NEC2 - Environmental Practical Application

Aim

The aim of the practical application for the National Certificate in Environmental Management is for candidates to demonstrate the ability to apply knowledge of the NEC1 syllabus, by successful completion of an environmental review of a workplace using the NEBOSH Environmental Review Proforma.

The candidate is then expected to complete a report to management regarding the review with recommendations, using the NEBOSH Environmental Review Report template. The proforma and report should clearly identify: •

•The nature and location of each environmental issue;

•The degree of risk associated with the environmental issue;

•Preventative and protective environmental measures already in place;

•The remedial actions, where appropriate, with relevant prioritisation.

The practical assessor

The person proposed to NEBOSH to mark the practical unit (NEC2) must be appropriately qualified. This would include Associate membership (AIEMA) of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) or the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and holders of the NEBOSH Diploma in Environmental Management (Level 6).

Assessments made in the candidate's workplace

The environmental review assessment should be carried out in the candidate's ownworkplace. Where the candidate does not have access to a suitable workplace, thecourse provider should be consulted to help in making arrangements for the candidateto carry out the practical application at suitable premises. Providers seeking to run thepractical unit in this way should contact NEBOSH for advice and approval.

Candidates do not require supervision when carrying out the practical application; thecandidate must sign a declaration that the practical application is their own work.

An appropriately qualified assessor must mark the practicalunit. Assessors must use their professional experience and judgement to make an assessment of the types and range of environmental hazards likely to be present.

The candidate, the assessor and the employer should be left in no doubt of the statusof the environmental review and report undertaken to fulfil the requirements of UnitNEC2, which is for educational purposes only. It does not constitute anassessment for the purposes of any legislation or regulations.

Planning

Candidates are allowed to select their own setting for the practical application. This should be an area that is accessible to them in their day-to-day work.

Guidance should be given by the accredited course providers to help candidates to select an appropriate area. The following factors should be taken into account:

•The chosen area must be accessible to the candidate and management in the area must be willing to co-operate by providing information and giving their time.

•The chosen area must be sufficiently simple and small to allow the practical application to be completed within three hours. On large sites, or where there are many complex issues, candidates would be well advised to select a small area within the site, such as a warehouse, maintenance depot or single production area. On smaller sites, candidates could cover the whole site in their review.

•There may be constraints affecting the practical application which should be identified at the outset. A commonly encountered constraint is confidentiality. Where such problems are identified, guidance should be sought from NEBOSH.

Once a suitable area has been identified, candidates should be given a copy of the proforma. Candidates should be encouraged to review the contents of the proforma and then be given an opportunity to discuss any areas about which they are unsure.

Once any concerns have been addressed, candidates should make initial preparations for the practical application. This may entail obtaining formal agreement from the managers responsible for their chosen area and advising them of the requirements for the review.

Convenient dates for the practical application work should be agreed well in advance. Candidates are reminded that practical applications must be submitted to their accredited course provider by an agreed deadline. This is to ensure the course provider is able to mark the practical application and submit the results to NEBOSH within 21 days of the written examination.

Date of assessment

Assessment of the practical unit (NEC2) must normally take place within 14 days of (before or after) the date of the NEC1 written paper (the 'date of the examination'). The results sheet completed by the course provider must reach NEBOSH by no later than 21 days after the date of the examination.

Any practical application result not submitted by this deadline will be declared at zero marks. The candidate will then be required to re-register (and pay the registration fee) at the next standard (or local) sitting date.

If a candidate is absent from the written examination because of illness corroborated by a doctor's note, NEBOSH may, at its sole discretion, authorise the accredited course provider to carry forward the result of the practical application to the next examination sitting, if the candidate successfully completes the NEC2 unit within the 14 day deadline. If a candidate is absent from the NEC2 unit under similar circumstances, NEBOSH may allow it to be taken at a later date beyond the normal 14 day deadline.

The course provider should advise the candidate of the latest date by which the completed practical application documents must be received by the course provider for marking. It is the responsibility of the course provider to ensure that the results of the practical application are available to NEBOSH by no later than 21 days after the date of the examination for NEC1.

General procedures

Candidates must be supplied with copies of the appropriate forms which may be photocopied for the purpose.

Candidates are expected to recognise actual and possible controlled and uncontrolledenvironmental issues covered in the National Environmental Certificate syllabus as partof the review. While only brief details of each environmental issue identified arerequired, it is important that the assessor can subsequently identify:

  • The nature and location of the environmental issue;
  • The degree of risk associated with the environmental issue;
  • Preventative and protective environmental measures already in place;
  • The remedial actions, where appropriate, with relevant prioritisation.

Candidates should be given a summary of the headings under which marks will beallocated and this should include the breakdown of marks for each part, as set out onthe Practical Unit Mark Sheet.

The whole practical application should not normally take more than three hours.

Candidates should be reminded of the following requirements for their reports:

  • Both the completed environmental review proforma and management report arerequired for marking and moderating.
  • The report should be between 700- 1000 words in length
  • Marks are not deducted for poor spelling and grammar. However, marks will bemissed if the assessor is unable to read or understand the completed sheet
  • Proformas and reports may be typed but the candidate must bear in mind therequirement for timely submission to the course provider as detailed above,
  • No additional supporting information or appendices should be included with theproforma and report. If any such additional material is included by the candidateit will not be considered or marked
  • Where confidentiality requires, locations and company names may be omitted from the written report
  • Candidates planning to post their reports to the course provider should be reminded of the need to guard against loss in the post by sending their work by trackable delivery. Candidates are therefore advised to retain copies of both their completed proforma and final management report.

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