ICTQual Level 8 Professional Diploma in Health, Safety and Environmental Engineering

Unit 1: Health and Safety Management System (HSMS)

Learning Outcomes

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of internationally recognized Health and Safety Management Systems (HSMS) such as ISO 45001 and ANSI Z10, and their role in designing effective workplace safety programs.
• Apply the hierarchy of hazard control measures to eliminate or minimize workplace risks and improve organizational safety performance.
• Utilize advanced hazard identification and risk analysis techniques, including Hazard Analysis, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), Fishbone Analysis, What-If Analysis, Checklist Analysis, and Change Analysis.
• Apply risk assessment and risk matrix methodologies to evaluate, prioritize, and implement effective risk mitigation strategies.
• Implement the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) to ensure proper chemical hazard communication and safe handling procedures.
• Design and implement hazardous energy control programs covering electrical, hydraulic, thermal, kinetic, mechanical, and magnetic energy sources.
• Demonstrate an understanding of fundamental electrical safety principles, including Ohm’s Law, electrical power, impedance, resistance, circuits, and energy control.
• Lead and facilitate incident and accident investigations, including root cause analysis, identification of contributing factors, evidence collection, data analysis, and management of high-risk incidents.
• Understand and apply Management of Change (MOC) principles to ensure safe implementation of operational or organizational changes.
• Interpret and evaluate leading and lagging safety performance indicators to monitor, measure, and improve safety management systems.
• Demonstrate awareness of emerging technologies in health and safety management, including data analytics, robotics, drones, and artificial intelligence for improved risk monitoring and workplace safety.

Unit 2: Health and Safety International Laws and Regulations

Learning Outcomes

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of international occupational health and safety legal frameworks, including International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions and standards, UK legislation such as the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, and relevant European Union Occupational Safety and Health Directives.
• Understand the legal responsibilities, compliance obligations, and professional liabilities associated with health and safety management, including workplace inspections, audits, monitoring, reporting, and procedural reviews in accordance with international best practices.
• Evaluate legal requirements related to contractor management and multi-employer worksites, ensuring compliance with UK, EU, and ILO occupational safety principles and employer duty-of-care responsibilities.
• Understand contract terminology and the contract management lifecycle, including allocation of responsibilities, safety obligations, and risk control within contractual agreements.
• Apply proper records management and documentation control practices, including regulatory requirements for document retention, chain-of-custody procedures, and worker data protection in line with UK, EU, and international data protection standards such as GDPR.
• Determine appropriate professional actions within legal, ethical, and professional scope limitations, recognizing when to seek expertise in areas such as cybersecurity, insurance, and legal compliance.
• Understand the principles of risk transfer and liability management, including outsourcing arrangements, contractual risk-sharing, and insurance mechanisms to manage organizational safety risks.
• Assess legal and organizational responsibilities related to worker impairment, including workplace risks associated with drugs, alcohol, fatigue, stress, and other factors affecting occupational health and safety under international labor standards.

Unit 3: Environmental Management System (EMS)

Learning Outcomes

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of environmental hazards including biological, chemical, radiological, and waste-related hazards, and their potential impact on human health and the environment.
• Evaluate environmental impacts and sustainable management practices related to natural resources, including water management (drainage, wastewater treatment), air quality and emissions control (air pollution, carbon footprint reduction), and land protection (solid waste management, soil protection, and recycling systems).
• Apply the environmental conservation hierarchy such as reduce, reuse, recycle, and energy recovery, to promote sustainable resource utilization and waste minimization.
• Understand the principles and implementation of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) based on international standards such as ISO 14001, including policy development, environmental planning, monitoring, and continuous improvement.
• Understand procedures for waste identification, classification, labeling, treatment, certification, transportation, and disposal in accordance with international environmental regulations and best practices.
• Analyze the role of Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) professionals in supporting Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies, ensuring organizations achieve sustainability goals, regulatory compliance, and responsible environmental stewardship.

