& 
NPORS Sideloader Lift Truck Training (N006)
A sideloader carries a six metre length of steel or timber along its own deck, inside the wheelbase, then reaches out sideways to put it in a rack. The NPORS N006 is the ticket for it. The machine is stable travelling and at its most vulnerable with the mast out, and that is where the training concentrates.
Why candidates choose Acadame
What makes our N006 Sideloader Lift Truck different
About this course
The NPORS N006 Sideloader Lift Truck category covers the truck built for long loads: the mast and forks work out of one side of the machine, the load is drawn back onto a deck between the wheels, and the truck then travels along the aisle with the length running fore and aft. Timber yards, steel stockholders, tube and profile merchants, board and sheet distributors, precast and plastics. Indoors on smooth floors and outdoors on hard standing, with rough terrain versions for yards that are neither.
A sideloader is a rider operated lift truck, so operator training sits under the Approved Code of Practice L117, Rider operated lift trucks: operator training and safe use. L117 sets out three elements: basic training, specific job training on the actual truck and the place it works, and familiarisation on the job under supervision, after which the employer authorises the operator. This course is the basic training element plus as much specific job training as your yard allows, and we tell you plainly what is left with the employer, because that part is almost never written down.
What makes the machine different is where the stability sits. With the load retracted on the deck the truck is stable and can travel a long way with a heavy length. With the mast extended over the rack side and the load raised, the same truck is working at the limit of its stability triangle and the ground under the outrigger or the stabiliser wheel matters. Add the things that catch operators out with long loads: deflection in a single length, loads that are heavier at one end, banding that fails, stacking in cantilever racking, and the fact that a six metre length swings through an arc a lot bigger than the truck. HSE also note that side loading trucks have had to be fitted with an operator restraining system on one side since 2002, and where one is fitted it should be used.
- The legal frame: the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, PUWER 1998 and the L117 Approved Code of Practice, and what authorisation by the employer means
- Sideloader types, the deck, the mast carriage, stabilisers and the controls
- Stability retracted and extended, the load centre, the data plate and capacity at height
- Long load handling: deflection, uneven weight distribution, banding, slinging points and swing
- Loading and unloading vehicles with long loads, including working from one side only
- Cantilever racking: stacking, destacking, arm capacity and damage reporting
- Ground conditions, gradients, weather and working outside on hard standing
- Pre use checks, defect reporting and thorough examination records
How completing this course helps you
- The NPORS N006 Sideloader Lift Truck category on the operator's NPORS record
- A traditional NPORS card for yard and stockholding work, or a Red Trained Operator or Blue Competent Operator card carrying the CSCS logo where the operator also works on construction sites
- Operators who understand why the truck feels safe travelling and is not safe reaching
- A clear handover to the employer on the specific job training, familiarisation and written authorisation that L117 still expects
Who should attend?
Timber and builders merchants, steel stockholders, tube and profile suppliers, board, sheet and glass distribution, precast concrete, plastics and extrusion, and manufacturers who store long product. It suits new operators, counterbalance drivers moving onto long loads, and cardholders coming up for renewal. A counterbalance ticket does not cover a sideloader. If the machine can travel in more than one direction and turn a load through ninety degrees in an aisle, that is the N135 Multi Directional Lift Truck instead, and we will confirm which category matches your machine.
Entry requirements. You should be above minimum school leaving age, which is what HSE set for lift truck operators outside ports, and most employers set eighteen. You need to be fit enough to work a shift in the cab and to climb on and off in a yard, with eyesight and hearing adequate for the work, and able to follow spoken and written English well enough for the theory test, with reading support available on request. No prior card is needed for the novice route. Where the CSCS logo version of the card is needed, a CITB Health, Safety and Environment test pass taken within the last two years is required, which we can book. Tell us at enquiry what machine you run, what lengths and weights you handle and whether the work is inside, outside or both.
Ready to take the next step?
Choose a delivery option, compare dates and book with confidence, or ask MB and get an answer straight away.
Course content
What you will cover
Classroom on the law, stability and long load handling, then practical operation on the machine in your own racking, finishing with the NPORS theory and practical test.
The law, the machine and long loads
- The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and PUWER 1998 duties on employer and operator
- The L117 Approved Code of Practice: basic training, specific job training, familiarisation and authorisation
- Sideloader types, major components, the deck, stabilisers, controls and safety devices
- Operator restraint on side loading trucks, required on one side since 2002, and why it should be used where fitted
- Stability with the mast retracted and extended, the load centre and reading the data plate
- Long load behaviour: deflection, swing, uneven weight and load security
- Cantilever racking, arm capacity, stacking heights and damage reporting
- Pre use checks, defect reporting, thorough examination and inspection records
Operating the truck
- Pre use inspection and reporting on the actual machine
- Manoeuvring in an aisle and in a yard, laden and unladen
- Picking up a long load, retracting it onto the deck and travelling with it
- Stacking and destacking in cantilever racking at low, medium and high level
- Loading and unloading a vehicle from one side
- Working on a gradient and on outdoor hard standing
- Handling an uneven or a deflecting length under control
- Parking, shutting down and end of shift checks
Method of assessment
How the N006 sideloader lift truck test works
NPORS assess the category with a theory test and a practical test on the machine. Both run with us, because Acadame is an NPORS test centre as well as a training provider, and the pass goes onto the operator's record without a second booking.
