While any conscientious and diligent business knows that, under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, all employers must ensure complete provision of a safe working environment for employees, how can a construction site employer hope to successfully achieve this as, in compliance with Irish legislation on the matter, construction companies will always endeavor to ensure that valid Safe Pass cards have been provided by all workers on any building site? It is a vital component when working with electrical devices on any building site that any individual who may be engaged to complete PAT Testing procedures will not be allowed to have access to a building site without visible proof of a current Safe Pass Card to accompany their PAT Testing documentation but what is a Safe Pass Card any why is it so important?

A Safe Pass Card is a must have legal requirement for any building professional to hold and must be able to provide to an employer before successfully gaining any access to a building site. The Safe Pass Programme is a safety awareness training course which is a complete necessity for all construction site personnel. Both full time site workers and any individual that have been engaged to perform specific duties on site must have a current Safe Pass Card in order to demonstrate that they have a qualified knowledge of health and safety with a view to being able to work safely on a construction site without being a risk to either themselves or to others. The purpose of the Safe Pass programme is an unquestionable and absolute legal obligation for every employer to be able to prove that all individuals on site have a proven knowledge of health and safety policies with a view to avoidance of all health hazards and prevention of accidents on a construction site workplace. To obtain Safe Pass accreditation, an individual must successfully complete a Safe Pass Programme. Courses for these programmes entail are consistently and often held at various venues all over Ireland.

Any individual that may have gained a Safe Pass Card with a view to working on building sites will always need to ensure that the issue date on this Card has not passed its expiry date as this card is only valid for 4 years from date of issue and any personnel with an expired Safe Pass Card will not be allowed onto a construction site.