CITB SSSTS courses

Passing SSSTS involves more than attending for two days

One point is often missed when people compare SSSTS courses. Attendance alone does not automatically result in successful completion.

Under the current CITB Site Safety Plus Scheme Rules, completing the Site Supervision Safety Training Scheme successfully involves several elements.

How is the SSSTS examination assessed?

The examination rules are worth understanding before you arrive on the course. Knowing how the assessment works removes unnecessary uncertainty and lets you concentrate on learning.

• The examination contains 25 questions.
• A maximum of 30 marks is available.
• The pass mark is 24 out of 30.
• The examination lasts 30 minutes.
• The permitted course publication may be used during the open book part of the assessment.

The examination rewards understanding. You should therefore follow the course carefully, participate in discussions and make sure that you understand how health and safety responsibilities translate into decisions on a real construction site.

What happens if you do not pass the first examination?

Current CITB Scheme Rules provide a re sit route in specified circumstances.

The conditions depend on your performance during the course and your examination result. If the result does not meet the re sit criteria, the full SSSTS course needs to be completed again.

The easiest way to avoid unnecessary pressure is to treat both training days seriously from the beginning rather than concentrating only on the final test.

The toolbox talk is part of learning to supervise people

A toolbox talk sounds simple until you actually have to deliver one to a group of people who may have completely different levels of experience and who probably want to start work rather than listen to a long speech.

Communication is one of the most important parts of construction supervision. You need to take information from RAMS, site rules or another control system and turn it into instructions that people can understand and use.

A useful toolbox talk does not simply repeat a sheet of paper word for word.

Before you speak to the team, ask yourself four questions

1. What work is the team actually carrying out today?
2. What could realistically hurt somebody during that work?
3. Which controls matter most right now?
4. How will I know that the team understood what I explained?

If nobody can explain the important controls back to you in simple words, it may be worth checking whether the briefing really worked.

A supervisor should control change, not only the original plan

Risk assessments and method statements are normally prepared around known conditions. Construction sites rarely remain unchanged for long.

Imagine that work starts according to the agreed method. A few hours later another subcontractor blocks part of the access route. Materials are delivered into a different area. A machine now needs to reverse near pedestrians. Weather conditions deteriorate. One experienced operative leaves and somebody less familiar with the task replaces them.

The paperwork may not have changed, but the risk certainly has.

Situations that should make a supervisor stop and look again

• A change in the sequence of work.
• A different machine or item of equipment being introduced.
• A new contractor entering the work area.
• A pedestrian route becoming restricted or blocked.
• An excavation becoming deeper or changing shape.
• A scaffold or temporary structure being altered.
• Work moving closer to underground or overhead services.
• Weather affecting stability, visibility, access or work at height.
• A less experienced worker joining the task.
• An agreed control measure no longer being practical.

The question at this point is not whether everybody signed the original document. The question is whether the original controls still manage the actual risk.

Sometimes the solution is straightforward. Sometimes RAMS need reviewing. Sometimes work needs to stop until management, an engineer, temporary works personnel or another competent specialist becomes involved.

Not every worker needs the same level of supervision

This is something that is easily overlooked.

The amount of supervision should reflect the risks involved as well as the worker's skills, knowledge, training and experience.

An experienced operative completing familiar work may not need the same level of close supervision as a new employee carrying out an unfamiliar task for the first time.

The supervisor should also remain approachable. Workers need to know who they can speak to when they are unsure, when conditions change or when something simply does not look right.

The supervisor's practical control cycle

What can you actually do with SSSTS knowledge after returning to site? One useful way to think about supervision is to divide it into three repeating stages.

Five dangerous assumptions a site supervisor should avoid

Everybody signed the RAMS, so everybody understands them

A signature confirms that somebody signed a document. It does not prove that the person understood it. Ask questions and watch the work.

This person has twenty years of experience, so they do not need supervision

Experience matters, but supervision should still reflect the task, risks, equipment and the individual's relevant competence.

The permit is in place, so the job is safe

A permit forms part of a wider control system. It cannot replace physical precautions, competent people and active monitoring.

The method worked this morning, so it will work this afternoon

Construction conditions change. Good supervision means noticing when those changes affect the agreed method.

I passed SSSTS, so I am competent for every supervisory task

Training provides knowledge and structure. Practical experience, task specific competence and organisational assessment still matter.

Do not forget occupational health

Supervision naturally concentrates on hazards that can cause an immediate accident. Falls, moving plant, electricity and excavations demand attention because the consequences can be immediate.

Some construction health risks develop much more slowly.

• Respirable dust and fumes.
• Asbestos fibres.
• Noise exposure.
• Hand arm vibration.
• Hazardous substances.
• Poor manual handling.
• Insufficient welfare arrangements.

If extraction is not being used, respiratory protective equipment is unsuitable or workers are ignoring the agreed method, a risk assessment sitting in the site office does not solve the problem.

Supervision therefore involves protecting people not only from immediate injury but also from exposures that can damage health months or years later.

Keep using what you learned after the course

Nobody remembers every piece of legislation, control measure or supervisory principle after two days.

Keep the course publications and use them as references when you return to work. They can help when you encounter a task you have not supervised for some time or when you simply want to refresh your understanding.

Where can SSSTS lead next?

Your next course should depend on the responsibilities you actually take on rather than simply choosing the qualification that sounds more senior.