March - April 2014

Examiners Report
NEBOSH National
Certificate in
Fire Safety and Risk
Management (NFC1)

Examiners Report
NEBOSH NATIONAL CERTIFICATE IN
FIRE SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
UNIT FC1:
FIRE SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
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

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 FC1
st
th
examinations sat between 1 March and 30 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 National
Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management which is available via the NEBOSH website. In
particular, the guide sets out in detail the syllabus content for FC1 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 FC1 Example question paper and
Examiners feedback on expected answers which provides example questions and details Examiners
expectations and typical areas of underperformance.

Unit FC1
Fire safety and risk management
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 81%.

Examination technique
The following examination techniques were identified as the main areas of improvement for
candidates:
Misread or misinterpreted the question
There were many examples where candidates seemed to have misinterpreted a question and the
answers given did not address the key topics asked. A common example is when answers include a
series of control measures when a question asked for a range of hazards. It is also commonly evident
in some cases that candidates had misread the question and had given answers that were more
appropriate to a different question on a similar topic that had appeared on previous question papers.
Candidates are advised to read the questions very carefully to reduce the chance of misinterpreting a
question and going off track with their answers.
Incorrect response to the command word
There were many answers given in an incorrect level of depth to that required by the command word in
the questions. A common example was where candidates gave a list of points in response to an
outline question. Answers should include a sentence or two of text for each point made to show that
the candidate knows the principle features of the topics in the question - without this detail marks
cannot be awarded by Examiners.
Conversely there were some examples where candidates gave answers in a great deal of detail in
response to an identify question where it is not necessary. Whilst giving more detail than is necessary
does not affect the marks awarded for the answer it will take up valuable time when formulating and
writing the answers.
There is a guidance document on command words available free from the student section of the
NEBOSH website and all candidates and course providers are advised to familiarise themselves with
this to obtain guidance on the level of depth required for command words found on Certificate level
papers.

Repeating the same point in different ways

Examiners noted that answers often contained very similar points repeated several times within
answers. Common examples noted were mentioning the importance of the width of an escape route
and stating the role of fire safety training more than once in an answer. Examiners are unable to award
more than one mark for such similar points meaning the candidate is using up time in the examination
by writing similar information more than once.
Candidates are advised to take note of the points made in their answers to reduce the chance of
repeating information. Using a simple answer plan or structuring answers by writing each distinct point
as a separate paragraph in the answer book may make each point clearer to see during the pressure
of the examination and hence spot which points have already been made.

Command words
The following command words are listed in the order identified as being the most challenging for
candidates:
Outline
From Examiners observations, it appeared that candidates found the command word outline the most
challenging. The guide to command words available on the NEBOSH website states that 'outline'
means "to indicate the principal features or different parts of." and that "an exhaustive description is not
required. What is sought is a brief summary of the major aspects of whatever is stated in the question."
A question asking for an outline expects a short paragraph of text to that show the candidate
understands the key aspects of the point being made in relation to the question asked. Answers giving
insufficient information to be awarded marks were mostly bullet-point lists with no supporting
information to outline the points being made.
Explain
Explain questions expect candidates to demonstrate their understanding and are often in association
with the words how or why. In similar fashion as found for outline questions many answers gave
simple bullet-point lists that did not provide sufficient depth to show that the candidate understood the
concepts asked for in these questions.
Describe
The NEBOSH guide gives the meaning of 'describe' as "a detailed written account of the distinctive
features of a subject."
Many candidates gave limited answers to describe questions, again giving lists of information with
little or no supporting information. Describe questions expect a candidate to be able to put information
in their answers to enable the Examiner to be able to formulate an idea of the subject being described
in their minds.
Identify
Identify questions expect a word or phrase with no other detail required in order to identify an item or
concept sufficiently to be awarded a mark.
While many candidates gave sufficient answers there were some noted that, contrary to outline or
explain answers, gave more information than was necessary to gain a mark. This does not affect the
marks awarded but does mean candidates will take more time than is necessary when writing these
answers.
Give
Questions asking the candidate to give an answer require a statement without additional explanation.
Most commonly, examination questions would ask to give examples of something. Most candidates
were able to answer these questions with sufficient detail to gain reasonable marks.

