3.4.4
Health and Safety
Three words do most of the work here: hazard, risk and control. Keep them apart and answers write themselves. Blur them together and you end up writing “it is dangerous, so be careful”, which scores nothing.
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What you need to know
- Tell a hazard from the risk it creates.
- Identify hazards in pre-production, production and post-production.
- Give a practical measure that addresses this specific hazard.
- Compare what a risk assessment does with what a location recce does.
Start here
Hazard, risk, control
A hazard is something with the potential to cause harm — a cable trailing across a doorway. The risk is what could happen because of it and how bad it could be: someone trips, falls and is injured. Keeping the two separate is what turns “it is dangerous” into an answer worth marks.
A control measure is the action you take. The strongest ones remove the hazard altogether — reroute the cable — rather than leaving it there behind a warning sign.
This applies to everyone production affects: crew, performers, visitors, passers-by. And it applies at every stage, including a post-production workstation. Do not treat every health and safety question as an outdoor filming question, because plenty of them are not.
Try it
Hazard, risk or control measure?
Nine items drawn from three scenarios, so you see the same situation described all three ways.
Learn the list
Real hazards and what to do about them
Notice what every entry in the last column has in common: it is something a person does. That is the test for a control measure. If your answer could be printed on a poster and changed nothing, it is not a control.
| Hazard | What could happen | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Cables across a walkway | Trips and falls. | Reroute them away from access routes, or use proper cable protection. |
| Heavy camera or lighting cases | Strains from lifting and carrying. | Plan safe handling; use help or a trolley. |
| Unstable equipment stands | Equipment falling onto someone. | Set up and secure stands properly, and keep the area controlled. |
| Traffic near a filming position | Crew or performers being struck. | Choose a safer position, and arrange separation and supervision. |
| Poor workstation setup | Neck, back or wrist problems in long editing sessions. | Assess and adjust the workstation; vary tasks and take breaks. |
| Glare and extended screen work | Eye strain and fatigue. | Adjust screen position and lighting, and plan breaks from screen work. |
How it works
What a risk assessment is for
A risk assessment works through the hazards, who could be harmed, how likely and how serious that harm is, and what controls are needed. A useful one also records who is responsible for each action and when it has to be done by — otherwise it is a list of good intentions.
It gets reviewed when things change. A shoot that moves indoors, adds extra lights or takes a different route in may need a different assessment, because the old controls were designed for the old situation. And it reduces the chance of an accident; it does not promise there will not be one.
What R093 asks for
You need to understand what a risk assessment is for. You do not need to produce a complete risk-assessment document or recall specific Acts of legislation.
How it works
What a location recce is for
A recce is a visit to a location before production, to find out whether it will actually work. Access, space, power, lighting, background noise, facilities, permissions, transport, hazards — plus notes and reference photographs so the team can plan equipment, crew and timing from something real.
The value is in going at the right time. Visiting at the hour you plan to film an interview might reveal traffic noise that makes clean sound impossible, so you move the time or the location before you have booked anyone. Checking the power might tell you to bring batteries. Those are planning benefits as much as safety ones.
| Document | The question it answers |
|---|---|
| Location recce | Is this location suitable and practical for what we are planning? |
| Risk assessment | What could harm people here, and how will we control it? |
In the exam
Using the detail in the scenario
The delivery vehicles are a second hazard worth a separate point. A recce would reveal the delivery schedule and where the vehicles move, letting the producer pick a safer position or time. “Do a recce so the video is better” misses it — say what the recce finds and what decision it lets you make.
Worked answer
3 marks
A crew wants to record an interview beside a busy pedestrian entrance. A light needs a power cable run across the entrance, and delivery vehicles arrive nearby. Identify one hazard and explain a suitable control measure.
Tempting, but this does not score
The cable is a hazard because someone could hurt themselves, so the crew should be careful and put up a warning sign to tell people about it.
“Someone could hurt themselves” does not say how. And a sign is the weakest possible response when the cable could simply be moved — it leaves the hazard exactly where it was.
Worth writing
The hazard is the power cable running across the pedestrian entrance. A visitor walking in could catch their foot on it, trip and be injured — and this is a busy entrance, so people will be coming through constantly while the crew are filming. Moving the interview position so the cable no longer crosses the entrance removes the hazard rather than warning people about it; where the run cannot be avoided entirely, proper cable protection over it reduces what is left.
Where the marks come from
- Names the specific hazard rather than “the equipment”.
- States who could be harmed and how — a visitor catching their foot and tripping.
- Uses the detail given: a busy entrance means constant exposure.
- Gives a control that removes the hazard, with a fallback where it cannot be removed.
In the exam
Answer at the level the command word asks for
- Identify a hazard: name the specific source of harm, not the general situation.
- Explain a risk: say who could be harmed and how.
- Recommend a measure: give an action that addresses this hazard.
- Explain a recce benefit: connect something you would find out to a decision you would make.
- Explain a risk-assessment benefit: show how identifying and controlling hazards protects people and avoids disruption.
Permission and safety are different things
Being allowed to film somewhere does not make it safe. Somewhere being safe does not mean you are allowed to film there. Questions sometimes need both.
Key takeaways
- A hazard is the thing that could cause harm. The risk is who gets harmed, how, and how badly.
- A control measure is an action. “Be careful” is not one.
- Removing a hazard beats warning people about it.
- A recce asks whether a location works. A risk assessment asks what could hurt someone there.
- Health and safety covers editing suites too, not only outdoor shoots.
Glossary
- Hazard
- Something with the potential to cause harm.
- Risk
- How likely harm is, and how serious it could be.
- Control measure
- An action that removes a hazard or reduces its risk.
- Risk assessment
- A structured look at hazards, possible harm and the controls needed.
- Location recce
- A visit before production to check a location is suitable and practical.
Test yourself
6 questions
Is a trailing cable a hazard or a risk?
A hazard. The risk is someone tripping over it and being injured.
Give a control measure for a cable across a walkway.
Reroute it away from the walkway, or use proper cable protection where it cannot be moved.
Why check the sound at a location during a recce?
Background noise might make recording impossible, so you can change the time or place before booking the crew.
Name one post-production health concern.
Back or neck problems from a badly set up editing workstation, or eye strain from long screen sessions.
Why review a risk assessment after a location changes?
The new location may bring different hazards, and the old controls may no longer fit.
What is wrong with “be careful” as a control measure?
It is not an action. A control measure changes the situation — moving the cable, using a trolley, adjusting the screen.
Common questions
Is a location recce the same as a risk assessment?
No. A recce asks whether the location is suitable and practical. A risk assessment concentrates on hazards, harm and controls. What you find on a recce feeds into the assessment.
Can I just answer “complete a risk assessment” when asked for a control?
No. The assessment identifies what to do; the answer should name the actual protective action, such as moving the cable off the walkway.
Do post-production hazards really come up?
Yes. Workstation setup, screen glare and long sessions are all fair game, and most students only revise the outdoor filming ones.