Jargon Buster
CDM, COSHH, RIDDOR, PUWER, LOLER, SSIP, SMSTS… UK construction runs on acronyms. Here’s every one you’ll bump into, decoded in plain English — searchable, filterable, and cross-linked to the rest of the Hub.
Use the search and the category chips below to filter. Click a term card to see its full meaning and, where relevant, the Knowledge Hub article that covers it in depth.
58 terms shown
Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012
Duties around asbestos survey, management, licensed removal, NNLW (non-licensed work) and notifiable non-licensed work.
Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2015
The core set of duties for UK construction projects — placing specific responsibilities on clients, principal designers and principal contractors.
CDM Co-ordinator (legacy)
Legacy CDM 2007 role replaced by the Principal Designer under CDM 2015. Still referenced in older documentation.
Contractors Health & Safety Assessment Scheme
The longest-running SSIP-member scheme. Pre-qualifies contractors on their H&S management systems against Core Criteria.
Construction Industry Training Board
Statutory training board for the construction sector. Collects a levy, grants funding for training, administers the CSCS test.
Control of Lead at Work Regulations
Assessment, controls, medical surveillance and air monitoring for lead exposure at work.
Control of Noise at Work Regulations
Sets action values (80 / 85 dB(A)) and limit values (87 dB(A)) above which employers must assess, control and provide hearing protection.
Competent Person
A person with the necessary skills, knowledge, experience and training to perform a specific H&S duty safely. Required by multiple regulations.
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health
Covers how you store, use and dispose of anything hazardous to health — chemicals, fumes, dusts, biological agents. Reg 7 includes the face-fit test duty.
See also →COSHH Assessment
Substance-specific risk assessment recording hazards, exposure routes, controls and emergency actions. Required before a hazardous substance is used.
Construction Phase Plan
CDM 2015 document prepared by the Principal Contractor before construction begins. Describes how H&S is to be managed during the build.
Construction Skills Certification Scheme
The card scheme demonstrating individual workers’ occupational competence. Colour-coded by trade and level — required on most UK sites.
Confined Space Entry
Entry into a space that is enclosed, has limited egress and presents a risk of serious injury from fumes, oxygen deficiency, or entrapment. Requires permit and rescue plan.
Control of Vibration at Work Regulations
Daily exposure action (2.5 m/s²) and limit values (5 m/s²) for hand-arm vibration — the basis for tool trigger-time limits.
Dangerous Substances & Explosive Atmospheres Regulations
Fires, explosions, thermal runaway. Zoning and control of flammable atmospheres — highly relevant for hot works and fuel storage.
See also →Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
Duties around electrical installation, maintenance, and the prevention of danger from electricity at work.
HSE Notification (F10)
The form used to notify the HSE of a notifiable CDM project — more than 30 working days with over 20 workers simultaneously, or more than 500 person-days.
Filtering Face-Piece
Disposable particulate respirator rated under EN 149. FFP1 (78% filtered), FFP2 (94%), FFP3 (99%).
See also →Health & Safety File
CDM 2015 output handed to the client at project completion — containing information needed to safely maintain, clean, refurbish or demolish the structure.
Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
The primary piece of UK H&S legislation. The “duty of care” umbrella that everything else sits beneath.
Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome
Progressive, irreversible nerve and vascular damage in the hands caused by long-term vibrating-tool use. Controlled via trigger-time limits and tool selection.
Health & Safety Executive
The UK national regulator for workplace H&S. Enforces H&S law, publishes guidance, investigates serious incidents.
Institution of Occupational Safety & Health
Chartered professional body for H&S. Accredits training (Managing Safely, Working Safely) and offers individual membership grades.
Local Exhaust Ventilation
Extraction of dust or fume at the source, before it reaches the worker’s breathing zone. Requires annual Thorough Examination & Test (TExT).
Lifting Operations & Lifting Equipment Regulations
Specific requirements for lifting gear — thorough examinations (6-monthly for people-lifting, 12-monthly otherwise), planning and supervision.
Mobile Elevating Work Platform
Cherry-picker, scissor-lift, boom-lift — powered platforms for temporary access at height. Requires IPAF training and daily pre-use inspection.
Manual Handling Operations Regulations
Duties to avoid hazardous manual handling where reasonably practicable, and to assess and reduce risk where it cannot be avoided.
See also →Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999
Imposes the duty to risk-assess, plan, organise, control, monitor and review H&S arrangements. Home of the Hierarchy of Control.
See also →Musculoskeletal Disorder
Any injury or disorder affecting muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage or discs — often caused by manual handling or repetitive strain.
