ECS (Electrotechnical Certification Scheme) Quiz 10

The assessment will be made up from 288 questions covering ten topics. The 40 questions in the ECS test is made up from the following topics:

General Health and Safety at Work 5   Manual Handling Operations 4
Reporting Accidents 3   Personal Protective Equipment at Work 4
Health and Hygiene 3   Fire and Emergency 4
Work at Height 5   Work Equipment 4
Special Site Hazards 3   Electrotechnical 5

Listed below are the areas of knowledge that will be assessed.

1. General Health & Safety - (Total 40 Questions) You should have a basic understanding of:

  • How the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Regulations and Approved Codes of Practice affect you
  • Employer’s responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act
  • Your responsibilities to yourself and to others under the Health and Safety at Work Act
  • How health and safety law is enforced
  • The powers of Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors
  • The key features of health and safety signs in the workplace
  

2. Manual Handling Operations - (Total 27 Questions) You should have a basic understanding of:

  • What manual handling operations mean in the context of an employee and what employers must do to protect employees from injury
  • The types of injury you could suffer from carrying out manual handling tasks
  • The parts of your body most likely to be affected by manual handling injuries
  • How to decide whether a manual handling activity is safe
  • What must be taken into account when making a manual handling risk assessment
  • The principles of good manual handling techniques

3. Reporting Accidents - (Total 32 Questions) You should have a basic understanding of:

  • The need to report injuries, accidents, certain diseases and dangerous occurrences to the Health and Safety Executive
  • Why you must report accidents to your employer
  • The need to record in the accident book all accidents that cause any injury whatsoever
  • What reportable injuries, dangerous occurrences and reportable diseases are
  

4. Personal Protective Equipment at Work - (Total 28 Questions) You should have a basic understanding of:

  • When PPE should be worn
  • Why your employer must provide you with PPE
  • Why you must use the PPE provided by the employer
  • Why you must take care of PPE supplied for your use
  • Why you must report lost or damaged PPE to your immediate superior
  • The possible effects of not wearing PPE
  • The limitations of PPE

5. Health and Hygiene - (Total 27 Questions) You should have a basic understanding of:

  • The dangers of exposure to substances, such as asbestos
  • The importance of good personal hygiene when working with hazardous substances
  • How to reduce the risks of diseases carried by vermin
  • The welfare facilities required to be provided on construction sites.
  • How to reduce the risks from hand-arm vibration and noise at work
  

6. Fire and Emergency - (Total 32 Questions) You should have a basic understanding of:

  • What to do in the event of an emergency at work
  • The types of fire extinguishers available and the types of fires they can each be used on
  • The importance of first aid following an accident

7. Work at Height - (Total 28 Questions) You should have a basic understanding of:

  • The importance of using the most suitable access equipment for the task
  • Only working from ladders or stepladders when the task is of low risk and short duration
  • Safety precautions to be taken when using scaffolds, mobile elevated work platforms, safety harnesses etc.
  

8. Work Equipment - (Total 24 Questions) You should have a basic understanding of:

  • Only using work equipment you have been trained and authorised to use
  • The importance of carrying out checks on equipment before use
  • Reporting any defects and not using defective equipment
  • The voltage limitations on electrical equipment used on site
  • The safe use of extension cables

9. Special Site Hazards - (Total 16 Questions) You should have a basic understanding of:

  • The safety precautions to be taken before working in a confined space
  • The precautions to be taken when carrying out excavation work to reduce the risks from contact with underground services, falling materials etc.
  • The precautions to be taken when working near overhead power lines
  • The dangers to pedestrians from vehicles on site
  

10. Electrotechnical - (Total 34 Questions) You should have an understanding of:

  • The effects of electric current on the body
  • The types of socket outlets used on construction sites
  • The need for persons working on electrical systems to be competent to do so
  • The use of residual current devices for supplementary protection against electric shock
  • Safe isolation procedures when working on electrical systems and equipment
  • Only working ‘live’ in exceptional circumstances
  • Safe working with optical fibres

All Electrotechnical (34 Questions in total but only 5 random questions will be choosen for the test by the computer)

1. In considering whether to work live a responsible person should
a) carry out a risk assessment
b) only work dead
c) only work live
d) do as the client demands

2. The normal procedure for working on electrical equipment should be which one of the following?
a) Dead working
b) Wearing insulated gloves
c) Using insulated tools
d) Live working

3. Test instruments used for working on electrical systems should:
a) be yellow in colour
b) be less than 10 years old
c) have non-insulated test probes
d) have insulated test probes

4. Under the Electricity at Work Regulations, live working is considered:
a) as entirely acceptable
b) to be normally permitted
c) only to be allowed in exceptional circumstances
d) never to be allowed

5. Which of the following would you use to replace the fuse in a plug if fuses were NOT available?
a) A nail
b) A piece of silver paper
c) A bit of wire
d) None of the options mentioned

6. To prove a circuit or equipment is dead after isolation what is the FIRST activity in the sequence of events?
a) Make sure equipment is not working
b) Check between phase and earth
c) Check proving instrument is working on known live source
d) Check between phase and neutral

7. The nominal single phase voltage in the UK is?
a) 230 volts
b) 240 volts
c) 415 volts
d) 400 volts

8. When is live working permissible?
a) When the person carrying out the work is a competent person
b) When it is unreasonable in all circumstances for the equipment to be made dead and suitable precautions are taken
c) When the means of isolation cannot be identified
d) When the person working on the equipment is wearing rubber gloves