Learning outcomes
Candidates performed well in this area of the syllabus:
4.4:

Outline the selection procedures for basic fire extinguishing methods for both life risk
and process risk

Candidates generally answered questions relating to this area of the syllabus well. This was especially
the case when identifying the range of portable fire-fighting equipment available for use in workplaces.
Most candidates demonstrate knowledge of the circumstances when some extinguishers are not
appropriate and understand the reasons why.
With candidates practical experience of the types and use of fire extinguishers and effective teaching
of this topic by course providers, good answers are often given when questions are asked on this area
of the syllabus and consequently good marks awarded.
________________________________________________________________________________
The following learning outcomes have been identified as being the most challenging area of the
syllabus for candidates sitting this examination:

4.2:

Explain the requirements of a means of escape

This area of the syllabus focuses on requirements of means of escape in buildings and how they affect
their adequacy in the event of a fire.
The subject matter in this area of the syllabus should be familiar to most candidates. However, when
asked to explain issues relating to width, number and travel distances of escape routes many did not
provide answers in sufficient depth. While most were able to outline some relevant issues, few were
able to explain how they affect the adequacy of a means of escape. Additionally, many strayed away
from the relevant topic to highlight issues such as provision of signage and emergency lighting that
were not relevant to the question. Candidates are advised to take note of the command word in the
learning outcome in their studies and revision as this dictates the maximum level of depth that can be
asked in an examination question on topics related to that learning outcome. Additionally candidates
should take care in their answers to ensure they do not stray outside the focus of the question.
________________________________________________________________________________
1.5:

Outline the main sources of external fire safety information and the principles of their
application

This area of the syllabus focuses on the range of external sources of fire safety information and how
they can be applied to aid the management of fire safety. One such source is the fire safety risk
assessment guidance documents issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government
with which candidates should be familiar. They are freely available on the web and specifically
mentioned in the syllabus.
When asked about the purpose and key features of these documents, some made no attempt at an
answer suggesting that they were not aware of them. Many candidates were aware of the legal status
of guidance documents generally but not aware of the key features and purpose of these documents. It
is important that course providers cover and candidates note the full range of documents and how they
can be used when studying this area of the syllabus.

________________________________________________________________________________
3.2:

Outline appropriate control measures to minimise fire and explosion risks

This area of the syllabus focuses on controls that should be taken to reduce the risk of fire and
explosion in a workplace. One topic addressed is the management and control of waste materials.
When asked on this topic, Examiners noted that many responses related to the management of
flammable liquids that has been asked on numerous occasions on previous examinations and not to
management of waste materials. While some points were coincidentally relevant many were not and
there are other issues that specifically relate to waste materials that were not included in answers.
Candidates are advised to be very careful when reading and formulating answers to questions and to
focus on the topic asked for in the question and resist the temptation to give answers more suited to
previous questions on similar topics.
________________________________________________________________________________
5.2:

Describe the development and maintenance of a fire evacuation procedure

This area of the syllabus focuses on the purpose of an evacuation procedure and issues relevant when
formulating and maintaining such a procedure.
Examiners noted that many candidates seemed not to understand the full range of issues that should
be considered when developing an evacuation procedure in a particular workplace. Course providers
and candidates are advised to consider the full range of types of evacuation procedure available and
the circumstances in which each is appropriate.

Conclusion
There were several issues found by Examiners that have been seen before. In particular answers that
are given in insufficient depth for the command word and answers that drift away from the topic asked
for in a question have been noted and reported on in previous sittings. Course providers and
candidates are advised to make use of the command word guidance available on the NEBOSH
website when preparing for an examination. Classes on examination technique in collaboration with
subject revision can be invaluable for candidates in order to reduce the chance of producing short or
irrelevant answers during the pressure of the examination.
Notwithstanding the shortfalls seen in some cases, it is encouraging to see a good pass rate for this
examination with 81% of candidates passing. This demonstrates a good knowledge of the subject for
most candidates and as a result they have been justly rewarded for their hard work and that of their
course providers by passing the unit.

The National Examination

Board in Occupational
Safety and Health
Dominus Way
Meridian Business Park
Leicester LE19 1QW
telephone 0116 263 4700
fax 0116 282 4000
email info@nebosh.org.uk
www.nebosh.org.uk