Student Guide July 2011

Occupational Hygiene Training Association

International Qualifications Scheme

Intermediate Level Qualifications

International Certificate in Occupational Hygiene Practice

Student Guide

Guidance on Compiling a Personal Learning Portfolio

Student Guide July 2011

OHTA

The Personal Learning Portfolio

Student Guide

1. Introduction The aims of the intermediate level courses are to provide you with practical and technical skills within the key areas of occupational hygiene practice. During the courses you are required to demonstrate that you can carry out basic practical assessments under the supervision of the course tutors. To meet the aims of the intermediate level courses and for you to reach the required level of technical and practical skill you will continue to develop those skills through practical experience in the work environment. To demonstrate that you have reached the required level you are required to compile a Personal Learning Portfolio. Note: As soon as you start to compile you portfolio complete and return the PLP Registration Form (Appendix 2 of this Guide) to your Examination Body. The Personal Learning Portfolio is a structured record of your workplace learning, practical experience and skills development. The portfolio will contain:

i) A completed and signed Portfolio Front Cover (Appendix 3 of this Guide) ii) A diary of relevant experience of practical application in all of the relevant

subject areas. This will include records of personal input into surveys reports, etc. iii) Evidence of any relevant additional learning such as meetings and training

courses attended, further reading in subject areas, etc. iv) A commentary on what has been learnt from the experience documented above. v) Copies of three relevant occupational hygiene reports produced by you. The

reports must cover different core areas of occupational hygiene practice.

Your portfolio may be submitted for assessment after:

i) You have successfully completed of six OHlearning courses at intermediate level and

ii) You have gained at least three years relevant practical experience in total. Your portfolio must be submitted within three years of completing your final course.

2. Using your PLP to Gain the International Certificate in Occupational Hygiene Practice

Once you have completed your portfolio and you have gained sufficient experience you will be able to submit your portfolio to your local examining body. A list of participating examining bodies offering portfolio assessment is available on the OHlearning website. It may be possible to submit your portfolio in your local language if there is an examining body

Student Guide July 2011

offering an assessment service in that language. You must check with either OHTA or your local examining body before you start to compile your portfolio in your local language. If you submit your portfolio in your local language and there is not an assessment service available in that language you may be asked to pay for translation before your portfolio can be assessed. Once you have submitted your portfolio the examining body will assess it and, provided it is satisfactory, will arrange an interview with an assessor. In this interview your assessor will to discuss any issues arising from the content of the portfolio. The assessor will also question you on your knowledge of all the areas covered in student manuals for the courses as well as on your general practical occupational hygiene skills. If a face-to-face interview is not possible for such reasons as geographical separation a telephone or on-line interview may be arranged. Availability of on-line or telephone interviews in a local language will be subject to the availability of an assessor who speaks that language. On completion of the interview the assessor will:

i) Advise you on further work that needs to be done if your portfolio does not meet the OHTA standards or significant gaps in your knowledge and experience are identified. OR

ii) If your portfolio is satisfactory and you demonstrate an acceptable level of occupational hygiene knowledge and practical skills recommend to the Chief Examiner that you are awarded the International Certificate in Occupational Hygiene Practice.

The qualification structure is shown in Appendix 1 of this guide.

3. Assembling Your Portfolio In this section you will find guidance on all of the elements required for assembling your portfolio. It is important that you start assembling your portfolio as soon as you complete your first OHlearning course. You will use the information in your portfolio to demonstrate the continuing development of your technical skills through reflecting on the work that you do as part of your normal employment and through means such as attendance of technical meeting and training sessions.

i) General Requirements Before starting your portfolio you must register with the examining body by emailing or posting the registration form found in Appendix 2 of this guide. Your portfolio will be made up of two main elements. The first is a diary of your experience and the second component is a selection of three representative reports covering assessment and control of occupational hygiene hazards in core areas. It is important that the information that goes into your portfolio is your own work. As part of the assessment process your assessor will refer to the contents of your report during your interview. We recommend that you use a ring binder or similar to keep all of your documentation together. Loose papers will not be accepted for submission as part of your portfolio. Your portfolio will contain the following:

Student Guide July 2011

a) A completed front cover that has been signed by yourself and your line manager or other responsible person who will confirm the contents are your own work. If the front cover is not completed and signed the portfolio will not be accepted. A blank copy of the front cover can be found in Appendix 3 of this guide.

b) An index listing the contents of your portfolio. c) Your PLP diary d) Three relevant occupational hygiene reports

More detail on the content of each section is given below.

ii) PLP Diary

Your diary will record your personal experience and additional learning related to occupational hygiene practice. You will find two record forms in appendix 4 and 5 of this guide to assist you with keeping your records. The first form should be used to keep a record of your practical experience. This will cover things such as surveys, discussions with workers or colleagues regarding occupational hygiene matters, development of procedures, risk assessments and control recommendations. The fields to be completed in this form are as follows:

a) Current role / position – briefly describe what your role was. b) Title of survey / project – briefly state the title of the survey/project/task was.

