SMSTS Test Questions and Answers
Here are 10 SMSTS-style test questions with answers and the reasoning behind each. Five are one-mark multiple choice questions and five are two-mark questions on the focus areas, the same two types as the real paper. Each answer names the law it comes from.
Not a CITB question: These questions are our own, written by the SMSTS Mock Test Team. SMSTS Mock Test is an independent practice site and is not run by CITB. CITB's rules say real or old exam papers must not be used as mocks, so none of these is a real CITB question. Read how our SMSTS practice questions are written.
10 SMSTS test questions with answers
Questions 1 to 5 are one-mark questions with one correct answer. Questions 6 to 10 are two-mark questions where you choose two answers. They cover CDM notification, RIDDOR reporting, lifting equipment, excavations and confined spaces, then five of the focus areas: working at height, manual handling, asbestos, noise and vibration. Try each question before you open the answer.
Sample question 1 · Legal and management · 1 mark
A project is scheduled to last 25 working days and will need 600 person days of construction work. Is it notifiable to HSE under CDM 2015?
- No, because it lasts fewer than 30 working days
- No, because only projects with more than 20 workers on site at once are notifiable
- Yes, because every project over 20 working days is notifiable
- Yes, because it will exceed 500 person days
Show the answer
Correct: D. Yes, because it will exceed 500 person days
Regulation 6(1) gives two separate tests: longer than 30 working days with more than 20 workers on site at the same time, or more than 500 person days. Meeting either one makes the project notifiable. Here the 500 person day test is met, so the client must notify HSE before the construction phase begins.
Sample question 2 · Legal and management · 1 mark
A worker hurt on site is unable to do their normal work for nine days in a row, not counting the day of the accident. Under RIDDOR 2013, what is the latest the injury can be reported?
- Within 30 days of the accident
- Within 15 days of the accident
- Within 10 days of the accident
- Within 7 days of the accident
Show the answer
Correct: B. Within 15 days of the accident
An injury that keeps someone off routine work for more than seven consecutive days (not counting the day of the accident) must be reported as soon as practicable, and in any event within 15 days of the accident.
Sample question 3 · General safety · 1 mark
A mobile elevating work platform is used outdoors to lift people and is exposed to conditions that cause deterioration. If there is no written examination scheme, how often does LOLER 1998 require it to have a thorough examination?
- At least every 6 months
- At least every 24 months
- At least every 12 months
- At least every 3 months
Show the answer
Correct: A. At least every 6 months
Under regulation 9(3), equipment for lifting people and lifting accessories need a thorough examination at least every 6 months. Other lifting equipment needs one at least every 12 months, unless an examination scheme sets different intervals.
Sample question 4 · High risk activities · 1 mark
Under regulation 22 of CDM 2015, when must a competent person inspect an excavation where construction work is to be done?
- Once every seven days, and again after any spell of heavy rain, frost or flooding on site
- Only when the excavation is deeper than 1.2 metres, once a day
- At the start of each shift, and after any event or fall of material that could affect it
- Once a week, and again after any period of heavy rain or frost
Show the answer
Correct: C. At the start of each shift, and after any event or fall of material that could affect it
The inspection is needed at the start of each shift in which work is done, after any event likely to have affected its strength or stability, and after any material unintentionally falls or is dislodged. There is no depth threshold.
Sample question 5 · High risk activities · 1 mark
Under the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997, what must be decided first, before anyone enters a confined space to work?
- Whether the work can reasonably be done without anyone entering the space
- Whether a trained rescue team is on standby at the entrance
- Whether the space has been ventilated for at least an hour beforehand
- Whether suitable breathing apparatus is available on site for everyone entering
Show the answer
Correct: A. Whether the work can reasonably be done without anyone entering the space
Regulation 4(1) forbids entry unless it is not reasonably practicable to do the work another way. Only once entry cannot be avoided do the safe system of work and emergency arrangements come in.
Sample question 6 · Focus area: Working at height · 2 marks
A gutter can be cleared safely from the ground with long-reach tools, or from a ladder. Which TWO statements match regulation 6 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005? Choose two.
Tick two answers.
- The regulation applies only where someone could fall more than 2 metres to the ground
- Where work at height cannot be avoided, measures must be taken to prevent a fall, so far as is reasonably practicable
- The work should not be done at height, as it can be done safely from the ground
- A ladder is always acceptable for a short job, as long as it lasts under 30 minutes
- Fall arrest equipment is the first choice, because it is quick to set up and use
Show the answer
Correct: B and C. Where work at height cannot be avoided, measures must be taken to prevent a fall, so far as is reasonably practicable / The work should not be done at height, as it can be done safely from the ground
Regulation 6 sets the order: avoid work at height where it can be done safely another way, then prevent falls, then minimise the distance and consequences of a fall. There is no 2 metre threshold: the duty covers any fall liable to cause personal injury.
