Who’s Who on a NYC Job Site: SSM, SSC, CSM, Competent Person, Superintendent

Site safety manager, site safety coordinator, concrete safety manager, competent person, superintendent. Five titles, five different jobs, and people on NYC job sites swap them around like they mean the same thing.

They don’t. And one card sits under every one of them: the SST Supervisor card is the floor for all five roles. Here’s how to tell them apart and where to check.

Why everyone on site mixes these titles up

Somebody yells for “the safety guy” and four people turn around. Then the acronyms show up: SSM, SSC, CSM. By lunch nobody remembers which letter is which.

That’s more than a naming problem. If you can’t tell which role a person holds, you can’t tell what they answer for on that job, and you’re the one standing there when someone asks.

Where these roles come from

The site safety roles are covered in two places: Chapter 33 of the NYC Building Code, sections 3310.5 through 3310.8, and the NYC DOB licensing rules in 1 RCNY 104. NYC DOB’s licensing pages are where you check a license.

This post does not tell you which roles your project needs or where the thresholds sit. The code decides that, and it depends on the job. Read the section, then check the person.

Source: NYC DOB, NYC Building Code Chapter 33 and 1 RCNY 104.

The five titles, and one question for each

The titles tell you a lot on their own. What they don’t tell you is who holds them on your site. So ask.

• Site safety manager (SSM). The manager for safety on the site. Ask who it is and whether that person holds an NYC DOB license, then look the license up.
• Site safety coordinator (SSC). A coordinator, not a manager. The two titles are not interchangeable, so ask which one your project actually has.
• Concrete safety manager (CSM). The concrete one. Ask whether concrete work is part of your job and who is named for it.
• Competent person. A role you are named to for a task, not a rank on the org chart. Ask who was named for the work in front of you.
• Superintendent. The person running the build. Ask who it is and what card they carry.

Rumors are not the code

Every site has somebody who knows exactly which projects need which role. They’re very sure. They’re working from something they heard once, from someone who also heard it once.

Don’t repeat it. If someone quotes you a rule, ask for the section number. If they can’t give one, you have a rumor, not a rule.

One card sits under all five

Here’s the part that doesn’t move. The SST Supervisor card is the floor for every one of these roles. Not the ceiling. The floor.

Whatever title you want next to your name, you start with the 62 hours. People ask which role to go after first. Wrong order. Get the card, then worry about the title.

If one of these roles is where you’re headed, the order is simple. Get the card first. Then find out what the code and the NYC DOB licensing rules ask for the specific role you want. The second step changes with the role. The first one doesn’t.

An SST card expires 5 years from the date it was issued. Put that date in your phone.

Nobody on site is going to remind you. They’re busy forgetting their own dates.

How to sort out who is who on your site

• Ask for the exact title, not “I’m with safety.”
• Ask what that person answers for on this job.
• Check licenses on NYC DOB’s licensing pages when a role calls for one.
• Check the date on your own card, and keep your training records in order.

If the answers don’t line up, take it to your employer. Don’t turn it into lunch gossip.

Next step

The Supervisor card is the floor for every one of these roles, so start the 62 hours. The 32-hour SST Supervisor course is where you begin, and all SST courses lists the rest.

Predictive Safety is an NYC DOB-registered SST course provider (NYC DOB Course Provider #CP059). Courses are online, self-paced, in English and Spanish. Once your requirements are clear, your card is processed immediately, typically in hand within 48 hours.

Predictive Safety