The CCNSG Safety Passport Course was first proposed in 1991 as a means of meeting the health and safety at work obligations of a Client employing Contractors and Sub-contractors as stated in the EC ‘Framework Directive’.
The initial concept was developed independently but in parallel by 3 groups of companies in Britain, based on the petrochemical industries in the North East and North West of England and of the petrochemical, steel and power industries in South and West Wales.
The similarity of the syllabi for the courses was identified soon after they were operating and cross recognition of successful completion was agreed. The Capital Project Clients Group, a national body, looked at integrating the regional initiatives into a single format and the decision was made to standardise the 2 day course designed by the Welsh group (rather than the longer courses from the North of England) for a nationally recognised award.
The Welsh origin course structure and syllabus was set up in a series of consultations in a committee comprising three Further Education Colleges (Barry, Bridgend and Pembroke) and three commercial training organisations (Neyland Training, Ace Safety and Qualitrain) together with two Clients (Texaco and Dow Corning) and a Contractor (Ledwood Construction).
The original course was envisaged as 13 ‘Modules’, 10 for ‘operator level employees’ covering a range of hazard areas encountered in routine maintenance and construction on petrochemical and heavy industrial sites and a further 3 modules on designing and delivering toolbox talks and supervision needs for those who were supervisors. The 10-module course would be run over 2 days and take at least 12 hours including assessment. The supervisor course would take a further complete day.
The courses were to be taught to an agreed syllabus and the learning outcomes tested by multiple choice questions papers. A facility for additional assistance to be given to a poorly literate candidate was agreed.
Successful completion of the course would allow the provider to issue a ‘Safety Passport’ to the candidate. The ‘Safety Passport’ was a plastic encapsulated, identity card format, certificate, valid for 3 years.
After 2 years of successful operation and a perceived need for a single, centralised, database of safety passport holders, the National Client/Contractor Safety Group invited the ECITB to maintain a national database of certificate (passport) holders and passed control of the course over to a Providers Forum set up by those organisations delivering the courses. The courses are reviewed at regular intervals and amendments are made accordingly, ensuring that the requirements for the passport scheme are kept to a high standard.
History of Scheme