NEBOSH IGC Glossary: Key Terms for GIC1 and GIC2

117 key terms from the 2025 syllabus, in plain words. The number shows the sub-element where the term is used. Learn them with the flashcards.

Acclimatisation (8.1): Gradually getting used to working in the heat.
Active monitoring (4.2): Checking that controls are in place and working before anything goes wrong, for example by inspections and tours.
Acute effect (7.1): A health effect that appears soon after exposure.
Arrangements (2.2): What the organisation actually does to carry out its policy: planning, controlling hazards, consulting, communicating and monitoring.
Asbestos (7.5): A fibrous mineral in older buildings that causes asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, often many years after exposure.
Assembly point (10.4): A safe place outside the building where people gather after evacuation so they can be counted.
Attenuation (5.1): The reduction in noise level provided by hearing protection.
Audit (4.3): A systematic, independent and documented process for gathering evidence and judging how far audit criteria are met.
Banksman (8.6): A person who guides a vehicle that is reversing or manoeuvring.
Behavioural control (3.6): A control that influences what people do, such as training and supervision.
Blood-borne virus (7.5): A virus carried in blood and some body fluids, such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.
Carbon monoxide (7.5): A colourless, odourless gas from incomplete combustion that reduces the blood's ability to carry oxygen.
Chronic effect (7.1): A health effect that develops over time.
Compartmentation (10.2): Dividing a building into fire-resisting sections to slow the spread of fire and smoke.
Competent person (1.3): Someone with enough training, skills, experience and knowledge to do a task safely.
Confined space (8.3): An enclosed or partly enclosed space that a person can enter, is not designed for continuous occupation and has a foreseeable risk such as toxic gas, low oxygen or rising liquid.
dB(A) (5.1): Decibel level weighted to the sensitivity of the human ear.
Direct cost (1.1): A cost that comes straight from an incident, such as treatment or repair.
Double insulation (11.2): Equipment insulated in two layers so no earth is needed. Damage to the casing can expose live parts.
Drill (3.8): A practice of an emergency procedure to find and correct weaknesses.
Dust (7.1): Fine solid particles in the air.
Earthing (11.2): A connection that gives fault current a safe path.
Electric shock (11.1): The effect of current passing through the body, from a tingle to death.
Emergency procedure (3.8): A plan set out in advance that says what to do, who does it, how people are warned, where they go and how help is called.
Enforcement agency (1.2): A body that checks that organisations follow the law. It can give advice, require improvements and take legal action.
Engulfment (8.3): Being surrounded and trapped by a liquid or a solid, such as grain or sand, in a confined space.
Fire marshal (10.4): A trained person who helps check areas, helps people leave and reports to the person in charge.
Fire triangle (10.1): Ignition, fuel and oxygen: the three things a fire needs.
Fixed guard (9.4): A guard kept in place by tools or fasteners.
Formal system (2.1): A management system that is audited and certified by an outside body, for example to ISO 45001.
Fume (7.1): Very small solid particles formed when a vaporised metal cools, for example in welding.
Hand-arm vibration syndrome (5.2): Damage to blood vessels, nerves and joints in the hands from vibrating tools. White finger is one sign.
Hazard (3.4): Anything with the potential to cause harm.
Health and safety policy (2.2): The organisation's written statement of intent. It shows top management's commitment and gives direction.
Heat stress (8.1): Harm from working in heat, including heat exhaustion, heat stroke and cramps.
Hertz (5.1): The unit of frequency, which is the pitch of a sound.
Hierarchy of control (3.4): The order for choosing controls: eliminate, substitute, engineering controls, administrative controls, then PPE.
Hold-to-run control (9.4): A control that lets the machine run only while it is held.
Home-work interface (5.4): The pressures outside work, such as commuting, childcare and caring for relatives, that can affect people at work.
Hot work (3.7): Work that uses flame, heat or sparks, such as welding or cutting. It usually needs a permit to work.
HSG245 (4.1): The HSE guidance on investigating accidents and incidents.
Human factors (3.3): Organisational, job and individual influences on how people behave at work.
ILO C155 (1.2): The ILO convention on occupational safety and health and the working environment.
ILO R164 (1.2): The ILO recommendation that adds detail to Convention C155, including duties of employers and workers.
ILO-OSH 2001 (2.1): The ILO guidelines on occupational safety and health management systems. They use the Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle.
Immediate cause (4.1): The unsafe act or condition that led directly to an incident.
Incident (1.1): An event at work that causes, or could cause, harm, injury, ill-health or damage (the ISO 45001 meaning used by NEBOSH).
Indirect cost (1.1): A knock-on cost of an incident, such as delays, lower morale and overtime to catch up.
Individual factors (3.3): Human factors that belong to the person, such as competence, skills, personality, attitude and risk perception.
Informal system (2.1): A management system without a certificate. It can be cheaper and more flexible but may be inconsistent.
Inspection (4.3): A look at physical conditions in an area. It is narrower than an audit.
Insured cost (1.1): A cost that insurance pays for.
Interlocking guard (9.4): A guard linked to the machine so that the machine cannot run unless the guard is closed, and stops if it is opened.
Ionising radiation (5.3): Radiation with enough energy to damage atoms and cells, such as X-rays and gamma rays.
ISO 12100 (9.3): The standard on safety of machinery and general principles for risk assessment and risk reduction.
ISO 45001 (1.2): The international standard for occupational health and safety management systems.
Isolation (11.2): Disconnecting equipment from its supply so that it is safe to work on. It is the safest way to work on electrical equipment.
