Press Release

ConstructionSkills Calls on Industry to Train for CDM Compliance

05 April 2007

With the revisions to the Construction (Design and Management) (CDM) Regulations coming into force on 6^th April, worrying new research from ConstructionSkills indicates that the industry is still not prepared.

Despite the fact the CDM Regulations will require all employers in the construction sector across England and Wales to ensure that they are competent in a range of health and safety issues, the research showed;

• Only a third (35%) of managers have undertaken health and safety training,
• Roughly the same percentage of all employers spend less than £250 a year on training in this area.

Kevin Fear, Head of Health and Safety, ConstructionSkills, said of the findings:

“With a major change to the Regulations approaching, this could have large implications for those companies who have not assessed the competence of their workers and it is worrying that large numbers of employers haven’t been providing adequate health and safety training for their staff. With the construction industry still accounting for almost a third of all workplace fatalities, and construction deaths set to rise by an estimated 25%, now is the time for construction businesses to take health and safety training seriously and to think about where their business will come from in the future.

“Courses such as our own Site Safety Plus offer businesses the chance to cherry pick a health and safety programme that works best for their size, budget and individual worker’s needs - and I would urge companies to use them to make sure new Regulations don’t catch them out. Prospective clients who have work to offer, have a legal duty to look at the competence of the companies that they will be employing in the future and the competence of companies is the sum of the competence of the workers that they employ.”

The range of courses within the Site Safety Plus programme build on the well-respected ConstructionSkills Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) and are designed to provide an integrated programme of safety training from operative to management level.

The Site Safety Plus programme includes:

• The one day Health and Safety Awareness course at Site Worker level – ideal for preparing employees for the ConstructionSkills Health and Safety Test, one of the key stages in becoming CSCS accredited, but is suitable for anyone at operative level whatever their previous level of experience
• The two day Site Supervisors Safety Training Scheme (SSSTS) course, at Site Supervisor level
• A three day additional Specialist Option at Site Supervisor level for Shopfitters and Interior Contractors
• The five day Site Managers Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS), at Management Level
• Refresher courses at both SSSTS and SMSTS level – recommended to be taken every three years

All Site Safety Plus courses are available through the NationalConstructionCollege, and registered companies can claim CITB-ConstructionSkills Grant to help with the costs. Courses are supported by a range of publications and the SMSTS course is recognised by the Chartered Institute of Building, The Institute of Civil Engineers and The Institute of Occupational Health and Safety.

In light of the CDM and Work at Height Regulations, the ConstructionSkills Health and Safety Test question bank has also changed from 2April 2007. The Test has been revised by a panel of industry experts to bring it up-to-date with all the recent changes in health and safety practice and legislation.

For further information, visit www.cskills.org/sitesafetyplus, call 01485 577 393 or email smsts.dept@cskills.org

CDM Guidance: using their knowledge of the industry, members of the CONIAC CDM Guidance Working Group have worked together to produce guidance in support of the revised CDM regulations. IT will be available to download free from www.cskills.org/cdm

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