Site Management Training is Essential to Safety on Sites

If managers have the correct training it allows them to work within the deadlines set by their employers, in a way that safeguards all those working on site with them. In this way projects can be completed in a timely manner without any unnecessary risk.

There are a range of site management training courses available to choose from. Some have a more general focus, covering issues relevant to construction sites in general. While others can have a more specialised aim, focusing on managing particular areas such as site planning, scaffolding or electrical works.

It is vital to ensure that any site management training course undertaken is certified by the relevant accrediting body. To this end The Construction Training Industry Board (CITB) endorse the Site Managers Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS). The SMSTS is probably the best known of all the site management training courses and managers on United Kingdom Contractors Group sites are required to hold this qualification.

The SMSTS course is run over five days, culminating in a multiple choice test at the end. Successful candidates are awarded a certificate to demonstrate their achievement. The SMSTS course can be taken as a five day block or on one day per week basis. The five day block option is often favored by managers that have an upcoming project in the near future and must ensure that they have the correct site management training by a certain date. The day release course is often completed by those managers, or those aspiring to become managers that cannot be spared from their current role for a whole working week at a time. This option allows the delegate to complete the course while still attending to their work responsibilities and so is very popular with many employers. Also the SMSTS course can be delivered at a customer’s site if enough delegates to justify setting up the course. This works very well for middle to larger sized companies who have an intake of new managers which they wish to bring up to speed.

Those completing the SMSTS course can expect to cover, in detail issues such as: accident legislation (RIDDOR), managing those working in confined spaces, managing demolitions, managing scaffolding, excavations and electrical work, the Construction Design Management Regulations of 2007, risk assessments and UK construction regulations and legislation. These are all essential components of good site management training.

One of the CITB’s Site Safety Plus courses the SMSTS course addresses both the health and safety responsibilities and the people management skills required by the UKCG regulations enabling candidates to work on UKCG sites.

Delegates from companies involved in the CITB levy scheme are entitled to claim back a proportion of the course fees on completion, making the SMSTS a cost effective site management training option. Most training providers often include the CITB registration fee, course books and materials in their prices, so there are no extra hidden fees. Many training providers also offer the service of applying for the CITB grant for their clients, making it a stress free process, leaving the delegates free to concentrate on completing their course.