Interview Questions for EHS

Engineer/Officer
Q: What are the three principal management systems?
A:
 ISO 9001 ( Quality Management System)
 ISO 14001 ( Environmental Management System)
 OHSAS 18001 ( Occupational Health and Safety Management System)

Q: What is a near miss / unsafe act / condition

A: Near Miss:
Any incident that could have caused an injury, damage to property or production loss is the
circumstances were slightly different
Unsafe Act:
An action of a person that can lead to an injury, damage to property or production loss
Unsafe condition
A condition that may lead to an injury, damage to property or production loss

Q: What is risk and hazard?

A: Risk:
Risk is defined as the product of the probability of a hazard resulting in an adverse event, times
the severity of the event. Risk = Likelihood of Occurrence x severity if incident occurred.
Hazard:
Anything that has potential to cause harm is called hazard, if there is no hazard, there is no risk.
Therefore, risk is the product of hazard.

Q:What are the steps to carry out a risk assessment?

A:
Steps are
1. Identify the hazards
2. Decide who might be harmed and how
3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precaution
4. Record your findings and implement them
5. Review your assessment and update if necessary

Q: What is a confined space. What are the associate hazards?

A: A confined space is any enclosed or partially enclosed space
 that has limited or restricted means of entry or exit;
 is large enough for a person to enter to perform tasks;
 and is not designed or configured for continuous human occupancy;
 Contains or has the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere (toxic, flammable,
explosive, asphyxia)
 Contains a material that has the potential for engulfing the entrant
 Has an internal configuration that might cause an entrant to be trapped or asphyxiated by
inwardly converging walls or by a floor that slopes downward and tapers to a smaller
cross section
 Contains any other recognized serious safety or health hazards.
 Over crowded ( More workers will consume O2 and then causing asphyxia, so don’t over
crowd the confine spaces
In addition to the hazards posed by the design of the space, work activities can also pose serious
safety hazards (heat, noise, vapors, etc.) that must be taken into account when identifying safety
measures that must be taken

Q: What is Log out and Tag out?

A: lock and tag is a safety procedure which is used in industry and research settings to ensure
that dangerous machines are properly shut off and not started up again prior to the completion of
maintenance or servicing work.

Q: What is the Minimum level of oxygen required to enter a confined space

A: 19.5% is the minimum level required to enter a confined space. If oxygen is below 19.5% that
entry shall not be made. 23% is the maximum oxygen level for entry, oxygen above 23% is
dangerous for entry.

Q: What are the hazards associated with work at height? What PPE should be used?

A: Following are the hazards of working at height:

 Death or serious injury due to personal fall from height

 Injury or property damage due to fall of loose objects from height

 Property damage

PPE Required

 Hard hat with chin strap

 Gloves

 Safety shoes

 Eye protection based on activity

 Full body harness

Q: What control measures are required during lifting operation?

A: Following measures shall be ensured before lifting operation:

 Plan the lift

 Certification of crane, crane operator and riggers shall be valid

 SWL shall be calculated

 Crane shall be set on hard and even ground

 Maximum area shall be barricaded (normally radius of the boom / swing area)

 Non operational persons shall be removed from barricaded area

 Load to be properly slingged and tag line attached

  Signal man shall give signals to operators

Q: What is MSDS? Name three of hazardous materials requiring MSDS

A: MSDS stands for Material Safety Data Sheet. It is a document developed by the manufacturer
of the hazardous material (chemical) to provide information about the safety precautions required
in the use of hazardous material such as MSDS for acids, paints, oil, gases etc…)

• Hydrocarbons (highly flammable gases)

• Catalysts

• X-ray source

• Paints

• Oil – fuel

• Acids

Q; Why do we need BA – SCBA – Trolley set

A: BA is shot of Breathing Apparatus

SCBA is short of Self Contained Breathing Apparatus

Trolley set contains two air cylinders that supply air to a mask worn by worker.

We need BA – SCBA – and trolley sets to receive air from cylinders in an atmosphere where work
can not be performed due to the presence of toxic gases or low oxygen.

Q: What are the Regulatory Monitoring requirement of a power plant?

