Basic safety topics are where every new safety officer should start. This lesson is for complete beginners: people who want to join the safety field, or who are switching from another role (for example a Work Permit Receiver) and need the basic knowledge first. It gives an overview of the topics we cover in this series, with short definitions you can learn and remember.
The 18 basic topics in this series
- Basics of safety
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- Documents
- Emergency
- Excavation
- Scaffolding
- Sand blasting
- Compressed gas cylinders
- Hydrojetting
- Fire
- Ladders
- Chemicals
- Equipment
- Fall protection
- Confined space
- Lifting
- Hand and power tools
- General questions
Start with the basics
Many people cannot explain the simplest questions in English during an interview, because they never practised them. Start with these:
- What is safety? Safety means protecting employees, assets and the environment.
- What is a hazard? And what are the types of hazards?
- What is risk?
- Unsafe act vs unsafe condition: what is the difference? Give an example of each.
- Near miss, incident and accident: many people confuse these three. Learn the difference clearly.
- What is a TBT (toolbox talk)? What is discussed in it and why?
How to study
- Learn the short definition for each topic first.
- Then go topic by topic in detail, with practical site examples.
- Practise explaining each definition out loud in simple English.
In the upcoming lessons we cover each of these topics one by one in easy words. Follow along in the Videos section, and test yourself with our safety quizzes.