IOSH Approved Setting to Work Safely
A self-paced online course for the people who plan the work, brief the team and decide when it is safe to start. Built around Safe Systems of Work, simultaneous operations, and the supervisor's authority to stop the job.
- Duration
- 4 hours, including assessment
- Format
- Self-paced online
- Assessment
- 24 questions, 30 minutes
- Pass mark
- 80% (20 / 24)
Per learner
£395Paying for someone else? Enter their email at checkout. The invitation goes to the address you pay with.
Book a placeSecure payment by Stripe. Booking for a team? Get in touch
- Final assessment included
- Self-paced, start when you like
- Personal invitation by email
Who it is for
Construction supervisors, foremen, chargehands, gangers, section leads and site engineers. Anyone responsible for planning, coordinating, allocating and setting teams to work safely.
It suits people working on high-risk infrastructure, industrial and large-scale construction, where simultaneous operations, work interfaces and complex sequencing need strong supervisory coordination. It also fits those who help develop, review and implement Safe Systems of Work, including RAMS preparation, high-risk activity control and interface management.
Before you start
- Working in, or preparing for, a supervisory or team-leading role in construction or a related industry.
- Practical experience or familiarity with site activities and terminology.
- No formal academic qualifications required.
Course contents
- Lesson 01Introduction, the role of the supervisor
- Lesson 02Preventing serious injuries and fatalities
- Lesson 03Designing construction work
- Lesson 04The golden thread, planning to execution
- Lesson 05Planning and preparation
- Lesson 06Right people, right competence
- Lesson 07Simultaneous operations and interface management
- Lesson 08Safe Systems of Work, permits and isolations
- Lesson 09Supervision and safety leadership
- Lesson 10Setting to work brief, two-way communication
- Lesson 11Human performance tools, and why we work safe
- AssessmentFinal knowledge assessment
Final assessment
The course ends with a final knowledge assessment drawn from the course content. Questions are multiple-choice, scenario-based and interactive.
- Questions
- 24
- Time allowed
- 30 minutes
- Pass mark
- 80% (20 / 24)
All 8 learning outcomes
| Outcome | By the end of the course you will be able to |
|---|---|
| LO 1 | Define setting to work safely, and explain how supervisory preparation prevents serious injuries and fatalities. |
| LO 2 | Deliver task-specific safety briefings covering hazards, control measures, emergency arrangements and work interfaces. |
| LO 3 | Explain the purpose of design in construction, and the supervisor's role when design and site conditions do not align. |
| LO 4 | Verify that workers are competent, authorised and properly prepared before setting them to work. |
| LO 5 | Apply, verify and coordinate Safe Systems of Work, including task allocation and management of simultaneous operations. |
| LO 6 | Recognise changing site conditions and exercise supervisory authority to pause or stop work. |
| LO 7 | Demonstrate visible safety leadership that encourages open communication, challenge and safe decision-making. |
| LO 8 | Explain the human and organisational consequences of serious injuries and fatalities, and how supervisory decisions shape them. |
About Anthony Horton CMIOSH
- Membership
- CMIOSH
- Experience
- 20 years
- Hinkley Point C
- £35bn
- India programme
- $10bn
Anthony Horton is a Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (CMIOSH), with 20 years’ experience leading health, safety and wellbeing across some of the world’s most complex, high-hazard industries.
Career
- Senior and director-level roles on major nuclear, infrastructure, tunnelling, manufacturing and construction programmes.
- The £35 billion Hinkley Point C development.
- Most recently, a major $10 billion industrial construction programme in India.
- Led large multidisciplinary HSE teams, and advised executives and project leaders.
- Developed practical approaches to risk management, workforce competence, human performance and safety leadership across international, multicultural workforces.
The gap he kept seeing
Throughout his career, Anthony has seen the same challenge repeated across different countries, organisations and industries. Considerable attention is given to procedures, permits and paperwork, but far less is paid to the critical moment when people are actually set to work.
Yet this is one of the most important parts of the working day. It is the point at which:
- the work scope must be understood
- hazards must be recognised
- controls must be confirmed
- interfaces must be coordinated
- every person must be clear about what they are expected to do, and when they must stop.
