CITB SMSTS study plan
CITB SMSTS · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Legal and management framework, including CDM duties and roles
List the CDM 2015 duty holders and state the legal position and limits of each role
Explain client duties, including providing pre-construction information and when an F10 notification is required
Describe principal designer and principal contractor duties and how the health and safety file is compiled and handed over
Identify the minimum contents of a construction phase plan and what makes it project-specific
Your checkpoint
A one-page duty-holder matrix mapping every CDM role to its specific duties, cross-checked against the regulations with gaps corrected.
Legal and management framework, including CDM duties and roles & Risk assessment, method statements and safe systems of work
Outline employer, employee and self-employed duties under health and safety at work legislation and how improvement and prohibition notices arise
Explain the factors a court weighs when sentencing a health and safety offence and rank them by impact on the fine
Define hazard and risk and rank control measures using the hierarchy of control
Draft a risk assessment for a routine construction task on a 5x5 matrix, justifying each rating
Your checkpoint
One completed 5x5 risk assessment for a realistic task, with every control labelled against its level in the hierarchy of control.
Risk assessment, method statements and safe systems of work
Write a method statement that sequences the work, names plant and access equipment, sets PPE and states emergency arrangements
Distinguish permit-to-work systems from standard safe systems of work and state when a permit is required
Describe how to brief a safe system of work, record attendance and monitor compliance on site
Explain how risk assessments are reviewed and revised when the work, people or environment change
Your checkpoint
A method statement pack for one high-risk task, including the briefing sign-off sheet and the review trigger list.
High-risk construction activities and their control
Apply the work at height hierarchy to specify controls for roof work, scaffold and MEWP use
Specify excavation support, edge protection, inspection intervals and safe access for trenches
Explain lifting plan requirements, appointed person duties and thorough examination intervals for lifting equipment
Set exclusion zones and identify the controls for overhead and underground services
Your checkpoint
A high-risk activity control sheet covering work at height, excavations and lifting, with inspection frequencies and responsible persons named.
High-risk construction activities and their control & Site management responsibilities for health, safety and welfare
Outline demolition sequencing and explain what a pre-demolition or refurbishment survey must establish
Describe confined space controls and the required emergency rescue arrangements
Set out site fire precautions and means of escape for a multi-storey project
List controls for plant-pedestrian segregation and site traffic management
Sit a timed 50-question mock across all five domains and log every error by root cause
Your checkpoint
Mock exam 1 completed under timed conditions with a written error log listing the domain and knowledge gap behind each wrong answer.
Site management responsibilities for health, safety and welfare
Draft a site induction and daily briefing that address the specific risks of the project
Specify welfare provision to meet the required standard and justify the numbers for the workforce
Explain the statutory inspection regime for scaffolds, excavations, lifting equipment and record keeping
Set out arrangements for first aid, the accident book and emergency procedures
Describe how to assess subcontractor competence and coordinate between trades
Your checkpoint
A one-page site set-up plan covering welfare, first aid, induction and the statutory inspection schedule.
Occupational health, hazardous substances and accident reporting
Explain the steps of a COSHH assessment and how to extract controls from a safety data sheet
List the principal health hazards on site, including noise, hand-arm vibration, respirable crystalline silica, asbestos and manual handling, with their exposure limits and controls
Classify reportable injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences, stating the deadline and who reports each
Describe when health surveillance is required and how to refer a worker to occupational health
Your checkpoint
One COSHH assessment plus a 10-scenario reporting classification quiz, scored and corrected to at least 8/10.
Legal and management framework, including CDM duties and roles & Site management responsibilities for health, safety and welfare & Risk assessment, method statements and safe systems of work & Occupational health, hazardous substances and accident reporting & High-risk construction activities and their control
Re-sit two timed full-domain mock exams and review every error against its source domain
Recite from memory the CDM duty-holder duties and the hierarchy of control without notes
Build a one-page trigger sheet mapping question keywords to the domain and answer pattern they signal
Work through scenario-based case questions under time pressure and justify each answer in one sentence
Your checkpoint
Final timed mock scored at 80% or above with every error-log item closed out.
Milestones
Week 3: A timed 40-question self-test on CDM duties and risk assessment/method statements scored at 70% or above, with all missed questions re-written in your own words.
Week 5: Mock exam 1 (50 questions, all domains) completed at 60% or above, with an error log showing a root cause against every wrong answer.
Week 7: Full-domain mock scored at 75% or above and the reporting classification quiz at 8/10 or better.
Week 8: Final timed mock at 80% or above with a closed-out error log and a one-page trigger sheet you can recall from memory.