NPORS Soil Displacement Hammer Training (N015)

The impact mole. A percussive tool driven by compressed air or hydraulically that is launched from a pit and hammers through the ground, pushing the soil aside rather than removing it, leaving a bore for a pipe or duct. It is one of the original trenchless methods and it is still the cheapest way to get a service under a driveway.

No. Despite the word hammer, this category is about trenchless installation of pipes and ducts, not about forming foundations. If you need piling, the N221 Piling Rig category is the operator card for that and it is a different course entirely.

Most cannot. Once it is away it follows the line it was set on, which is why the launch pit, the sighting and the ground assessment matter so much, and why proving buried services beforehand is the only real control. Where the line has to be controlled, a directional drilling rig is the right tool instead.

Compressible soils. The technique relies on displacing material sideways, so it suits ground that will take the displacement and struggles in stony fill, made ground with obstructions or anything too hard to displace. Adequate cover above the bore is also needed, or the surface heaves.

Two days for a novice, with up to six candidates to one instructor, which is the highest ratio NPORS allow on this category. Somebody already moling normally takes the shorter test focused route, and the refresher is short as well. We confirm the length when we quote.

Yes, and it gets the most attention. Plans, locators, trial holes and safe digging practice to HSE guidance HSG47, plus what to do if the tool strikes something. If your team uses a cable avoidance tool regularly, the N304 category covers the locator itself in more depth.

Yes, and it is the usual way. Six operatives in two days at your own depot or site, on your own compressor and tooling, costs far less downtime than sending people away. We need ground we can safely mole through, which we agree with you beforehand.

The Red Trained Operator card, which NPORS issue for two years, or the Blue Competent Operator card valid five years where the operative holds the relevant NVQ. The CSCS logo version of either needs a current CITB Health, Safety and Environment test.

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.