Unit 4: Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene

Learning Outcomes

• Develop an understanding of the principles and requirements of occupational health and industrial hygiene programs, including hearing conservation, respiratory protection, workplace monitoring, and medical surveillance systems.
• Understand fundamental chemistry concepts relevant to occupational health, including chemical classification, composition, nomenclature, chemical reactions, neutralization processes, the ideal gas law, and pH levels.
• Demonstrate knowledge of human anatomy and physiology and how workplace exposures affect body systems and overall worker health.
• Identify, evaluate, and control workplace exposure hazards by assessing sources, sampling techniques, exposure pathways, control strategies, symptoms, and affected target organs associated with:
  • Physical hazards such as noise, vibration, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, temperature stress (heat and cold), lighting, respirable dust, and nanoscale particles.
  • Chemical hazards including asphyxiants, corrosives, irritants, sensitizers, reactive substances, carcinogens, mutagens, and teratogens.
  • Biological hazards such as viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi, and mold.
• Understand and differentiate between various occupational exposure limits (OELs), including Short-Term Exposure Limits (STEL), Time-Weighted Average (TWA), Ceiling Limits, and Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) levels.
• Identify the routes of entry for hazardous substances into the human body, including inhalation, ingestion, skin absorption, and injection.
• Distinguish between acute and chronic occupational exposures and their potential health effects on workers.
• Apply universal precautions and infection control measures to manage biological hazards such as bloodborne pathogens and other infectious agents.
• Understand the principles of ionizing radiation, including radioactive decay, half-life, radiation sources, exposure concentration, and the inverse square law.
• Understand workplace requirements related to fitness for duty, occupational health assessments, and safe return-to-work programs.
• Define and apply the principles of Total Worker Health (TWH) to integrate occupational safety, health protection, and worker well-being initiatives.

Unit 5: Ergonomics Program

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the principles, objectives, and key components of an effective ergonomics program aimed at improving worker comfort, safety, and productivity.
• Identify and evaluate major ergonomic risk factors, including repetitive motions, excessive force, awkward or static postures, and other workplace stressors such as vibration, contact pressure, poor lighting, and extreme temperature conditions.
• Define and recognize work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) and other ergonomic injuries commonly associated with poor workplace design and repetitive tasks.
• Apply ergonomic design principles to optimize workplace layouts and equipment for various work environments, including office workstations, remote work settings, industrial assembly stations, laboratory benches, and field operations.
• Apply ergonomic techniques and best practices for safe manual material handling, including proper lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling methods to prevent workplace injuries.
• Identify and implement ergonomic control measures and work practice improvements, such as job rotation, early symptom reporting, engineering controls, and assistive technologies including exoskeleton systems.
• Utilize qualitative and quantitative ergonomic assessment methods such as the NIOSH Lifting Equation, anthropometric analysis, Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA), and Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) to evaluate workplace ergonomics and recommend improvements.

Unit 6: Fire Safety Management

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the fundamental principles of fire science, including fire classification, combustion processes, and the fire triangle, tetrahedron, and pentagon, as well as upper and lower flammable/explosive limits.
• Identify the properties and hazards of flammable and combustible substances, including their chemical and physical characteristics, safe handling procedures, and compatibility considerations.
• Recognize electrical fire hazards and apply appropriate control measures, including electrostatic discharge protection, overcurrent protection, arc flash prevention, grounding and bonding, ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs), and hazardous area classifications such as those defined by NFPA standards.
• Evaluate fire risks associated with hot work activities such as welding, cutting, and grinding, and implement appropriate fire prevention and control measures.
• Identify hazards associated with combustible dust, including potential ignition sources and explosion risks in industrial environments.
• Understand the principles, operation, and application of fire detection systems, including smoke detectors, heat detectors, and alarm systems.
• Understand various fire suppression systems, such as sprinkler systems, foam systems, gas suppression systems, and other fire control technologies.
• Identify different types of fire extinguishers, their appropriate applications, and operational requirements for effective emergency response.
• Understand proper segregation and storage requirements for flammable and hazardous materials, including safe storage practices and ventilation controls.
• Apply effective housekeeping practices to minimize fire risks, including proper dust management, waste disposal, and removal of combustible materials.
• Select and implement appropriate fire safety signs, labels, and warning systems to support fire prevention and emergency preparedness in the workplace.

