due to a lack of breadth and depth of knowledge.

Describe

Examiners did not observe any problems for candidates responding to the word describe.




Unit IOG1
Management of international oil and gas operational safety
4
Identify

Most candidates were able to give a good range of answers to identify questions.

Give

Give appeared to be a command word that candidates were able to respond to well.


Learning outcomes

The following learning outcomes have been identified as being the most challenging area of the
syllabus for candidates sitting this examination:

1.2: Explain the hazards inherent in oil and gas arising from the extraction, storage and
processing of raw materials and products

An understanding of the hazards and properties of the raw materials and products used in the oil and
gas industry is a key part of the basic knowledge required to operate within the industry.

Many candidates struggled with answers regarding crude oil hazards and defaulted to describing the
generic hazards associated with drilling operations including falling from height. This showed a lack of
understanding of the topic and candidates were not able to achieve any meaningful marks possibly due
to misunderstanding what the question required. There appeared to be a limited understanding of the
meanings of the terms associated with flammability levels.
_________________________________________________________________________________

1.3: Outline the risk management techniques used in the oil and gas industries

Risk assessment is a key tool in the oil and gas industry and an understanding of the various
techniques used is one of the basic skills required to operate within the industry. Few candidates
appeared to have a grasp of this fundamental topic. In some cases, their knowledge was extremely
limited. Many were unable to define the difference between qualitative and quantitative methods.

Many candidates provided a general response that lacked the specific detailed response. Those
candidates who decided to use sketches and diagrams in their answer managed to demonstrate their
understanding well.
__________________________________________________________________________________

2.5: Explain the importance of safe plant operation and maintenance of hydrocarbon
containing equipment and processes

Asset integrity is an important part of the control measures that need to be implemented to ensure the
continued safety of both personnel and plant. Knowledge of the techniques and principles of
maintaining the integrity of equipment that contains hydrocarbons is therefore essential. Very few
candidates gained marks for this learning outcome. Many gave general answers with regards to slips
and trips, housekeeping and nitrogen but not residual nitrogen as required.

Many candidates were able to demonstrate knowledge of leaks from valves or isolation or inadvertent
start up of equipment without mentioning the consequences. Candidates were able to mention permit-
to-work (PTW) but were unable to clarify the types of permit required to be used in different
circumstances. Course providers and candidates should perhaps give this area some practise.







5
__________________________________________________________________________________

3.1: Outline types of failure modes that may lead to loss of containment from hydrocarbons

An understanding of how equipment such as pipe work, storage tanks, process equipment can fail is a
key part of an overall asset integrity control strategy. Loss of containment can lead to injuries to
personnel as a result of fire / explosion or pollution of the environment.

Many candidates were unable to demonstrate that they understood the concept of a safe operating
envelope. Some candidates demonstrated a rote-learned response to this question as they failed to
demonstrate an understanding of the different failure modes even though they had written the types of
failure down.
________________________________________________________________________________

3.4: Outline the hazards, risks and controls available for safe containment of hydrocarbons
offshore and onshore

This learning outcome concerns the safe storage of hydrocarbons, the types of storage / containment
systems in use, knowledge of the consequences of loss of containment and the controls that are
required to be implemented is a fundamental knowledge requirement for the oil and gas industry. A
number of candidates managed reasonable responses to this question that concerned a boiling liquid
expanding vapour explosion (BLEVE). However, a greater number struggled to put the events leading
up to a BLEVE into the correct sequence. There were many candidates who simply had insufficient
knowledge of the BLEVE sequence to give any kind of meaningful answer.

Conclusion

The oil and gas industry is highly hazardous and personnel operating within the industry at all levels
need to be fully aware of the hazards and risks that exist within the industry and the controls that are
required to be in place to establish and maintain safe operations.

The international oil and gas certificate syllabus aims to give candidates sufficient information with
regard to the hazards, risks and the controls. It was clear from the candidates responses to the
examination questions that many did not have sufficient grasp of the entire syllabus.

Specifically, candidates should focus on areas on hazards in oil and gas extraction, storage and
processing of raw materials, (learning outcome 1.2) risk management techniques (learning outcome
1.3) and safe plant operation (learning outcome 2.5).

Working on these highlighted areas of the syllabus should be able to help candidates with their
examination technique, specifically, being able to answer all the questions and being able to adapt their
knowledge and answer to fit the question asked.
6
NEBOSH
Dominus Way
Meridian Business Park
Leicester LE19 1QW
telephone +44 (0)116 263 4700
fax +44 (0)116 282 4000
www.nebosh.org.uk
Registered in England and Wales
Company number: 2698100
Registered charity number: 1010444
NEBOSH, the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health,
is the worlds leading provider of Health, Safety and Environmental qualifcations.