NPORS Piling Rig Attendant Training (N022)

Checks the area and the ancillary equipment, agrees signals and safety zones with the operator, guides the rig onto each pile position within tolerance, keeps the pile plumb through installation, keeps other people out of the working area, records the completed piles, and guides the rig when it travels, parks and shuts down.

No. The attendant works on the ground with the rig. The person in the cab needs the operator category, which is the N221 Piling Rig. Most sites want both trained, and they work as a pair.

Five days for a novice, with three candidates to one instructor and one machine. Someone already attending rigs can sit the shorter experienced worker route, which also allows three candidates. We confirm the length when we quote.

Yes. The NPORS practical test for this category is worked against a stated positional tolerance and a set amount of piling activity, so the attendant has to place the rig accurately rather than approximately. We run the practical to the current NPORS test specification.

Yes, and it is one of the reasons the category exists. Recording completed piles and their specifications is part of the attendant's job and part of the assessment.

The NPORS N022 category on an NPORS card. Without an NVQ that is a Red Trained Operator card; with the relevant NVQ it is a Blue Competent Operator card. Either carries the CSCS logo only while you hold a CITB Health, Safety and Environment test pass taken within the last two years.

Only if trained for it. Slinging loads is a separate skill with its own NPORS category, the N402 Slinger Signaller, and where the rig is used to lift, the lifting rules apply in their own right. Tell us what your attendants actually do and we will tell you what they need.

Yes, and it is the better option. Training on your rig, your platform and your piling sequence means the signals and the safety zones agreed on the course are the ones used the next morning. There are no scheduled dates: we run it when your people and your rig can be released.

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.