Smooth Transitions - From NEBOSH Diploma Unit D/ID to DNI
This post is intended to benefit those currently studying the NEBOSH National or International Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety, its' purpose being to clarify the situation with the staged transition from the ‘old’ Unit D/ID assignment to the ‘new’ Unit DNI assignment, ‘Application of Health and Safety Management in the Workplace’.
The Unit D format has changed in line with the requirements of the revised (November 2015) NEBOSH National and International Diploma's specification syllabus following extensive research with past and present students, employers and NEBOSH’s accredited course providers as part of its normal development cycle.
Key changes include, for example, a new element called ‘The Role of the Health and Safety Practitioner’ (A11 or IA9), which will only be assessed by Unit DNI - although the content for sits within Unit A/IA. The DNI (Unit D for the National and International Diplomas) will now be common to both the National and International Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety courses and must be submitted electronically.
What does this mean for me as a learner?
The purpose of the DNI assignment (to be undertaken after completing units A-C/IA-IC), is to assess the practical application of knowledge and understanding in a vocational setting through a structured review of the management arrangements for health and safety within an organisation, with the aim of producing justified, proportionate recommendations for improvement.
Key dates:
- All learners who started their studies after September 2016 are required to submit a Unit DNI assignment.
- Learners who started their studies before September 2016, on the ‘old’ 2010 syllabus, can still submit a Unit D/ID assignment until November 2017. If necessary, they can resubmit Unit D/ID until August 2018. However, these learners may also now choose to submit a Unit DNI assignment instead of the D/ID.
- The first submission date for Unit DNI was February 2017.
N.B. After November 2017, all Diploma and International Diploma learners must submit a Unit DNI assignment.
The changes summarised
Procedural changes
- Electronic submission directly to NEBOSH (BUT you still have to register to submit via your course provider in advance of submission deadlines set by NEBOSH)
- New anti-plagiarism software will be used on all DNI submissions
- No need for your course providers to sign an assignment log
- Your student number should be included on every page.
Content changes
| Unit D/ID | Unit DNI |
| Unit D/ID required you to carry out a detailed review of a company’s health and safety performance. You were required to produce a justified action plan to improve performance. | The new Unit DNI requires you to carry out a review of the arrangements for managing health and safety in a workplace and to produce justified, proportionate recommendations to improve health and safety performance. You will also be required to demonstrate your understanding of the role of a health and safety practitioner and demonstrate how you respond to risk in a proportionate way within the Assignment. |
The sections of the assignment compare as follows:
| Introduction | |
An introduction which states:
Worth up to 10 marks | An introduction which states:
The introduction should include a description of the chosen workplace and the role of the health and safety practitioner to set a context for the assignment. Worth up to 5 marks |
| Discussion (Main body) | |
| An overview of the current H&S management system arrangements and a critical review (gap analysis) of the existing H&S management system against a recognised standard (usually HSG65 or OHSAS 18001). Worth up to 12 marks | A review and critical analysis of how health and safety is currently managed by the organisation in which the student must review the following specific elements:
For more detail on what to include in each element you should read Section 12 of the NEBOSH guidance. Worth up to 40 marks |
| A survey of a wide range of significant hazards or activities, for both physical and health and welfare hazards. Worth up to 16 marks
A detailed risk assessment for one physical hazard/activity and one health and welfare hazard/activity including an evaluation of the effectiveness of the organisations existing control measures and proposals for further controlling risks. Worth up to 20 marks (10 per risk assessment) | An evaluation to identify the top three priorities where improvements should be made. On completion of the review and critical analysis, information about the current arrangements should be evaluated to determine the top three improvements that would make the most impact on improving health and safety performance at the organisation. The improvements can be selected from any of the elements and students can select all three improvements from one element or any combination of elements. The choice must be justified on the basis of the critical analysis. These issues must be those that have the largest impact if addressed by the organisation. Worth up to 30 marks |
| Conclusion | Conclusions and Recommendations |
| Conclusions which summarised the main issues Worth up to 6 marks | Conclusions that summarise the main issues identified, which lead to justified proportionate recommendations based on the outcome of the review. Worth up to 10 marks |
| Recommendations | |
| Recommendations for improvement; following this you were required to produce two costed and prioritised action plans, one for improvements to the H&S management system and one for improvements to be made following the risk assessments. Worth up to 6 marks | |
| Action plans | |
| Two action plans - one for the H&S management system and one for the risk assessments. Worth up to 12 marks | Not required |
| Executive summary | |
| A single page summary of the main problems and recommended solutions with a business argument. Written last, presented first. Worth up to 10 marks | A single page summary of the main problems and recommended solutions with a business argument. Written last, presented first. Worth up to 10 marks |
| References and Bibliography | |
| References – a properly formatted (Harvard or Vancouver) list of sources cited within the report. Bibliography – a properly formatted (Harvard or Vancouver) list of sources that have informed the content of the report but not been directly referenced (reading list). Marks available within presentation (below) | References – a properly formatted (Harvard or Vancouver) list of sources cited within the report. Bibliography – a properly formatted (Harvard or Vancouver) list of sources that have informed the content of the report but not been directly referenced (reading list). Marks available within presentation (below) |
| Appendices | |
| To be used sparingly Not marked | To be used sparingly Not marked |
| Presentation | |
| Up to 8 marks available for planning and presentation | Up to 5 marks available for focus and presentation |
Additional resources, guides and information can all be found on the NEBOSH website.
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