Health and safety is the lifeblood of the construction industry – which is why CSCS was set up in the mid 1990s, to try and regulate the more than 350 trades, professions and work schemes in the sector. The purpose of CSCS is to ensure that every employee working in the construction industry is measurably qualified in the health and safety pertinent to his or her job. CSCS Cards are only given out to workers who have achieved a pass on their test: which allows site supervisors to hire employees that must have passed the relevant health and safety exam.
While CSCS is not law, it has been adopted by enough of the industry to make it a necessity on 80% of British building sites. To ensure a measurable standard of safety on site, simply implement a policy that refuses access to persons not holding a current and correct CSCS Card.
Trade Specific Construction Health and Safety
One of the big selling points of CSCS and the CSCS Health, Safety & Environment Test is the trade specific training it delivers. There are multiple variants of the Health Safety Test, which have been designed to address the health and safety requirements of all the trades in the construction industry. These include Working at Heights; Lift and Escalator; Managerial and Professional; Supervisor; and even a Basic Test for visitors.
The aim of CSCS is to make sure that no one without the right qualifications ends up working on a potentially dangerous site.
Which CSCS Health, Safety & Environment Test is Right for Which Profession?
The profession a person is in will determine which type of CSCS Health, Safety & Environment Test he or she should take. There are two basic strands to the health, safety & environment test hierarchy: practical and administrative. Practically determined health, safety & environment tests are those that address the physical and environmental needs of a trade – like Working at Heights or Highways. Administrative health, safety & environment tests are required for high level positions (Manager; Supervisor; Technician), where an employee’s job carries managerial health and safety responsibilities.
Managerial positions are usually taken care of by the MAP (Managerial and Professional) CSCS Health, Safety & Environment Test. Members of skilled trades like HVAC, PMES and electrotechnical may find that their own industry body-run health, safety & environment tests are used to replace the Health Safety Test. In cases where an industry body like ECS (for electrotechnicians) runs a test that is used to replace the Health Safety Test, bookings are still made in the normal fashion: online or by talking to a Construction Site Skills agent.
Choose the Right Course – and the Right Material
Industry affiliated CSCS Health, Safety & Environment Tests, and the MAP test, may have specific revision materials associated with them. All materials can be ordered online in a variety of formats. Revision materials for the CSCS card tests replicate the questions and answers from actual tests, so candidates are able to familiarise themselves with the style of the test as well as its substance.
Keeping the site safe starts with good health and safety training. The industry standard leads the way.