A: Effluent and Emission discharge

Scaffolding Safety

What is scaffolding A temporary structure erected for access and to perform work at
height by using couplers, tubes and boards.

Can scaffolding be modified No, it shall only be modified by a qualified scaffolders

my a trained mechanical
technician

How many number of One person at a time

persons can climb a ladder
at a time
 There are two guard rails provided on platforms. Guard rails are
What should be the minimum provided to prevent people from falling over.
height of guard rail
 Top rail which shall be 42” from the floor of the platform

 Mid rail which shall be 20” from the platform floor

What is the importance of a A toe board is placed around the floor of the platform, it prevents
toe board objects from falling over and also prevents people from falling if
they slip, toe board will stop the foot.

Is it safe to carry tools and No, it is not allowed to carry tools and equipment in hands while
material in hands while climbing any type of ladder
climbing the ladders

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

What is PPE / minimum PPE is equipment used by personnel for their protection against
required PPE possible hazards that can not be controlled through other controls
(engineering, procedural, administrative etc...)
PPE provides the last line of defense against the hazards.
Minimum PPE required on plant is:
 Hard hat
 Safety boots
 Eye protection
 Gloves
 Ear protection
What additional PPE is Welders would require the following PPE other than minimum
required for welders whilst required:
doing welding job  Welding glass (numbered)
 Mask for protection against welding fumes)
 Harness if work is at height
 Welding grade shirt (full sleeves) and trouser.
 High ankle welding boots
 Welding gloves – not ordinary

Work Permit
Name some types of work Following are the work permits used in a gas plant:
permits  Open flame work permit: for activities where visible flame
shall be produced, example, welding, cutting, grinding
 Hot work permit: works that involve machines having
internal combustion engines where a heat or sparks may
produce, example, use of crane, compressor etc…
 Cold work permit: for activities where there is no
possibility of flame, heat or spark generation, example,
insulation work, cable laying and pulling etc…
 Confined space work permit: used for entry into a permit
required confined space, example, working in a trench
deeper than 1 meter, entry into a tank, vessel, pit, pipe
etc… This permit is called certificate as well and shall be
 attached with the main permit for the job such as hot, cold
permit.
 Electrical isolation: this permit is required to request
electrical isolation; this permit shall be part of main
permits.
 Excavation: for any sub-soil activity, manual or
mechanical, example, digging a cable trench. This permit
shall be attached with one of the main permits.
What is the function of PTW Permit to work (PTW) is required to ensure that required
precautions are implemented based on the identified hazards for
safe execution of the work.
PTW is also required for communication purposes, a PTW raised
provides information to all concerned parties / individuals that a
certain activity would be carried out in a certain area at a specific
date and time
Who is responsible for Supervisor of the work is responsible for the preparation of safety
equipment safety preparation equipment and site preparation.
– site safety preparation Example, for a welding job, welding supervisor shall ensure that
permit is raised and approved, fire blankets have been placed,
fire extinguishers are available, gas test has been performed and
is clear, assign fire watcher, check tools and equipment etc….
When is a hot work required Hot work permit is required for all the activities where there is a
possibility of heat / spark generation due to tool, equipment and
work.

Fire fighting equipment

Name some fire fighting  Fire extinguishing cylinders (dry power, CO2)
equipment  Charged hoses (water)
 Sand (fire buckets)
 Fire blankets
List few types of fire  High expansion foam
extinguishers used in oil and  Dry chemical powder
gas field  CO2 – inert agent system
 Water
A seal broken on a fire No, seal should be in place
extinguisher but it is in good
condition can be used
What must be done after a Empty cylinders shall be immediately sent for refilling to fire
fire extinguisher or BA station – designated department
cylinder is used
What type of fire extinguisher Classes of fires:
in each type of fire is used
Fire Class Fuel Extinguisher
Class A Ordinary water / dry powder
combustible (water only to be
material used if ignition
source is not
electrical)
Class B & C Flammable liquids Dry powder and
and gases foam
Class D Metal Dry chemical
powder / CO2
Class E Electrical fire CO2
Class K Oil / fats CO2 / Dry chemical
powder