See also →National Examination Board in Occupational Safety & Health
Independent examining body offering globally recognised H&S qualifications — General Certificate, Construction Certificate, Diploma.
Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
Permanent hearing damage caused by exposure to loud noise over time. Controlled via the CNWR 2005 action / limit value framework.
Powered Air-Purifying Respirator
Battery-powered respirator with a motorised fan drawing filtered air into a hood or helmet. Suitable for bearded wearers — no face seal required.
See also →Portable Appliance Testing
Inspection and electrical testing of portable electrical equipment under EAWR. Frequency depends on use environment and appliance class.
Principal Contractor
CDM 2015 appointment responsible for planning, managing and monitoring the construction phase. Produces and maintains the CPP.
Pre-Construction Information
Information provided by the client to designers and contractors at project inception, so they can plan safe design and construction.
Principal Designer
CDM 2015 appointment responsible for planning, managing and monitoring the pre-construction phase. Must have relevant skills, knowledge and experience.
Personal Protective Equipment
Protective clothing, helmets, eyewear, footwear. Always the last line of defence in the Hierarchy of Control — never the first.
See also →Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations
Requirements to provide suitable PPE free of charge where risks can’t be controlled by other means.
Permit to Work
A formal written authorisation to undertake a specified hazardous task under defined controls — hot works, confined space, electrical, excavation.
See also →Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations
Rules on the safety of every piece of work equipment — from a claw hammer to a tower crane. Covers selection, inspection, maintenance and training.
Risk Assessment & Method Statement
The paired documents that set out identified hazards, residual risks and the step-by-step safe way a task will be performed on site.
Respirable Crystalline Silica
Microscopic dust from cutting or grinding concrete, brick, stone. Causes silicosis, lung cancer and COPD. The leading occupational-cancer risk in UK construction.
See also →Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations
The statutory duty to report specific workplace incidents to the HSE. Fatalities, specified injuries, 7-day injuries, occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences — all have separate deadlines.
Responsible Person
Under RRFSO 2005 — the employer (or person with control of the premises) who carries the legal duty to manage fire safety.
Respiratory Protective Equipment
Any device worn over the airway to reduce inhaled contaminants. Must be fit-tested where tight-fitting — see the face-masks guide.
See also →Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
The primary piece of fire-safety legislation in England and Wales. Places duties on the “Responsible Person” to risk-assess and control fire risk.
See also →(Material) Safety Data Sheet
Manufacturer-supplied document providing hazard, handling, first-aid, storage, spill and disposal information for a specific substance.
Safety, Health, Environment & Quality
The combined management discipline most medium-to-large construction firms use to integrate H&S, environmental and quality systems.
Site Management Safety Training Scheme
The CITB-endorsed 5-day course for site managers and project managers. Valid 5 years; refresher is 2 days.
Safety Schemes in Procurement
Umbrella body for H&S pre-qualification schemes — members include CHAS, SafeContractor, Constructionline, Achilles and others.
Safe System of Work
A formal, documented procedure that integrates people, equipment, materials and the environment to produce an agreed safe way of carrying out a task.
Site Supervisors Safety Training Scheme
The CITB-endorsed 2-day course for site supervisors and gangers. Valid 5 years; refresher is 1 day.
Toolbox Talk
A short, focused on-site briefing on a single topic — delivered, recorded and signed for. Typically 5–15 minutes at the start of a shift.
Task Risk Assessment
A risk assessment at the level of a specific task — sits beneath the project-level and site-level risk registers.
Work at Height
Any work where a fall would cause personal injury — covers platforms, ladders, roof work and work near unprotected edges.
Work at Height Regulations 2005
Prevention of falls from height. Requires work at height to be avoided where possible — then controlled using collective measures before personal.
Whole-Body Vibration
Vibration transmitted through a seat or floor into the body — drivers of plant, forklifts, rollers. Linked to lower-back injury.
Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992
The baseline standards for workplace welfare — lighting, heating, toilets, drinking water, break areas, maintenance.
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What this list is (and isn’t)
This is a working glossary — a quick way for site teams, apprentices, supervisors, subbies and anyone at the edge of compliance to decode the acronyms that fly around H&S paperwork. It isn’t a substitute for formal guidance: where a regulation has specific duties, always read the source text and, if in doubt, pick up the phone.
If you spot a term we’ve missed, a definition that’s out of date, or a regulation that’s been superseded — flag it via the contact form and we’ll refresh it on the next update cycle.