This could be a monitoring survey, walk-through survey, talk to operators/management, and development of a sampling strategy or safe operating procedure.

c) Date of survey / project – state the date(s) on which it was carried out. d) Type of survey / project – briefly describe the type of survey / project / task carried

out e) Scope of Survey / project – briefly state what the aim of the survey / project / task

was. f) Personal involvement – briefly state what your involvement was in the survey /

project / task. g) To which course module(s) does this survey / project relate? – state which

OHlearning modules cover the work carried out. This may be more than one module. h) Limitations of the survey / project – Clearly state what the limitations to the survey /

project / task were. This might things such as be the equipment used, number of people surveyed, duration of the survey and any other factors that may have an effect on the results.

i) Problems accounted / reflection on what you have learnt – State any problems that you may have encountered and what the possible effects these problems may have had. Also state what you have learnt from carrying out the survey / project / task.

j) Verification – Each page must be signed off by your line manager, supervisor or other responsible person who will verify that you have reported your own work.

Two sample experience pages are shown below.

Student Guide July 2011

Sample Experience Pages.

Item Description

Current role/position Occupational Hygiene Technician

Title of survey/project Heat stress survey in Copper Smelter

Date of survey/project 23rd January 2011

Type of survey/project Walk-through survey

Scope of survey/project Identify potential heat exposure areas for future monitoring program

Personal involvement Assisted the site hygienist during walk-through, prepared initial draft report

To which course module(s) does the survey/project relate

Thermal Environment, Asbestos

Limitations with the survey/project Survey only conducted on one day. The ambient temperature was low for the time of year so may not have identified all critical areas. Senior foreman was on sick leave so we were not able to discuss the process with him.

Problems encountered/reflection on what you have learnt

Exposed asbestos lagging identified during walk-through. Immediate control action instigated. Site hygienist made significant changes to my draft report and discussed these with me. It was brutal but enlightening!!

Verification that work performed as stated

Manager Name

Manager signature

Date

Item Description

Current role/position Occupational Hygiene Technician

Title of survey/project* Assessment of toluene exposure during a gluing task

Date of survey/project 3rd February 2011

Type of survey/project Initial survey of personal exposure

Scope of survey/project Assess toluene exposure to determine adequacy of LEV during a gluing task.

Personal involvement Assisted the site hygienist setting up and fitting personal exposure monitoring equipment to workers carrying out task. Prepared initial draft report

To which course module(s) does the survey/project relate

W501 measurement of hazardous substances, W505 control of hazardous substances

Limitations with the survey/project Survey only conducted on one day. Workers suggested that the solvent smell was not as bad as it normally was as they did not have many jobs to do on the day of the visit.

Problems encountered/learnings One of the sampling pumps failed part-way through the day so sample was lost. No visual check was carried out on LEV in use. Site hygienist made significant changes to my draft report and discussed these with me.

Verification that work performed as stated

Manager Name

Manager signature

Date

Student Guide July 2011

The second form is used to record your additional learning. Examples of this could include attendance or participation in relevant meeting and seminars (including on-line seminars and courses) and reading of relevant articles, papers and books. This will show that you have extended the knowledge of the subject that you gained during your OHlearning courses. The fields to be completed in this form are as follows:

a) Details of meeting / course / seminar / article / book title – Enter the relevant information about the meeting / course / seminar attended or the title of the article or book read here. This can also include reading on-line sources of information such as government guidance or participation in on-line courses and seminars.

b) Date – Enter the date(s) of attendance of the meeting, etc. or reading the book, etc. c) Location / Reference details – Enter the location of the meeting or seminar attended.

If participating on-line enter the website address. For books and articles enter the author(s) and publisher. If read on-line enter the website address.

d) Learning outcomes / technical content – Briefly summarise the technical content of the meeting / seminar or book / article. For meeting and seminars attach the programme. Briefly summarise what you found useful and how that added to your knowledge.

e) Duration – For meetings and seminars state the duration. f) Key speakers – For meeting and seminars list the key speakers. g) Verification – Each page must be signed off by your line manager, supervisor or other

responsible person who will verify that you have reported your own work. Two examples of completed Additional Learning Record are given below. Sample Additional Learning Page.

