Site visitors will need CSCS cards

The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) is set to make all sites completely "watertight" in terms of health and safety awareness training by introducing special CSCS cards for site visitors.

Existing skill cards certifying the competence of operatives and site management are to be supplemented by new yellow visitor cards. They will be required for all site visitors including the professions and casual visitors.

Tony Merricks, CSCS chairman, said there would be two different kinds of visitor card. For regular visitors, such as the professions and delivery drivers, there would be a yellow card similar to the existing skill cards. It would carry a photo of the holder who would be required to pass a health and safety awareness test.

A second and larger yellow card would be required for other casual or occasional site visitors. The intention is that the card should be worn by the visitor. Cards will be issued by the site agent who will give the visitor a site safety briefing and decide whether the visitor needs to be accompanied on site. This would depend largely on the progress of the works.

Current intentions are that the visitor cards will probably be introduced with effect from this July.

Merricks added that there has been a very strong take-up of the CSCS supervisor and management cards with about 60,000 applications received. The gold, platinum, and black cards are for site supervisors, managers, and senior managers and equate to NVQ levels 3, 4, and 5 respectively. About 10,000 have been issued thus far.

The CSCS chairman also reported encouraging progress on reaching an affiliation agreement with the Northern Ireland construction skills registration scheme. Other draft affiliation agreements are in line with the engineering construction industry and the Scottish and Northern Ireland plumbers.

CSCS leaders equally remain bullish about reaching an affiliation agreement with the plant sector.