Sample question 7 · Focus area: Manual handling · 2 marks
Which TWO duties come first under regulation 4 of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992? Choose two.
Tick two answers.
- Give every worker who lifts or carries materials a back support belt to wear at all times
- Avoid manual handling that involves a risk of injury, so far as is reasonably practicable
- Assess only the lifts that are heavier than 20 kg, and ignore the lighter ones
- Where it cannot be avoided, make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the operations
- Set a legal maximum weight of 25 kg for every lift that any worker carries out
Show the answer
Correct: B and D. Avoid manual handling that involves a risk of injury, so far as is reasonably practicable / Where it cannot be avoided, make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the operations
The order is avoid, assess, then reduce the risk to the lowest level reasonably practicable. The regulations set no maximum weight: weights in HSE guidance are filters for deciding when a fuller assessment is needed.
Sample question 8 · Focus area: Asbestos · 2 marks
Before maintenance work that could expose workers to asbestos, regulation 5 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 says the employer must do one of two things. Which TWO are they? Choose two.
Tick two answers.
- Give every worker a disposable dust mask, then carry on with the work as planned without a survey
- Start the work and stop only if suspect material is found during the job
- Decide from the age of the building alone whether asbestos could be there
- Assess whether asbestos is present, and if so its type, the material it is in and its condition
- If in doubt, assume asbestos is present, and not chrysotile alone, and follow the Regulations
Show the answer
Correct: D and E. Assess whether asbestos is present, and if so its type, the material it is in and its condition / If in doubt, assume asbestos is present, and not chrysotile alone, and follow the Regulations
Regulation 5 allows either a proper assessment of the asbestos, or, if there is doubt, assuming it is present (and not chrysotile alone) and following the Regulations. The age of a building on its own is not an assessment.
Sample question 9 · Focus area: Noise · 2 marks
Which TWO statements match regulation 4 of the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005? Choose two.
Tick two answers.
- The lower exposure action value is a daily or weekly personal noise exposure of 75 dB(A)
- The lower exposure action value is a daily or weekly personal noise exposure of 80 dB(A)
- The exposure limit value is a daily or weekly personal noise exposure of 90 dB(A)
- The upper exposure action value is a daily or weekly personal noise exposure of 87 dB(A)
- The upper exposure action value is a daily or weekly personal noise exposure of 85 dB(A)
Show the answer
Correct: B and E. The lower exposure action value is a daily or weekly personal noise exposure of 80 dB(A) / The upper exposure action value is a daily or weekly personal noise exposure of 85 dB(A)
The action values are 80 dB(A) (lower) and 85 dB(A) (upper). 87 dB(A) is the exposure limit value, and it is the only one of the three that takes hearing protection into account.
Sample question 10 · Focus area: Vibration · 2 marks
For hand-arm vibration, which TWO statements match regulation 4 of the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005? Choose two.
Tick two answers.
- The daily exposure action value is 5 m/s² A(8)
- The daily exposure limit value is 1.15 m/s² A(8)
- The daily exposure limit value is 5 m/s² A(8)
- The daily exposure action value is 0.5 m/s² A(8)
- The daily exposure action value is 2.5 m/s² A(8)
Show the answer
Correct: C and E. The daily exposure limit value is 5 m/s² A(8) / The daily exposure action value is 2.5 m/s² A(8)
For hand-arm vibration the action value is 2.5 m/s² A(8) and the limit value is 5 m/s² A(8). The 0.5 and 1.15 figures are the whole-body vibration values.
Answer the rest of the bank against the clock in a full SMSTS mock exam.
How are two-mark SMSTS questions answered?
Two-mark questions ask for more than one correct point, either by choosing several options or by writing a short answer. On the real paper, all 7 two-mark questions are on the focus areas, and CITB describes them as "multi-response or short written answer" questions.
Our two-mark questions are choose-two: you pick the two correct statements from the options. On our mocks you get both marks only for a fully correct answer. CITB does not publish how part marks work on the real paper.
The 7 two-mark questions carry 14 of the 32 marks, so they decide a large share of the SMSTS pass mark of 26.
Is there an SMSTS questions and answers PDF?
There is no official SMSTS questions and answers PDF. CITB selects the questions for each paper, and its rules say a question paper must never be shared with a third party. The same rules say current and old papers must not be used as mocks.
What you can get instead is a full record of your own attempt. After any mock on this site, you see your score and, with explanations, the correct answers for 10 questions on free use or for every question on a paid plan. Take a mock and check your answers.
Where do SMSTS exam questions come from?
CITB selects the 25 questions on each paper, covering all aspects of the course.
Our questions are written by the SMSTS Mock Test Team to CITB's learning outcomes for SMSTS and SMSTS-R, and to the law behind them: the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and the regulations behind each focus area, such as the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. Every answer is checked against legislation.gov.uk or HSE guidance, with GOV.UK guidance for some environment questions, and is linked to a quoted source.