Item Description

Details of meeting / course / seminar / article /book title

BOHS regional meeting on Managing Asbestos in Premises

Date 19th May 2010

Location (for meetings and seminars) Reference details for books and articles

Cardiff

Learning outcomes/technical content Covered the new HSE guidance – Managing Asbestos in Buildings that has replaced the existing MHDS100 Surveyor’s Guide. Speakers provided an overview of the new guidance, issues relating to reports, and surveys, litigation and insurance, management issues, the role of the CDM co-ordinator and the role of both UKAS and ABICS. Programme attached.

Duration 09.30 – 17.00

Key speakers Ken Hill, Collette Willoughby and Martin Stear

Verification of attendance

Manager Name

Manager signature

Date

Student Guide July 2011

iii) Report requirements You must submit three occupational hygiene reports. These reports must be of actual practical work that you have completed in your work environment. The reports must not be the work of other persons. The subjects of these reports are as follows: Report 1 - The evaluation and control of exposure to hazardous substances in the workplace. Report 2 – The evaluation and control of exposure to noise in the workplace. Report 3 – The evaluation and control of any other occupational hygiene hazard covered by the OHlearning courses. This includes ergonomic hazards and those relating to the thermal environment. Each report must contain the following information:

a) An executive summary b) A title page c) A brief introduction d) A description of the process / working environment e) Methods and measurements f) Results and discussion g) Conclusions and recommendations

Any confidential information contained within your reports should be blanked out before the report is submitted.

Item Description

Details of meeting / course / seminar / article /book title

Monitoring for Health Hazards at Work (4th edn)

Date November 2010

Location (for meetings and seminars) Reference details for books and articles

Book by John Cherrie, Robin Howie and Sean Semple Published by Wiley Blackwell

Learning outcomes/technical content .A very useful overview of practical occupational hygiene covering inhalation exposure, dermal and ingestion exposure, physical agents, assessing the effectiveness of control and risk assessment and risk communication. I found the chapter covering skin exposure particularly useful as I am currently dealing with a skin exposure problem in our metal plating plant.

Duration

Key speakers

Verification of attendance

Manager Name

Manager signature

Date

Student Guide July 2011

4. Submitting your Portfolio On completion of your portfolio submit it to: BOHS Examinations Department PLP Portfolios 5/6 Melbourne Business Court Millennium Way Pride Park Derby DE24 8LZ UK Please note: There is a charge for the assessment of your portfolio and interview. Please consult your BOHS for the current cost.

Student Guide July 2011

Appendix 1 The Qualification Process

Student Guide July 2011

Appendix 2 PLP Registration Form

OHTA

Personal Learning Portfolio

Registration Form Name: Contact Address: Contact Email Address: Contact Telephone Number: OHlearning Courses Completed: (tick the only course(s) you have completed at the time of submission of this form)

Date of Completion

W501

W502

W503

W504

W505

W506

W507

Please return completed form to: Email your registration form to Thelma Thompson, thelma.thompson@bohs.org

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Appendix 3 Portfolio Front Cover

OHTA

Personal Learning Portfolio Front Cover

Candidate’s name: Candidates address: Contact email address: Contact telephone number: Employer’s name: Portfolio content

Experience diary and commentary

Additional learning record

Copies of three relevant occupational hygiene reports

Declaration

I hereby declare that the content of this portfolio is my own work Signature of candidate: I hereby confirm that the content of this portfolio is the work of the candidate: Signature of the candidate’s line manager or other responsible person: Job title and contact details: Date: Please note: If the work contained in this Portfolio is subsequently found not to be the work of the candidate all Awards and Certificates will be immediately withdrawn.

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Appendix 4 Experience Record

Item Description

Current role/position

Title of survey/project

Date of survey/project

Type of survey/project

Scope of survey/project

Personal involvement

To which course module(s) does the survey/project relate

Limitations with the survey/project

Problems encountered/reflection on what you have learnt

Verification that work performed as stated

Manager Name

Manager signature

Date

Student Guide July 2011

Appendix 5 Additional Learning Record

Item Description

Meeting / course name

Date

Location

Learning outcomes/technical content

Duration

Key speakers

Verification of attendance

Manager Name

Manager signature

Date

Student Guide July 2011

Student Guide July 2011

TM June 2011