For anybody taking on a supervisory role in the construction industry safety issues loom large – or at least they should. The latest figures for construction industry deaths (provisional figures for 2012-13) show that 39 workers lost their lives in the industry keeping it top of the table of riskiest industries in which to work…. Read more »

A quick browse of the (numerous) reports of deaths in the construction industry will nearly always contain that common phrase ‘completely avoidable’. According to one HSE Inspector, Graham Tompkins, this was the case in the death of fifty seven year old Nigel Sewell at a building site in Kneesworth in September 2011. The HSE spokesman… Read more »

With a range of major new infrastructure projects in the pipeline in the UK, having suitable construction qualifications is essential. For site supervisors the most suitable qualification is the SSSTS course, or the management equivalent. Those who have passed the training successfully will be issued with a certificate to prove it. The CITB certificate demonstrates… Read more »

If you have successfully completed the SMSTS course, what should you do afterward? Here are a few steps you can take once you have successfully achieved this qualification: Talk About What You Have Learned If there were other managers from your facility who took the SMSTS course with you, you can talk to them about… Read more »

The Site Management Safety Training Scheme is an ideal foundation for obtaining a basic understanding of health and safety duties and responsibilities for a management position. However, if you haven’t studied or taken a course since you were at school it can be slightly intimidating. Perhaps studying feels strange to you now, or you have forgotten… Read more »

How to Plan for Workplace Emergencies and Evacuation If you are a business owner or a manager, it is your responsibility to ensure that your employees are safe at work. Do you know how you would deal with emergency situations in the workplace? if you your answer is ‘no’ then you need to know how… Read more »

Some things can be taught with a pen and paper and a worksheet, but other skills demand a hands on learning environment in order to be taught in a full and comprehensive way. In a mathematics class you don’t have to act out the addition and subtraction to understand it – but when taking your… Read more »

Imagine there has been a serious accident at your workplace and someone has been severely injured. Luckily your staff had the appropriate first aid at work qualifications and they dealt with the situation in the best way that they possibly can. Perhaps the victim was left with serious injuries or maybe they even perished as… Read more »

In an emergency situation, it is a natural human reaction to panic – especially when you or someone else is seriously injured. The dangerous situation evokes the instinctual “fight or flight” response in your brain. In this situation, your blood flow is diverted to your lungs, heart and legs so that you can run away… Read more »

As we all know, prevention is a far better approach than cure. This applies in the Health and Safety arena as much as in any area of life and the basic principles of Health and Safety in the workplace are grounded in the ability to conduct effective risk assessments. Risk assessments are something that we… Read more »