Unit 7: Workplace Emergency Management

Learning Outcomes

• Develop an understanding of the structure and essential components of an effective workplace emergency response plan, including preparedness, response, communication, and recovery strategies.
• Identify and assess risks associated with different sources of emergencies and disasters, including natural hazards (earthquakes, floods, storms), human-caused incidents (fires, industrial accidents, terrorism), and biological threats such as pandemics and bioterrorism.
• Understand the key elements of emergency preparedness, including evacuation procedures, emergency drills and exercises, workplace security measures, life safety systems, and provision of first aid and medical response.
• Identify and implement the core principles of disaster response and recovery, including the Incident Command System (ICS), emergency coordination, crisis communication, and business continuity planning.
• Recognize and apply the key components of a workplace violence prevention program, including risk assessment, reporting mechanisms, employee awareness, and response procedures.
• Understand safety risks and protection strategies for lone workers, including monitoring systems, communication protocols, and emergency support measures to ensure worker safety in isolated work environments.

Unit 8: Professional Development and Communication at Workplace

Learning Outcomes

• Apply appropriate learning theories and instructional techniques to design and deliver effective workplace training and professional development programs.
• Utilize a variety of training methods and tools, including instructor-led training, computer-based learning, group workshops, and virtual or online training platforms.
• Promote and support a positive safety culture through open communication, constructive feedback, psychological safety, emotional intelligence, and strong leadership engagement.
• Conduct effective data collection, training needs assessments, gap analysis, and feedback evaluation to identify organizational learning requirements.
• Establish baseline competency standards to determine employee training needs and ensure compliance with workplace safety and professional development requirements.
• Evaluate training effectiveness and knowledge retention using appropriate assessment methods, performance monitoring, and continuous improvement strategies.
• Understand and identify human factors that influence workplace performance, including behavior, decision-making processes, situational awareness, workload management, risk perception, and stress management.
• Understand the differences between competent and qualified persons, including their roles, responsibilities, and regulatory requirements within workplace safety and operational environments.

Unit 9: Applied Mathematics for Safety Professionals

Learning Outcomes

• Apply mathematical principles to calculate storage capacity, load limits, and safe material storage requirements in industrial environments.
• Perform rigging calculations and load analysis to ensure safe lifting operations and prevent structural or equipment failures.
• Calculate flow rates and system capacities for ventilation, hydraulic, and pneumatic systems to maintain safe operational conditions.
• Determine safe slope angles and depth ratios for trenching and excavation activities to prevent collapse and ensure structural stability.
• Evaluate occupational noise exposure levels, including Time-Weighted Average (TWA), combined machinery noise effects, and noise reduction ratings (NRR).
• Calculate environmental and climatic conditions affecting worker safety, such as ambient temperature, heat index, and wind chill factors.
• Analyze fall protection system parameters, including free-fall distance, maximum arresting force, impact forces, total fall distance, and required clearance.
• Compute workplace safety performance indicators, including incident rates, lost-time injury rates, and direct costs associated with workplace incidents.
• Apply the NIOSH Lifting Equation to assess safe manual material handling limits and prevent musculoskeletal injuries.
• Perform basic physics calculations relevant to safety engineering, including force, velocity, acceleration, momentum, and friction.
• Apply statistical analysis methods, including measures of central tendency, variability, probability, and standard deviation for safety data analysis.
• Evaluate the probability of failure modes and risk levels in engineering and safety systems.
• Conduct financial and risk-related calculations, including cost-benefit analysis, cost of risk, lifecycle cost evaluation, and return on investment (ROI) for safety interventions.
• Perform occupational exposure assessments for biological and chemical hazards using standards such as Threshold Limit Values (TLV), Short-Term Exposure Limits (STEL), and Time-Weighted Averages (TWA).
• Calculate radiation exposure parameters, including shielding effectiveness, half-life, and dosage levels.
• Perform accurate unit conversions between metric and imperial measurement systems for engineering and safety calculations.

Unit 10: Capstone Research in Occupational Health and Safety Management

Learning Outcomes

• Conduct independent and in-depth research on contemporary challenges and emerging trends in Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) management, contributing to professional practice and academic knowledge.
• Apply advanced research methodologies, data analysis techniques, and critical evaluation skills to investigate complex workplace safety and environmental management issues.
• Develop a structured research proposal, perform a comprehensive literature review, and carry out systematic data collection, interpretation, and analysis using appropriate research methods.
• Present and defend research findings, conclusions, and practical recommendations in a clear, professional, and evidence-based manner, demonstrating advanced expertise in occupational health and safety management.