9. The FIRST step in the first aid procedure in the event of a person receiving an electric shock is:
a) take steps to remove the person from the live source
b) check airway, breathing and circulation
c) send for help
d) give the person mouth to mouth resuscitation

10. The specific effects on the human body of a major electric shock are one of the following:
a) dermatitis
b) burns and cardiac arrest
c) broken bones
d) chest pains

11. The lowest level of electrical current which can harm the human body is normally measured
a) microamps
b) kiloamps
c) amps
d) milliamps

12. With regard to the effect of electrical current on the human body, one of the following is correct:
a) a 5 amp circuit breaker should prevent a person receiving a fatal electric shock
b) a 3 amp fuse should prevent a person receiving a fatal electric shock
c) a 30mA Residual Current Device (RCD) should prevent a person receiving a fatal electric shock.
d) a 5 amp rewireable fuse should prevent a person receiving a fatal electric shock

13. Where mains voltage is used to supply portable equipment, what additional protection is recommended?
a) Step-down transformer
b) Step-down generator
c) Cable avoidance tool
d) Residual current device

14. What colour cable USUALLY signifies 110 volt power supply on site?
a) Black
b) Red
c) Blue
d) Yellow

15. A portable electric generator on site has two power outlets, 110 volts and 230 volts. What colour would the 110 volt outlet be?
a) Black
b) Yellow
c) Red
d) Blue

16. What colour power outlet on a portable generator would supply 110 volts?
a) Black
b) Blue
c) Red
d) Yellow

17. What action should you take if a workmate gets an electric shock?
a) Phone the electricity board immediately
b) Dial 999 and ask for the fire brigade
c) Cut off the power and call for help
d) Try to pull them to sa

18. A residual current device is designed to operate in the event of one of the following:
a) overload
b) earth fault
c) lightning strike on the supply
d) short-circuit

19. Electrical installations on construction sites should be periodically inspected and tested:
a) every 3 months
b) every year
c) every 6 months
d) every month

20. The maximum AC voltage which the human body can withstand without long term physiological effects in dry conditions is:
a) 110 volts
b) 230 volts
c) 50 volts
d) 400 volts

21. Which of the following statements is true with regard to the dangers of electricity?
a) Electricity is perfectly safe so long as you wear cotton gloves
b) Electricity is only dangerous if you are not wearing wellington boots
c) Electricity is only dangerous in wet weather
d) Electricity is dangerous at any time because you cannot tell by looking at a cable whether or not it is live

22. What is the most serious effect that electric shock can have if you come into contact with a live part?
a) The electric current can cause a slight tingling in the fingers
b) The electric current can cause burn marks on the fingers
c) The electric current can cause the heart to stop, resulting in death
d) The electric current can cause the finger muscles to twitch

23. Your job involves you working near to hanging electrical cables which have bare ends. What should you do?
a) Touch the cables to see if they are live
b) Carry on working, as there shouldn’t be a problem
c) Inform your supervisor and keep well away
d) Attempt to push the cables back into the ceiling void so that you can start work

24. For all live working activities it is necessary to:
a) carry out a risk assessment
b) wear rubber gloves only
c) be accompanied
d) keep your fingers crossed

25. An electrical Permit to Work is primarily a statement that:
a) someone else has taken responsibility for the work
b) the circuit or equipment is live
c) certain instructions need to be followed
d) the circuit or equipment has been isolated and is safe to work on

26. Test instrument probes used for live testing on electrical systems should:
a) be manufactured in the UK
b) be accompanied by a calibration certificate
c) be fused
d) be coloured red

27. Which of the following does the Electricity at Work (EAW) regulations apply to?
a) All persons engaged for work purposes
b) Self employed persons only
c) Employees only
d) Employers only

28. The Electricity at Work Regulations require that:
a) persons working with electricity must have the appropriate level of knowledge and experience
b) a training course is necessary before anyone can work with electricity
c) only electricians can work with electricity
d) anyone supervised can work with electricity

29. The Electricity at Work Regulations apply to:
a) only low voltage systems
b) only extra-low voltage systems
c) all voltage systems
d) only high voltage systems

30. Which of the following should not be used to prove a circuit or equipment is dead after isolation?
a) A two-pole voltage detector
b) A proprietary test lamp
c) A suitable voltmeter
d) A multimeter

31. Which of the following is not a suitable means of isolating a circuit?
a) Removing a fuse and locking the distribution board
b) Putting insulating tape over the circuit breaker
c) Padlocking the isolating switch
d) Fitting a padlocked circuit breaker lockout

32. Which of the following work procedures on electrical systems will always require a permit-to-work to be issued?
a) Dead working on low-voltage systems
b) Live working on low-voltage systems
c) Dead working on high-voltage systems
d) Live working on high-voltage systems

33. Optical fibre cable remnants should not be left lying around on site because:
a) They can be hot and burn upon contact
b) Laser beams still exist in the cut pieces
c) They can pierce the skin or eyes
d) They are toxic

34. Why should the end of an optical fibre cable never be pointed towards your own or anyone else’s eyes?
a) The beam can transfer a strong electric current
b) The colour of the beam is very hypnotic
c) The beam can bore a hole through the skin
d) The beam can damage the eyes


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