Which Site Safety Plus Course?

With so many CITB Site Safety Plus courses available, which one is the one you need to sit?

The SMSTS Option (5 days)

Firstly, let’s look at the flagship course, the CITB SMSTS course (Site Management Safety Training Scheme).

This is a 5-day course designed for site managers; the individuals who have responsibility for running the entire site (which often includes keeping to the CDM).

While this is a longer course that most of the other site safety plus options, there is a reason for this. The level of knowledge and understanding needed to be a site manager is more in-depth that that of others on site, because site managers have ultimate responsibility. This course covers all the necessary elements of being in charge of a site, as well as the duties of many others on site.

The SMSTS course covers topics including:

·        Working with scaffolding

·        Confined spaces

·        Electricity and excavations

·        Relevant legislation such as the Health and Safety at Work Act, CDM 2007 and the Control of Asbestos Regulations

·        The responsibilities of a site manager.

The SMSTS course is assessed via a multiple-choice exam paper, with 25 questions. 

The CITB have recognised that five consecutive working days away from site, could prove a real problem for some managers, so you can choose to sit the SMSTS course in two ways.

·        If you have the time available, you can do itas a five-day block. This means you will get the qualification completed as quickly as possible.

·        If time is tight; you can do the course over a course of one day per week, spread over five weeks. This allows you to remain on site for the majority of the time and still get your qualification.

The SSSTS Option (2 days)

Let’s look at the SSSTS course (Site Supervisor Safety Training Scheme)

Spanning over two days, it is one of the shorter site safety plus offerings. It is aimed at those in construction who are in charge of a team rather than the site itself. Such persons are often known as team leaders, gang leaders, foreman or supervisors.

The aim of the supervisor safety training is to enable supervisors to effectively direct their teams, whilst minimising any risks to them, other site workers and members of the general public. To do this, these supervisors must understand the responsibilities placed upon them, what safe practice is and how to carry this out.

SSSTS course content includes:

·        Risk assessments

·        Construction industry health and safety issues

·        Health and safety law and their responsibilities within in

·        Carrying out inspections, method statements

·        Concepts of proactive and reactive monitoring

·        Presentation skills

·        Dangerous occurrences and injuries

·        Current UK legislation including COSHH, CDM,Working at Height, PPE, First Aid and Manual Handling

Like the SMSTS course, the SSSTS is also assessed in exam conditions, by a 25 question, multiple choice test. Trainers will also monitor the interaction of candidates during the two days, correcting any misconceptions as necessary. 

The Refresher Option

Both the SMSTS and SSSTS Courses offer Refresher options. These courses can save you time and money, cutting a full SMSTS course down to two days and a full SSSTS course down to one. They cover recent updates to relevant legislation as well as refreshing the core basics of each course.

However, you must remember that refreshers have to be done by the end of the CITB five-year validity period granted to those who have passed either of the full courses. If you exceed this time frame, then you must complete the relevant full course again. 

·        SMSTSRefresher (2 days)

·        SSSTSRefresher (1 day)

The SEATS Option (1 day)

The SEATS (Site Environmental Awareness Training) course lasts 1 day and was introduced to reflect the growing concern for the environmental impact that construction work can have on the surrounding area,and the environment as a whole.

The SEATS course addresses a range of environmental factors including:

·        How to use energy and resources properly

·        Preventative measures for pollution

·        Water management

·        Waste management

·        Being a good neighbour

·        Making sense of the environmental management system

Underlying all this the importance of the environment and the effect of disruptions

The ABC Option (1 day)

The ABC (Achieving Behavioural Change) is suitable for anyone who works on a construction site. The aim of the course is to educate the delegate on good health and safety practice and to motivate them by promoting the benefits of this. This is a particularly key CITB course for those tasked with adopting behavioural change relating to site safety in a construction setting.

This course covers:

·        Basic legal duties for employers and employees

·        Risks, hazards and control measures

·        Good safety performance

·        STAARR (Stop, Think, Assess, Act, Report and Review) assessment system

·        ASK (Think first, Act safe, Stop if hazardous and Keep safe) card

Successful delegates will receive the 5-year CITB Construction Skills Certificate

The Health & Safety Awareness course (1 day)

This is another single day course and covers the individual’s responsibilities when working on site. It makes an ideal foundation for those who wish to get an initial industry accreditation certificate, with natural progression to the 2 day SSSTS course.

The topics covered include:

·        Working at height

·        Electrical safety

·        Transport safety

·        Noise and vibration

·        Fire prevention and control

·        Manual handling

·        PPE

The PMSTS Option (5 days)

The PMSTS Course (Plant Managers Safety Training Scheme) runs over five day and is specifically devised for construction managers working with heavy plant machinery. As any construction worker knows, there are very real and very specific risks associated with working with plant. 

The PMSTS course addresses these issues from the viewpoint of a manager and highlights how to minimise risk,while maximising progress. While plant training needs to be focused on the individual type of machinery for the operator, those managing the operators and their equipment can benefit from this more general course as there are many aspects of safety, which remain universal.

PMSTS course content includes:

·        Site set up

·        Risk assessment for plant

·        Legislation relating to the plant industry

·        Changes in working practices and onsite risks such as electricity

·        Risk assessment

·        Confined space

·        Excavation and demolition

This course is run less regularly than other CITB courses, as it is more specialist.