ANALYSIS OF THE NOVEMBER 2017 EXAM

The Government Certificate of Competency (GCC) factories exam covers a very broad
syllabus. The official syllabus from the Department of Labour (DoL) website consists of about
36 sections.
A majority of GCC candidates, if not all, pursue the completion of the GCC exam whiles
working. This makes it particularly challenging in covering the entire scope given the limited
time.
An analysis from June 2012 to Nov 2017 exam sittings was done. The purpose of the analysis
was to attempt to establish if the is a trend in the way questions are asked and the type of
questions asked. The methodology of arriving to the analysis results was as follows:

• Exact questions asked from year June 2012 to November 2017 were collected
• Questions in the exam papers were categorized into the syllabus chapters
• A point was given for every time a question belonging to a particular chapter was
asked
• The questions for the exam sittings were summed up
• The questions per chapter were summed up
• The ratio of the sum of chapter questions and sum of the exam sittings was calculated
to give a percentage rating
The results of the overall analysis for the exam sittings from June 2012 to June 2017 are
presented in Figure 1.
Figure 1 only presents the top 10 questions asked per syllabus chapter. The following was
noted from the analysis of the questions:

• Circuit questions are asked in every exam. In the analysis, SANS 10142 type questions
were categorized as “circuit” questions. Circuit questions are balanced between
theory type questions and calculations. The theory type questions typically cover
SANS 10142 and safe use of electrical installations. Calculation type questions cover
electric current calculation and power factor correction. The majority of these
questions are based on SANS 10142. SANS 10142 was updated in 2017.
• Safety management questions are asked in every exam. A majority of the questions
are basic plant safety questions. Therefore, if you are working in a well managed plant
environment answering these questions should be relatively simple.
• Boiler type questions have been asked in every exam. Pressure vessel type questions
were classified as “Boiler” questions since there is no specific category for pressure
vessels in the syllabus. Boiler questions are calculation type questions a majority of
the time. The calculation questions usually involve calculating thermal efficiency of
various boiler components. Pressure vessel type questions involve calculating the
minimum allowable vessel thickness. The theory type questions are relatively simple
if you have worked in a boiler environment.

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 • Transformer question are predominately calculation type questions. They are asked
in a majority of the exams. The calculation questions are relatively simple if you
understand the basic principles of transformers. The theory questions require some
working knowledge of transformers.
• Induction motors question are low lying fruit. Induction motor questions are very
similar. Induction motor questions are sometimes paired with pump questions. There
are very few theory type questions for induction motors. The analysis of induction
motors includes DC motor questions and other related motor calculations.
• Risk management questions are asked a majority of the time. They are relatively
simple if you are working in a well managed plant environment and you are involved
in risk assessments.
• Other questions are rotated from sitting to sitting. In the past eleven sittings, the
following chapter questions were never asked:
o Gear drives
o Conveyor belts
o Rail traction
o Brake systems
o Flywheels
o Coiled springs
o Welding
o Circuit breakers
o Illumination
o Environment

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 0%
1% Circuits/electrical installation
0%0% 0%
1%
1% 0% 0% Safety management
1% 0% 0%
1%
1% 1% Transformers
1% 1%
1%
1% 18% Boilers/steam generators
1%
2% Induction motors + DC motors

2% Compressors
2% Risk management
3%
14% Synchronuos motors

5% Beams
Rope haulage
5% Fault calculations
Heat transfer
10%
6% Lifts/goods hoist
Vehicle dynamics
7% 9% Shafts
Centrifugal and reciprocating pumps
Pressure vessels
coiled springs
Lubricating
Bearings
Flow in pipes

Figure 1: Past exam questions summary

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In order to support the assertion above, a comparison of the November 2017 exam and the
overall trend for the past 11 exam sittings was done. Table 1 presents the question count for
the past 11 exam sittings Vs the November 2017 exam. The following can be noted:

• The top 6 trending chapters from the overall analysis amounted to 73% of the
November 2017 exam.
• Other questions not in the top 10 included bearings, flow in pipes, rail traction and
environment.
Should you have went through the Palucraft GCC Study practice exams (or the GCC Factories
workbook) diligently, you could have obtained between 70% and 100% in the Nov 2017 exam.
(Note: The Palucraft practice exams cover all 60 marks from Section A. They also cover all the
marks from Question 5 and Question 7).

Question type Past 11 sittings Nov 2017

18.47%
Circuits/electrical installation 23%

Safety management 13.51% 14%

Transformers 9.91% 5%
Boilers/steam generators 9.46% 14%
Induction motors + DC motors 7.21% 14%
Compressors 6.31% 5%
Bearings 5% 0.9%
Flow in pipes 5% 0.9%
Transmission lines 9% 0.9%
Rail traction 5% <0.01%
Environment 5% <0.01%

Table 1: Nov 2017 Vs Overall rating

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Conclusion
As a conclusion, we do not encourage picking and choosing chapters to study and not studying
other chapters. The intention of the analysis is to assist in prioritizing and optimizing your
studying efforts.
There has been confirmation from DOL that the plant engineering exam structure and
approach will remain unchanged in the short term. And as things stand, the top 6 remains
unchanged.
The questions asked for the top 6 chapters are not always identical. However, Candidates can
answer any of those questions provided they have a good understanding of the underlying
principles for the respective chapters.
Happy studying!

Regards,
Palucraft GCC Study Team

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