1. Enquiry and group
Tell us how many operators you have and what each one has already done. NPORS allow three candidates with one instructor and one truck on the training routes and four on the experienced worker test. We quote per group, because the length follows the numbers.
2. Pre course check
We confirm the route each operator needs, check any existing cards, look at the machine and its thorough examination record, agree the loads and the racking we can use, and take the details NPORS need.
3. Training
Classroom on the law, stability and long load handling, then practical operation in your own racking with the lengths you actually store.
4. Theory test
The NPORS theory test covering legislation, machine knowledge, stability, long loads, racking and yard safety.
5. Practical test
You carry out pre use checks, handle long loads, stack and destack and shut down, assessed against the NPORS test specification for the category.
6. Registration and card
We register the pass with NPORS and the N006 category goes on the card, as a traditional NPORS card for yard work or a CSCS logo card where the operator also works on construction sites.
After the course
The card is the start of the employer's job, not the end of it
L117 treats basic training as one of three parts. Once the operator holds the N006, the employer still owes them specific job training on the actual machine and the actual yard, familiarisation under supervision, and a written authorisation to operate. With a sideloader the specific job element genuinely matters, because the lengths, the racking and the ground vary enormously between one stockholder and the next. We leave you a plain summary of what is outstanding.
There is no legal interval for refresher training. HSE say there is no specific requirement to retrain after set intervals, but that operators need reassessing from time to time, and three to five years is the usual practice. Reassess sooner after an incident or near miss, a racking strike, a change of machine or a change of the product being handled. Cantilever racking damage deserves the same attention as pallet racking damage and is reported far less often.
- A written record of what specific job training and familiarisation still sits with the employer
- N036 FLT Supervisor Awareness for the person who authorises and monitors operators
- N001 Industrial Counterbalanced Lift Truck where the same operators also run a counterbalance truck
- CITB Health, Safety and Environment test booked with us where the CSCS logo version of the card is needed
Build your course
Who is coming, and how many
We do not run these to a timetable. The course is built around your people: how experienced they are and how many of them there are, which is what sets the length and the cost. Pick the mix and we will come back with a date and a price.
The course builder needs JavaScript. Without it, tell us how many people and what experience they have and we will price it up.
N006 Sideloader Lift Truck FAQs
No. They are separate NPORS categories because the machines handle completely differently: the sideloader carries the load on a deck inside its wheelbase and works out of one side, and its stability behaves in a way a counterbalance operator will not expect. Existing truck experience usually shortens the route rather than removing the need for it.
Five days for a novice on the NPORS test sheet, one day for a refresher, and one to two days for an experienced worker test. NPORS also publish a three day basic timetable for operators with some experience but not enough to go straight to test. We ask what each operator has actually done before we quote.
Yes, and with this category it is the sensible option. The lengths, the racking and the ground are the job, and training on a demonstration machine in a hall teaches an operator very little about your stock. We need a machine with a current thorough examination and space to work.
Where a restraining system is fitted it should be used. HSE note that since 2002 side loading trucks have had to be fitted with an operator restraining system on one side, along with counterbalance and rough terrain trucks. In an overturn the restraint is what keeps the operator in the cab.
A sideloader works out of one side and travels with the load along its deck. A multi directional truck can change its wheels through ninety degrees so it can travel sideways as well as forwards, which lets it turn a long load in an aisle. They are different NPORS categories, N006 and N135, and we will confirm which one matches your machine before you book.
Only where the operator works on construction sites, which needs a CITB Health, Safety and Environment test pass taken within the last two years. For timber yards, steel stockholding and manufacturing the traditional NPORS card covers the same category to the same standard.
There is no legal interval. HSE say operators need reassessing from time to time rather than at a set period, and three to five years is common practice. Reassess sooner after an incident, a racking strike, a change of machine or a change in the product being handled.
Yes. Tell us whether the machine works inside, outside or both and what the ground is like. Working on hard standing, on a gradient and in weather is part of the practical where that is what the operator actually does.
NPORS courses are priced per course, not per person. What you are paying for is the instructor, the registered tester and the machine time, so the figure turns on four things: the category, which route your operators need (novice, experienced, conversion or refresher), how many people are coming, and whether we run it on your site or at one of ours. It is also why a squad works out considerably cheaper per head than sending operators out one at a time. Use the course builder on this page: tell it who is coming and it works out how many days the course takes and how many times it has to run, which is what the price is built from. Then ask us and you will get a figure for that exact group rather than a list price with conditions attached.
We run NPORS courses across the UK rather than out of one fixed centre, and for most categories the better answer is that we come to you: your operators are assessed on the machine they will be using anyway, nobody loses a day travelling, and for a group it costs less. If you would rather come to us, we have centres at Trent House in Stoke, Pride Park in Derby, Europa House in Manchester and Kingsway House in Liverpool. Tell us where the work is and we will say honestly which way round makes more sense.
There is no fixed timetable to wait for. NPORS courses here are run to order, which means the dates are built around your programme rather than ours, and a single operator or a full squad can normally be booked in within a couple of weeks. If you have a card about to expire or a start date to hit, say so when you enquire and we will work to it.
From the blog
Course guides and news
The latest plain-English guides to choosing the right course, card or qualification.
Training for a team?
One contact for all your workforce training
Book this course for a group at your site or ours, roll it into a managed training plan and let us handle the scheduling, certificates and renewals.