ECS (Electrotechnical Certification Scheme) Quiz 7

The assessment will be made up from 288 questions covering ten topics. The 40 questions in the ECS test is made up from the following topics:

General Health and Safety at Work 5   Manual Handling Operations 4
Reporting Accidents 3   Personal Protective Equipment at Work 4
Health and Hygiene 3   Fire and Emergency 4
Work at Height 5   Work Equipment 4
Special Site Hazards 3   Electrotechnical 5

Listed below are the areas of knowledge that will be assessed.

1. General Health & Safety - (Total 40 Questions) You should have a basic understanding of:

  • How the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Regulations and Approved Codes of Practice affect you
  • Employer’s responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act
  • Your responsibilities to yourself and to others under the Health and Safety at Work Act
  • How health and safety law is enforced
  • The powers of Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors
  • The key features of health and safety signs in the workplace
  

2. Manual Handling Operations - (Total 27 Questions) You should have a basic understanding of:

  • What manual handling operations mean in the context of an employee and what employers must do to protect employees from injury
  • The types of injury you could suffer from carrying out manual handling tasks
  • The parts of your body most likely to be affected by manual handling injuries
  • How to decide whether a manual handling activity is safe
  • What must be taken into account when making a manual handling risk assessment
  • The principles of good manual handling techniques

3. Reporting Accidents - (Total 32 Questions) You should have a basic understanding of:

  • The need to report injuries, accidents, certain diseases and dangerous occurrences to the Health and Safety Executive
  • Why you must report accidents to your employer
  • The need to record in the accident book all accidents that cause any injury whatsoever
  • What reportable injuries, dangerous occurrences and reportable diseases are
  

4. Personal Protective Equipment at Work - (Total 28 Questions) You should have a basic understanding of:

  • When PPE should be worn
  • Why your employer must provide you with PPE
  • Why you must use the PPE provided by the employer
  • Why you must take care of PPE supplied for your use
  • Why you must report lost or damaged PPE to your immediate superior
  • The possible effects of not wearing PPE
  • The limitations of PPE

5. Health and Hygiene - (Total 27 Questions) You should have a basic understanding of:

  • The dangers of exposure to substances, such as asbestos
  • The importance of good personal hygiene when working with hazardous substances
  • How to reduce the risks of diseases carried by vermin
  • The welfare facilities required to be provided on construction sites.
  • How to reduce the risks from hand-arm vibration and noise at work
  

6. Fire and Emergency - (Total 32 Questions) You should have a basic understanding of:

  • What to do in the event of an emergency at work
  • The types of fire extinguishers available and the types of fires they can each be used on
  • The importance of first aid following an accident

7. Work at Height - (Total 28 Questions) You should have a basic understanding of:

  • The importance of using the most suitable access equipment for the task
  • Only working from ladders or stepladders when the task is of low risk and short duration
  • Safety precautions to be taken when using scaffolds, mobile elevated work platforms, safety harnesses etc.
  

8. Work Equipment - (Total 24 Questions) You should have a basic understanding of:

  • Only using work equipment you have been trained and authorised to use
  • The importance of carrying out checks on equipment before use
  • Reporting any defects and not using defective equipment
  • The voltage limitations on electrical equipment used on site
  • The safe use of extension cables

9. Special Site Hazards - (Total 16 Questions) You should have a basic understanding of:

  • The safety precautions to be taken before working in a confined space
  • The precautions to be taken when carrying out excavation work to reduce the risks from contact with underground services, falling materials etc.
  • The precautions to be taken when working near overhead power lines
  • The dangers to pedestrians from vehicles on site
  

10. Electrotechnical - (Total 34 Questions) You should have an understanding of:

  • The effects of electric current on the body
  • The types of socket outlets used on construction sites
  • The need for persons working on electrical systems to be competent to do so
  • The use of residual current devices for supplementary protection against electric shock
  • Safe isolation procedures when working on electrical systems and equipment
  • Only working ‘live’ in exceptional circumstances
  • Safe working with optical fibres

All Work at Height (28 Questions in total but only 5 random questions will be choosen for the test by the computer)

1. Most deaths on site are caused by:
a) Vehicle movements
b) Falling from height
c) Solvent inhalation
d) Chemical burns

2. The type of accident that kills most construction site workers is:
a) Being hit by falling objects
b) Falling from heights
c) Trench collapses
d) Electrical accident

3. Approximately 70 workers each year die on construction sites, the main cause of this is:
a) Fire
b) Falls from height
c) Being run over by plant
d) Excavation collapse

4. How many people should be working on a ladder at one time?
a) One on each section of an extension ladder
b) One
c) Two
d) Three if it is long enough

5. Ladders should be set at a slope of approximately
a) 1 out for every 3 up
b) 4 out for every 1 up
c) 1 out for every 1 up
d) 1 out for every 4 up

