CSCS Test Revision – General Responsibilities

The CSCS test revision notes below will cover most of what you’ll need to know for the “General Responsibilities” section of your CSCS test 2024.

There are 20 statements followed by a key point for each statement, the key points are basically the answers to the test questions so you should pay close attention to these during your CSCS test revision.

1. For a worksite to remain accident-free, we all need to report unsafe working conditions. Regardless of your job title, this goes for everyone on site.

• Key point: Everyone on-site needs to report unsafe working conditions

2. When attending your site induction the presenter will be going over a lot of site rules, if there’s something you don’t understand then you’ll need to ask him/her to go over it again until you understand the point he/she is trying to make.

• Key point: If you don’t understand something at your site induction ask the presenter to go over it again

3. There are many reasons why you should keep your work area clean and tidy but one of the main reason should be to reduce slips, trips and falls in your workplace.

• Key point: Always keep your work area clean and tidy to prevent slips, trips, and falls

4. If you’re working on site and another contractor is putting your safety at risk you should stop working and let your supervisor know about the situation.

• Key point: If another contractor’s work is putting you at risk let your supervisor know immediately

5. If you’re about to use a tool and discover it has been issued with a prohibition notice this means the tool is not safe to use and you must not use it until it has been made safe to use.

• Key point: Tools and equipment with prohibition notices should not be used until they’re made safe

6. If you show up for work and realize your worksite has been issued with a prohibition notice this means you are not allowed to work because the site is unsafe.

• Key point: You must stop working if your site has been given a prohibition notice

7. If you have been issued with an improvement notice by an HSE inspector it means that you are not working in a safe way.

• Key point: An improvement notice means you are not working in a safe way

8. According to the Health and Safety at Work Act we all have legal duties, this includes you, your supervisors and everyone else at work.

• Key point: Legal duties are placed on everyone at work, not just a specific person or job title

9. The Health and Safety at Work Act is important to employees because it puts legal duties on your employer to ensure you have a safe place to work and it also puts legal duties on you as an employee.

• Key point: The Health and Safety at Work Act ensures your employer provides a safe place of work for you

10. As an employee you will have many legal duties placed upon you but writing your own risk assessment is not one of them.

• Key point: Employees do not have to write their own risk assessments

11. When you’re working on a building site, the site manager is the one who is responsible for managing health and safety.

• Key point: The site manager is responsible for managing health and safety on-site

12. You will hear the term “risk assessment” quite often at work, this means an assessment was carried out to identify the possible hazards associated with your job and this assessment will also state safety measures to deal with those hazards.

• Key point: A risk assessment is used to identify hazards at work

13. Another frequently used term you’ll hear on-site is “hazard”, this term is used to state if there is a possibility that you or someone else could get hurt.

• Key point: A hazard is anything that has the possibility of causing harm

14. A permit to work may be required if you are starting a new job, if you do require one you will be informed when you attend your site induction.

• Key point: If a permit to work is required you will be told at your site induction

15. If you realize that you cannot carry out your job as outlined by the method statement you should speak to your supervisor before proceeding with the task.

• Key point: Always speak to your supervisor first if you have a problem

16. Every work site will have its own health and safety rules, this is why you will need to attend a site induction to learn about the health and safety rules of your work site.

• Key point: You will find out about the health and safety rules of a site when you attend your site induction

17. Attending a site induction is not optional, you will learn about key health and safety rules governing your worksite and for this reason everyone who will be on-site should attend the site induction.

• Key point: Everyone who will be on-site should attend the site induction

18. Your site induction will cover many topics, two of the most important topics that should be covered are the site rules and the emergency procedures for the site.

• Key point: Your site induction should cover the site rules and its emergency procedures

19. Your employer has a legal responsibility to discuss various health and safety matters with you because they are legally required to inform you of anything that will protect your health and safety at work.

• Key point: An employer is legally obligated to discuss health and safety matters with you to ensure you are aware of anything that affects your health and safety at work

20. One common term you will hear quite often on a construction site is “toolbox talk”. This has nothing to do with tools, it’s a short discussion regarding a particular health and safety topic.

• Key point: A toolbox talk is a short discussion/training session focused on a particular health and safety topic

Summing up

Hopefully, the 20 CSCS test revision pointers above will help you to answer the questions you encounter on your test day. This section will have quite a few questions on the importance of attending a site induction.

Just remember that you will learn about the various safety procedures and safety rules at your site induction – so it’s imperative that everyone who will be on site attends the induction.