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CSCS revision sheet

The 33 facts the CITB Health, Safety and Environment test leans on most, grouped by the six topics in the test. Read it the night before, then sit the free timed mock to check it stuck. Free, no sign-up — print it or save it as a PDF.

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Legal and management

  • The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 puts duties on everyone: employers must protect workers and the public; employees must take reasonable care of themselves and others, and co-operate with their employer (section 7).
  • CDM 2015 (the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations) names the duty holders: client, principal designer, principal contractor, designers, contractors and workers.
  • An HSE inspector can issue an improvement notice (fix it by a deadline) or a prohibition notice (stop the activity now).
  • RIDDOR: over-seven-day injuries, specified injuries, dangerous occurrences and some diseases must be reported to HSE. Over-seven-day injuries within 15 days.
  • Record every accident in the accident book, however minor. Near misses should be reported too — they are how the next accident is prevented.
  • A site induction comes before you start work, every time you go to a new site.

Health and welfare

  • Welfare facilities required on site: toilets, washing facilities with hot and cold water, drinking water, somewhere to change and store clothes, and somewhere to rest and eat.
  • Noise: employers must assess at 80 dB(A) daily exposure and must provide hearing protection and control noise at 85 dB(A). The exposure limit is 87 dB(A).
  • Hand-arm vibration from tools such as breakers and grinders causes HAVS (vibration white finger), which is permanent. Early signs are tingling and numbness.
  • Construction dust containing silica causes silicosis and lung cancer. Control it at source (water suppression, extraction) and wear face-fit-tested RPE such as an FFP3 mask.
  • Manual handling: assess the Task, the Individual, the Load and the Environment (TILE). Avoid lifting where you can, then reduce the risk where you cannot.
  • COSHH: read the safety data sheet and follow the controls for any hazardous substance before you use it.

General safety

  • Safety sign colours: red circle with a bar means prohibition, blue circle means mandatory, yellow triangle means warning, green means safe condition (first aid, exit).
  • Fire extinguishers are red with a coloured band: red for water, cream for foam, blue for dry powder, black for CO₂, yellow for wet chemical. Never use water on electrical or oil fires.
  • Reduced-voltage 110V tools from a centre-tapped transformer limit the shock to 55V to earth. Check leads and plugs before use and never use damaged equipment.
  • Keep at least the distance set by the risk assessment from overhead power lines, and treat every line as live.
  • PPE is the last line of defence, used after the risk has been reduced by other means. You must wear what is provided and report it if it is damaged.
  • Good housekeeping — clear walkways, tidy materials, covered holes — prevents most slips, trips and falls.

High risk activities

  • Work at height: avoid it if you can; if you can't, prevent falls (guard rails, platforms); if you can't do that, minimise the distance and consequence of a fall (nets, harnesses).
  • Scaffolds must be inspected by a competent person before first use, at least every seven days, and after anything that could affect them, such as high winds. Check the tag.
  • Ladders are for short-duration, light work where a safer option is not justified. Keep three points of contact and set them at about 75° (one unit out for every four up).
  • Excavations must be inspected at the start of every shift. Support the sides, keep spoil and plant back from the edge, and never enter an unsupported trench.
  • Confined spaces and hot work need a permit to work. Never enter a confined space to rescue someone without the rescue plan and equipment.
  • Asbestos can be in any building built or refurbished before 2000. If you find a material you suspect, stop work, leave the area and report it.

Environment

  • Segregate waste into the right skips. Waste carried off site needs a waste transfer note, and hazardous waste a consignment note.
  • Know where the spill kit is. Stop a spill reaching drains or watercourses, contain it, and report it.
  • It is an offence to disturb nesting birds or bat roosts. Stop and report if you find them.
  • Store fuels and oils in bunded containers, away from drains, and refuel plant over a drip tray.
  • Switch off engines and equipment when not in use — it saves fuel and cuts noise and emissions.

Behavioural case study

  • The case-study questions test what you do, not what you know. The right answer is almost always the one that stops the unsafe act and reports it.
  • If you are asked to do something you have not been trained for, or that is not in the method statement, stop and speak to your supervisor.
  • Raise a hazard even if someone more senior is doing it. Every worker can stop work that is unsafe.
  • Never cut corners to save time — the 'quick' option in a case study is the wrong one.

Original summaries of UK law and HSE guidance written against the CITB syllabus areas — not CITB's questions. Check HSE guidance before relying on any figure at work.

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