Introduction

This task supports learners in building strong strategic decision-making skills by placing
them inside realistic workplace situations where immediate and informed choices are
required. The activity shows how safety culture, sustainability, and global performance
pressures influence daily operational decisions. The content connects theoretical learning
outcomes to real actions expected from senior safety leaders. The task uses real-duty
expectations from UK regulatory frameworks such as the Health and Safety at Work Act
1974, Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, COSHH
Regulations 2002, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health, PUWER 1998,
RIDDOR 2013, and Ergonomics and Human Factors guidance by the HSE.

Decisions in modern workplaces need a balanced view of technology, risk management,
environmental responsibility, organisational culture, and human behaviour. This task
helps learners practise this balance through structured scenarios.

Digital Technology Failure in Safety-Critical Operations

Scenario 1: Data Integrity Failure in a Digital Permit-to-Work System

A large manufacturing site uses a fully digital permit-to-work (PTW) platform linked with
IoT sensors, worker wearables, and automated access controls. The system identifies
confined space entries, isolates machinery, and logs chemical storage conditions in real
time.
One morning, the system experiences a software malfunction after an overnight update.

Several functions stop responding, including:

• Live gas monitoring data for confined spaces
• Automatic lockout-tagout validation
• Wearable worker-stress monitoring
• Uploading of contractor induction records

Production management pushes for continuation of work due to a tight delivery deadline.
Contractors arrive expecting hot-work and confined-space permits for maintenance.
Senior management asks you, the safety lead, to decide within minutes whether work
should continue.

Decision-Making Expectations

Your decision must consider:

• Digital system reliability and resilience
• Transitional controls when technology fails
• Legal compliance under UK law
• Safety culture impacts when pressure exists

Key Learning Outcome Integration

This scenario supports LO1: Understanding effects of digital technologies on strategic
and operational occupational health and safety management.

Biohazard Exposure Incident in a Clinical Packaging Facility

Scenario 2: Suspected Biohazard Release

A packaging line that processes sealed diagnostic medical kits alerts the supervisor that
a worker has found a damaged box leaking unknown fluid.
The fluid label shows Category B Biological Substance (UN 3373). The worker did not
notice until after handling the box for several minutes.
Symptoms such as irritation and coughing are reported. The nearby HVAC system
continues to operate, disturbing potential airborne particles.
The line manager hesitates to stop production because orders must be completed for
same-day dispatch.

Decision-Making Expectations

Your decision must consider:

• Activation of isolation procedures
• Immediate biohazard risk assessment
• Worker decontamination and exposure recording
• COSHH compliance
• Communication strategy with staff
• Documentation for potential RIDDOR reporting

Key Learning Outcome Integration

This supports LO2 and LO5:

• Be able to implement a biohazards risk assessment and control measures.
• Understand risk assessment for biological outbreaks and control measures.

Ecological Contamination Risk After a Chemical Delivery Failure

Scenario 3: Spill Threatening a Watercourse

A supplier delivers a cleaning chemical used for plant sanitation. A pallet collapses during
unloading, damaging two 200-litre drums. The chemical begins flowing across the yard
during heavy rain toward a storm drain that leads directly to a local stream.
No spill kit is immediately visible, and the drainage isolation valve was last inspected six
months ago.
Security staff attempt to wash away the chemical, thinking dilution will solve the issue.

Decision-Making Expectations

Your decision must clarify:

• Immediate steps to protect the environment
• Legal responsibilities under the Environmental Protection Act 1990
• Ecological risk evaluation
• Stopping unsafe behaviours by staff
• Use of emergency containment equipment
• Evidence gathering for environmental regulators

Key Learning Outcome Integration

Supports LO3: Understanding ecological risk assessment and control measures.

Ergonomic Hazard Causing Near-Miss in Assembly Area

Scenario 4: Musculoskeletal Injury Risk

Workers on a manual assembly line lift awkward components weighing 14 kg and must
twist their upper bodies to place them on high racks.
A worker experiences a near-miss when he briefly loses grip and almost drops the part
onto a colleague.
The supervisor insists this has “always been done this way” and resists introducing new
tools because of cost.

Decision-Making Expectations

Your decision must cover:

• Ergonomic risk assessment using HSE MAC Tool principles
• Engineering controls such as adjustable lifts or mechanical conveyors
• Human-factor considerations
• PUWER compliance for any new equipment
• Training revision to promote better posture and load handling

Key Learning Outcome Integration

Supports LO4: Implementing engineering solutions for ergonomic hazards.

Chemical Hazard Failure Scenario During Mixing Process

Scenario 5: Thermal Runaway Reaction Warning

In a small process facility, a mixing tank producing cleaning agents shows unexpected
temperature spikes.
Operators report that the temperature sensor readings appear unstable and inconsistent.
A risk of an exothermic runaway reaction exists if incompatible ingredients were
previously left inside the tank from an incomplete wash cycle.

The facility has a history of poor chemical segregation and inconsistent shift handover
notes

Decision-Making Expectations

Your decision includes:

• Immediate shutdown protocol
• Preventing ignition sources
• COSHH and DSEAR compliance checks
• Identifying possible failure scenarios
• Emergency plan activation and external support if required

Key Learning Outcome Integration

Supports LO6: Understanding likely failure scenarios for chemical hazards

Accident Causation Model Application After Physical Injury

Scenario 6: Falling Object Injury

A warehouse worker receives a shoulder injury when a loose item falls from a highstorage shelf.

Preliminary findings show:

• Operators have been climbing racking instead of using mobile steps
• A culture of rushing to complete orders
• No formal inspection records for the storage system
• A new supervisor recently reduced pre-shift briefings to “save time”
  Management wants a fast explanation.

Decision-Making Expectations

Your decision includes:

• Applying an accident causation model (Swiss Cheese, Domino, or HFACS)
• Identifying organisational, supervisory, task-level and environmental causes
• Immediate corrective and long-term preventive actions
• Communication to rebuild safety culture
• Reviewing documentation under HASAWA, PUWER, and Workplace (Health, Safety
  and Welfare) Regulations

Key Learning Outcome Integration

Supports LO7: Implementing accident causal analysis models for physical hazards.

Learner Task

Scenario-Based Decision-Making Learner Task

The learner must select three scenarios from the six given. For each scenario, the learner
must:

Part A – Immediate Decision (Operational Response)

Explain the decision that should be taken within the first 5 minutes.

• Identify urgent hazards
• State what must be stopped
• Identify who must be informed
• Describe key legal duties under specific UK legislation

Part B – Short-Term Control Measures (First 24 Hours)

Describe actions such as:

• Isolation, containment, evacuation, or safe stopping of work
• Investigations, monitoring, sampling
• Communication with workforce
• Temporary engineering or administrative controls

Part C – Long-Term Strategic Controls

Describe controls that improve safety culture and sustainability over time:

• Engineering redesign
• Digital system resilience
• Environmental protection measures
• Behavioural safety training
• Leadership communication
• Process revision and documentation

Part D – Evidence-Based Justification

Link your decisions to:

• The unit learning outcomes
• Relevant UK laws and HSE guidance
• Principles of sustainability and global performance improvement

Final Output Requirement

Each scenario response should be 1,000–1,200 words, showing advanced decisionmaking suitable for Level 7 leadership.