What Is SMSTS?
SMSTS is the Site Management Safety Training Scheme, a five-day CITB Site Safety Plus course for site managers that ends in a 25-question exam.
SMSTS Mock Test is an independent practice site. It is not run by CITB, it does not sell the course, and our mocks contain no real CITB questions.
What does SMSTS stand for?
SMSTS stands for Site Management Safety Training Scheme. CITB's own course locator also calls it the "Site Managers Safety Training Scheme". Both names refer to the same course, which is part of CITB's Site Safety Plus scheme.
What is the SMSTS course?
SMSTS is a five-day course of at least 37 hours 30 minutes, run by training providers in a classroom or remotely. CITB's course page says it covers:
- legal responsibilities
- health and safety law
- the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
- risk assessments
- site setup
- managing hazards
- occupational health
- environmental issues
Providers can also run it as day release, on one or two days a week over up to five weeks. You use two CITB publications on the course: the XA6 Construction site management delegate workbook and GE700. CITB's scheme rules say: "The SMSTS course is endorsed by Build UK as the standard training for all construction managers."
Who needs SMSTS?
SMSTS is for site managers, and for people about to become one. There are no formal entry requirements, but CITB says delegates "should hold, or be about to hold, the role of a site manager". CITB suggests SSSTS first for people without health and safety management experience.
You need to be competent in written and spoken English at the level a site manager works at. The course and the exam are run in English only, and interpreters and translators are not allowed.
How is SMSTS assessed?
You pass SMSTS by completing four core exercises, passing the trainer review and passing a 25-question, 35-minute exam with at least 26 out of 32. The pass mark, the open-book rule and re-sits are set out in how SMSTS is assessed. You can practise for the exam in a timed SMSTS mock test.
How long does SMSTS last?
An SMSTS certificate is valid for five years. The course itself lasts five days.
To stay certified, take the two-day SMSTS-R refresher, at least 15 hours, before your certificate expires. If it lapses, you take the full SMSTS course again, and CITB's rules say this is not subject to appeal. The SMSTS-R exam is the same paper as SMSTS: 25 questions, 32 marks, 26 to pass, 35 minutes. Practise for it with our SMSTS-R refresher mock test.
Does SMSTS get you a CSCS black card?
SMSTS on its own is not a CSCS card. Check the CSCS card finder on cscs.uk.com for the route that fits your role.
What is the difference between SMSTS and SSSTS?
SSSTS is CITB's two-day course for site supervisors, and SMSTS is the five-day course for site managers.