6. Why should aluminium ladders be kept away from wet lime or cement?
a) It will stain your clothes
b) The ladder may become statically charged
c) It may corrode the ladder
d) It will stain the aluminium

7. Before being used, a ladder should be inspected:
a) by the foreman
b) by the user
c) by the manufacturer
d) by the Safety Officer

8. Ladders should be:
a) in good condition
b) tied or footed
c) tied or footed AND at the right angle AND in good condition
d) at the right angle

9. A ladder giving access to a scaffold can generally be safely used, provided that:
a) the foot of the ladder is firmly wedged
b) it does not move when you climb up it
c) any broken rungs are clearly marked
d) it is tied and extends at least 1 metre above the platform

10. What is the ideal angle for a ladder against a wall and floor?
a) One metre up for every metre out from the wall
b) One metre up for every two metres out from the wall
c) Two metres up for every metre out from the wall
d) Four metres up for every metre out from the wall

11. The rung of a wooden ladder has started to split, what should you do?
a) Do not use it, tell your supervisor
b) Cut the bad bit out
c) Tape it up
d) Jump on it to see if it holds your weight

12. Ladders should not be painted because:
a) regular repainting will be necessary
b) the paint will make them slippery to use
c) the paint may not be suitable on metal parts of the ladder
d) the paint may cover a defect or damaged part of the ladder

13. When can you work from a ladder?
a) For short periods and then only if it is safe to do so
b) When it is long enough
c) When it is available
d) When not being used for access

14. When working above public areas, what should be considered?
a) Preventing complaints from the public
b) The danger of falling materials
c) Keeping the job going
d) Keeping the areas open to the public

15. A scaffold tower must be erected by:
a) A trained and competent person
b) The hire company who supply it
c) The site foreman
d) Senior site staff

16. What is the minimum height of the top guard-rail of a scaffold above the edge from which someone is liable to fall?
a) 470mm
b) 910mm
c) 950mm
d) 2 metres

17. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require a working platform used for construction work and from which a person could fall 2 metres or more to be inspected:
a) After an accident
b) Every day
c) Before first use and then every seven days afterwards
d) Weekly

18. On a mobile elevating work platform, what should you attach your safety harness to?
a) A secure anchorage point inside the platform
b) A strong part of the structure you are working on
c) The boom of the machine
d) A nearby pipe or scaffold

19. You have been asked to operate a cherry-picker (mobile elevated work platform) when it is very windy. What should your FIRST consideration be?
a) Wear a safety harness and clip it to the structure that you are working on
b) Does the wind-speed make it unsafe to use the machine
c) Wear extra layer of clothing to keep warm
d) Tie all light-weighted objects to the hand-rails of the basket

20. If you have to work at height and it is not possible to erect a scaffold, or use any other type of working platform or mobile elevating work platform, then you should:
a) work without fall protection, provided you have a mate with you
b) wear a harness and lanyard at all times
c) work without fall protection, provided the weather is not too windy
d) work without fall protection at all times when no one else is about

21. 21 When working on a roof that has fragile, clear-plastic panels, what is the best way of preventing falls through the panels?
a) Make sure that everyone is told where the panels are and to avoid treading on them
b) Cover the fragile panels with a strong material and secure the covers to stop them being dislodged
c) Remove the panels carefully to leave an open space.
d) It shouldn’t be necessary to do anything, everyone knows the dangers

22. When working on fragile roofs:
a) it is safe to walk on the purlins
b) walk straight across the roof to where you need to get
c) as long as you avoid any fragile areas it is safe
d) crawling boards should always be used

23. Half the deaths on construction sites are caused by which one of the following?
a) Falls from heights
b) Electrical misuse
c) Working in trenches/confined spaces
d) Misuse of plant and machinery

24. What should you do if your work activity requires you to wear a full body safety harness and one is not available?
a) Make a harness from items found on site
b) Carry on working and hope that everything will be alright
c) Borrow a harness from a colleague
d) Stop work immediately and tell your supervisor that you do not have the correct PPE

25. Under what circumstances do the Work at Height Regulations permit a stepladder to be used on site?
a) Never – stepladders are banned
b) At any time
c) Provided you can’t fall 2 metres or more
d) Only when a risk assessment shows that safer alternatives have been ruled out and the task is of low risk and of short duration

26. What is the best method of securing a ladder?
a) Tying it to a suitable point
b) Using an effective ladder stability device
c) Wedging the ladder (eg against a wall)
d) Having the ladder footed

27. Of the following, which is the poorest method of securing a ladder?
a) Securing the base of the ladder
b) Tying the ladder
c) Having someone foot the ladder
d) Using a ladder stability device

28. Prior to moving a mobile tower scaffold, the platform height should be reduced to a maximum of:
a) 2 metres
b) 3 metres
c) 4 metres
d) 5 metres


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