Question 2 of 7: Sources of Hazards and Communication in Safety

Question 2: Sources of Hazards and Communication in Safety (20 marks: 7/7/6)

Question text not reproduced: the examination questions are © Engineers and Geoscientists BC. Open the official past paper (linked at the top of this page) to read the question, then follow the worked solution below.

(i) Engineering Activities that Give Rise to Hazards

• Design decisions (inadequate design, no safety factor, poor material choice); process design/operation; plant layout; equipment selection/installation; construction and maintenance methods; modifications made without reassessing hazards.

(ii) Non-Engineering Factors

• Human (error, fatigue, training, attitude); management/organizational (weak policy, poor supervision, production pressure, poor culture); environmental (noise, temperature, lighting, housekeeping); administrative (lack of maintenance/inspection, poor scheduling).

(iii) Components of Safety Communication (diagram)

 SENDER --> [encode] --> MESSAGE --> CHANNEL --> [decode] --> RECEIVER
   ^                                                            |
   |------------------------ FEEDBACK ---------------------------
              (NOISE / barriers act on every stage)

Sender, message, channel/medium, receiver, feedback; noise/barriers can distort any stage. Clear encoding, an appropriate channel and feedback are essential for safety-critical messages.