Safe Pass case studies
Safe Pass · Put your knowledge to work in context.
Safe Pass is the SOLAS construction-site safety programme described by the training provider as giving site workers "the basic health and safety knowledge to work on site without being a risk to themselves or others." It is aimed at anyone who needs access to an Irish construction site, and the programme was "developed following an initiative by the Construction Industry Training Committee." The provider states that the initial Safe Pass must be completed in person with a SOLAS-registered tutor, that there is no online Safe Pass course, and that cards from online-only providers are not accepted on Irish sites. The day runs about eight hours including registration, the training modules, breaks and the end-of-day assessment; the provider says doors open from 07:45 and training starts at 08:00 sharp. The Safe Pass case studies are 5 cases and about 4,447 words.
1First Day, No Induction, and a Broken Hoarding Latch
At 07:20 on a Monday, a 19-year-old agency labourer arrives at a two-storey town-centre refurbishment for three days of strip-out work. The site manager is not due until 08:30.
872 words, about 4 min2Headaches in a Basement Plant Room
Two operatives are breaking out a 3 m × 1.2 m section of concrete slab and cutting a 250 mm chase in the plant room of a retail unit. The room is 6 m × 4 m, below ground, with no windows; the only access is a single door and a stairwell.
915 words, about 5 min3Kerbs, a Quick Coupler and a Live Footpath
On a roadworks site, a 3-tonne mini-excavator fitted with a semi-automatic quick coupler is lifting a bundle of six kerbs, roughly 480 kg, from a delivery lorry to the trench side, because the lorry's own loader is booked for later in the day. The operator has 11 years on machines but no slinger/signaller training, and the site's appointed person for lifting has not been asked.
904 words, about 5 min4The Grinder, the Puddle and the Taped Lead
A groundworks operative is using a 230 V angle grinder plugged into a 50 m extension lead run from a socket in the site cabin, because the 110 V transformer is in use at another pour. The lead crosses a puddle at the edge of the slab, and its sheath is scuffed and taped over about 300 mm from the plug top.
868 words, about 4 min5Tingling Fingers After Nineteen Days on the Breaker
A 34-year-old groundworks operative has spent the last 19 working days breaking out kerbs and concrete with a 28 kg petrol breaker, typically 4 to 5 hours of trigger time per shift with a 10-minute break each hour. The breaker is shared between three men and has no service record; its anti-vibration mounts are perished.
888 words, about 4 min