Job factors (3.3): Human factors that come from the task, such as workload, the environment, displays and controls, and procedures.
Lagging indicator (4.2): A measure of harm that has already occurred.
Leading indicator (4.2): A measure of preventive activity done before harm occurs.
Legionella (7.5): Bacteria that grow in water systems at roughly 20 to 45 degrees C and cause Legionnaires' disease when droplets are breathed in.
Local exhaust ventilation (7.4): A system that captures contaminants near the source before they reach the worker's breathing zone.
Lone worker (8.4): A person who works by themselves without close or direct supervision.
Management of change (3.5): Assessing and controlling the new hazards that come from changes such as new equipment, processes, works or working practices.
Management review (4.4): A regular check by management of whether the system is suitable, adequate and effective, with actions as the output.
Management Standards (5.4): The six areas of work design that affect stress: demands, control, support, relationships, role and change.
Management system (2.1): The connected arrangements an organisation uses to control its risks, following Plan, Do, Check, Act.
Manual handling (6.2): Moving loads by hand: lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling or carrying.
MEWP (8.2): Mobile elevating work platform.
Mist (7.1): Liquid droplets suspended in the air.
Musculoskeletal disorder (6.1): A disorder of muscles, tendons, joints or nerves.
Near miss (4.1): An incident that did not cause harm but could have. It is a free warning.
Non-ionising radiation (5.3): Radiation with less energy that does not break up atoms, such as ultraviolet, infrared, lasers, microwaves and radio waves.
Occupational exposure limit (7.3): The airborne concentration of a substance to which workers may be exposed without being expected to suffer harm.
Organisational factors (3.3): Human factors that come from the organisation, such as culture, leadership, resources, work patterns and communications.
PDCA (2.1): Plan, Do, Check, Act: the improvement cycle behind most management systems.
Peer influence (3.1): The way colleagues affect each other's behaviour, for example new workers copying what experienced workers really do.
Permit to work (3.7): A formal system that controls high risk work with written authority and conditions.
Personal fall arrest system (8.2): Equipment that catches a worker who falls, limiting the consequences. It is used when a fall cannot be prevented.
Portable appliance testing (11.2): Inspection and testing of portable electrical equipment. It shows only the condition at the time.
Pre-selection (1.3): Checking a contractor's competence before awarding the work.
Procedural control (3.6): A control based on procedures, such as inspections and permits.
Radon (5.3): A radioactive gas from the ground that can build up in buildings.
Reactive monitoring (4.2): Looking at what has already happened, such as incident and ill-health data.
Residual current device (11.2): A device that cuts the supply quickly when a fault sends current to earth. It needs testing and does not prevent all shocks.
Residual risk (3.4): The risk that remains after controls are applied.
Risk (3.4): The likelihood of harm combined with the severity of the harm.
Risk assessment (3.4): A detailed study of specific hazards and risks that decides what controls are needed.
Risk perception (3.3): How risky a person believes a task or situation to be.
Risk profiling (3.4): A high-level look at the activities and areas of an organisation to rank them by risk.
Route of entry (7.2): The way a substance gets into the body: inhalation, ingestion, absorption through the skin or injection.
RPE (7.4): Respiratory protective equipment. It is the last resort in controlling inhaled substances.
Safe system of work (3.6): A formal procedure that results from a systematic examination of a task.
Safe working load (6.3): The maximum load that equipment is rated to lift safely, marked on the equipment.
Safety culture (3.1): The shared attitudes, values and behaviour about health and safety in an organisation.
SDS (7.2): Safety data sheet: a supplier's document that gives hazard and safety information on a substance.
Segregation (8.6): Keeping pedestrians and vehicles apart, with separate routes and crossing points.
Sensitisation (7.1): A person becomes allergic after exposure, and may react even to small amounts later, for example asthma or dermatitis.
Short-term exposure limit (7.3): An exposure limit for a short period, often 15 minutes, used to control peaks.
Silica (7.5): A mineral in sand, stone and concrete. Fine dust causes silicosis and raises the risk of lung cancer.
SMART (2.2): Specific, measurable, achievable, reasonable, time-bound.
Suitable and sufficient (3.4): Detailed enough to deal with the significant risks, and no more than that.
Technical control (3.6): A control built into equipment or the workplace, such as a guard.
TILE (6.2): Task, Individual, Load, Environment: the factors to consider in manual handling.
Tinnitus (5.1): Ringing in the ears, which can follow noise exposure.
Top management (1.3): The person or group that directs and controls the organisation at the highest level.
Trip device (9.4): A device such as a light curtain or pressure mat that stops the machine when a person enters the danger area.
TWA (7.3): Time-weighted average: exposure averaged over a reference period.
Two-hand control (9.4): A control that needs both hands to start the machine, keeping them away from danger.
Underlying cause (4.1): A deeper management or organisational failure behind the immediate cause.
Uninsured cost (1.1): A cost the organisation carries itself, usually larger than the insured cost.
Vapour (7.1): The gas form of a substance that is normally a liquid.
Violence at work (5.5): Physical violence, psychological abuse, verbal abuse and bullying at work.
Whole-body vibration (5.2): Vibration passed through the body from vehicles and machines, linked to back pain.
Work equipment (9.1): Machinery, tools and other equipment used at work.
Work restraint system (8.2): Equipment that stops a worker from reaching a fall edge.
WRULD (6.1): Work-related upper limb disorder.

NEBOSH IGC glossary