SMSTS Online Course – CITB

Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) Course Overview

The SMSTS course content covers the legislation that impacts upon safe working practice within the construction and civil engineering industries.  It highlights the need for risk assessment in the workplace and the implementation of the hierarchy of control measures, whilst providing guidance to managers in developing and maintaining an appropriate health and safety culture within the workplace.

SMSTS Course Aims

The course aims to help site managers to:

• manage and implement health, safety and environmental aspects on site, in accordance with current legal provisions and within the context of their management role
• implement new guidance and industry best practice
• develop an understanding of responsibility and accountability for site health, safety, welfare and the environment
• recognise that a safe site is efficient, economical, productive and environmentally friendly.

At the end of the course candidates will be in a position to:

• Manage health and safety on site in accordance with current legislative requirements within the context of their management role
• Implement new guidance and industry best practice
• Undertake their duties and responsibilities with regards to health, safety, welfare and the environment.
• Monitor site activities effectively
• Recognise the importance of timely intervention when bad practice is identified.
• SMSTS Course Entry Requirements

Delegates must be sufficiently competent in the English language to operate at site management level.

All CITB SMSTS course candidates are required to reach or exceed a minimum level of achievement throughout the course with assessment being determined by:

Attendance:  In order to achieve the learning objectives candidates must attend all 5 days, in accordance with the course programme. 

Exercise/Case Study:  Candidates must successfully complete all individual and group exercises/case studies related to the 4 core modules. 

Trainer Review: This provides a pass/fail based on the delegate’s performance and engagement in the core exercises and engagement in the course overall. Details of this are provided in XA6T.

Examination:  The paper consists of 25 questions, selected by CITB, covering all aspects of the course. The exam must be taken at the end of the course.

Each exam paper has:

• 18 multiple choice questions (each worth one mark)
• 7 questions in multi-response or short written answer format (each worth two marks)

The two mark questions all relate to the seven health and safety focus areas. The higher marks recognise and reward the increased complexity of the question and response required.

The seven health and safety focus areas are founded on construction ill health, injury and fatality statistics:

• Working at height
• Vehicles/pedestrians
• Manual handling
• Asbestos
• Dust
• Noise
• Vibration

The exam pass mark is 81% (26 out of 32).

The exam lasts for 35 minutes and must be completed within this time under exam conditions. Delegates are permitted to use the Construction site safety – The comprehensive guide (GE700) publication and the Construction site management delegate workbook (XA6) for the last 15 minutes of the exam.

The exam paper forms part of the overall assessment as to whether the delegate has successfully achieved the Site Management Safety Training Scheme and demonstrated both knowledge of the relevant statutory provisions as well as the application of management in respect of health and safety issues.

On successful completion of the SMSTS course and associated assessment candidates will be awarded the CITB: Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) certificate.  This certificate will remain extant for five years after which the SMSTS refresher course must be undertaken in order for individuals maintain qualification for a further 5 years.

Course delegates can re-sit assessments at the next possible opportunity in accordance with CITB rules.  Delegates are not automatically re-entered for re-sits, so it is incumbent on the delegate to notify the course administrator of their intention to re-sit by contacting [email protected]. If it is agreed, you will receive confirmation of the decision once your request has been considered.

Any re-sits authorised will be in accordance with the following CITB (the accrediting body) scheme rules:

If a delegate has:

• completed the four core exercises, and
  • passed the trainer’s review, and
  • gained between 72%–78% (23, 24 or 25 out of 32) in the exam,

then they may re-sit the examination one further time.

The re-sit may take place on the same day or by attending the final day of another course within a 90-day period (the delegate is not obliged to re- do the whole course). The re-sit may be conducted in either face-to-face or a remote setting.

The training provider must make the arrangements with the delegate and ensure that the dedicated re-sit exam paper is used. A charge may be made to the delegate. However, this fee is left entirely to the discretion of the training provider. The training provider may also recover additional costs from the delegate, which should be agreed in advance.

Subsequent arrangements will be at the delegate’s own expense. If a delegate fails the re-sit, they must take the full SMSTS course again.

When a delegate scores less than 69% (22 correct answers out of 32) in the final exam, the delegate must attend the full SMSTS course again before they are permitted to re -sit the exam.