Why he created the course
The IOSH Approved Setting to Work Safely e-learning course was created to address this gap. Drawing on Anthony’s extensive experience across major international construction and high-hazard programmes, it places supervisors at the centre of safe delivery.
Supervisors provide the essential link between planning and execution:
- translating the safe system of work into clear direction
- positioning people and equipment safely
- confirming competence and controls
- ensuring work starts, and continues, safely.
Regardless of the country, organisation or industry, setting people to work properly provides the foundation for safe, efficient and successful project delivery.
About Setting to Work Safely
What will the course give supervisors?
The IOSH Approved Setting to Work Safely e-learning course gives supervisors the practical knowledge, confidence and tools to lead work safely and effectively at the workface.
It helps them understand that their role is not simply to issue instructions or confirm that paperwork has been completed. It is to ensure that people genuinely understand the job, the hazards, the controls and their individual responsibilities before work begins.
The course will help supervisors to:
1Before work starts
- Support the translation of work plans and safe systems of work into clear instructions.
- Deliver effective pre-job briefings and toolbox talks.
- Help to confirm that workers are competent, authorised and fit for the task before it starts.
- Check that the correct controls, equipment, and resources are in place.
2While the work runs
- Support the coordination of simultaneous operations and work interfaces.
- Recognise when site conditions differ from the original plan.
- Apply human-performance tools to reduce mistakes and prevent error.
- Monitor the task and ensure controls remain effective as work progresses.
3Leading the team
- Encourage workers to speak up, ask questions and challenge unsafe conditions.
- Develop their own questioning attitude rather than accepting assumptions.
- Make confident decisions to pause or stop work when something is not right.
Ultimately, it helps supervisors become more confident, consistent and effective leaders, better equipped to deliver work safely, efficiently and as planned while protecting their teams from serious harm.
What will the course do for your business?
The IOSH Approved Setting to Work Safely e-learning course gives supervisors a practical and consistent approach to turning work plans, risk assessments and safe systems of work into safe, controlled activity at the workface.
It strengthens their ability to:
- plan and coordinate the job
- communicate expectations clearly
- confirm competence and critical controls
- manage simultaneous operations and changing conditions
- use human-performance techniques before and during the work
The course also encourages supervisors to develop a questioning attitude: to challenge assumptions, identify when the plan does not match site conditions and stop or reassess work when something is not right. This helps close the gap between
“work as planned” and “work as actually performed.”
For the business, this contributes to:
- Work being completed safely, efficiently and as planned.
- Improved coordination, productivity and predictability.
- More confident, capable and accountable supervisors.
- Earlier identification of hazards, conflicts and changing conditions.
- Fewer errors, delays, disruptions and unplanned events.
- Stronger workforce engagement and stop-work confidence.
- A reduction in exposure to serious incidents and fatalities.
- Most importantly, helping ensure everyone goes home safe at the end of every shift.
The course does not treat safety and delivery as competing priorities. By setting people to work properly from the outset, supervisors help create the conditions for safer work, better performance and more reliable project delivery.
Booking for a team
If you need several places, or want to talk about training a whole site team, get in touch and we will sort it out directly.
Get in touch
Questions
How long does the course take?
About four hours, including the assessment. It is self-paced, so you can work through it in one go or come back to it.
Do I need any qualifications?
No formal academic qualifications. It is for people working in, or preparing for, a supervisory or team-leading role in construction or a related industry, with some practical experience of site activities and terminology.
How do I get into the course after paying?
You are sent a personal invitation by email, to the address you paid with. Follow the link in it to set up your account.
I am paying for someone else. What do I do?
Enter the learner's email address at checkout, not your own. The invitation goes to the address used to pay.
What is the assessment?
A final knowledge assessment of 24 multiple-choice, scenario-based questions, with 30 minutes allowed. The pass mark is 80%, which is 20 out of 24.
Is the course IOSH approved?
Yes. Setting to Work Safely is an IOSH approved course.
Can I book places for a team?
Yes. Get in touch and we will sort it out directly.
Book a place
Pay online and a personal invitation is sent to the email address you pay with. Paying for someone else? Enter their email at checkout.
Book a place · £395Booking for a team? Get in touch