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NPORS MEWP Boom Training (N108)
A boom lift puts an operator out over an obstruction on an arm that can swing, whip and, in the wrong place, trap them against a structure. The NPORS N108 is the operator ticket for it. IPAF is the better known scheme for powered access, so we will tell you plainly which of the two your client is likely to ask for before you book anything.
Why candidates choose Acadame
What makes our N108 MEWP Boom different
About this course
The NPORS N108 MEWP Boom category covers boom type mobile elevating work platforms: self propelled articulating and telescopic booms, and vehicle or trailer mounted booms where the platform is carried on an arm rather than rising vertically. They are used where the work is out over an obstruction, above a roof edge, against a facade or in a steelwork frame, and they reach heights and outreaches that no vertical machine can.
The reason boom lifts are treated separately from scissor lifts is the way people are hurt in them. The recognised industry guidance, published by IPAF and supported by HSE, recommends that occupants of boom type platforms wear a full body harness with a lanyard short enough to keep them restrained within the platform. That is work restraint rather than fall arrest: the point is that the operator cannot be thrown out if the boom is struck or the machine moves suddenly. In vertical platforms such as scissor lifts, fall protection is not normally needed other than in exceptional circumstances.
The other hazard is entrapment. An operator working close to a structure who catches a control on a beam, or who drives the platform into a soffit while looking upward, can be crushed against it with the machine still driving. That risk is why the course spends real time on approach, positioning, looking where the platform is going, and knowing where the ground level emergency lowering controls are and who is trained to use them. Add ground assessment, outriggers and levelling, wind limits, exclusion below the machine, and the requirement for familiarisation on the specific model before an operator uses one they have not been on before.
- The legal frame: the Work at Height Regulations 2005, PUWER 1998 and LOLER 1998, and the code of practice for the safe use of MEWPs
- Boom type machines: articulating, telescopic, self propelled and vehicle mounted, with their controls and safety devices
- Why a MEWP is thoroughly examined at least every six months rather than twelve, and what the report should show
- Harness use in a boom platform: work restraint, lanyard length, anchor points and inspection of the equipment
- Entrapment: how it happens, how to position and approach, and the ground level emergency controls
- Siting the machine: ground assessment, slopes, covers and voids, outriggers, levelling and exclusion zones
- Wind, weather, load limits including tools and materials, and the manufacturer's limits on the platform
- Rescue planning, emergency lowering and who on site is trained to carry it out
- Pre use checks, defect reporting and familiarisation on a machine the operator has not used before
How completing this course helps you
- The NPORS N108 MEWP Boom category on the operator's NPORS record
- An NPORS card carrying the CSCS logo while a CITB Health, Safety and Environment test pass is in date, or a traditional NPORS card outside construction
- Operators who wear the harness for the right reason and can explain what it is doing
- A site with a rescue arrangement for a boom lift that someone has actually practised
Who should attend?
Construction, maintenance, cladding and facade work, steel erection, mechanical and electrical installation, signage, tree and grounds work, telecoms and utilities, warehousing and manufacturing maintenance. It suits operators new to powered access, tradespeople who use a hired boom lift occasionally, and cardholders coming up for renewal. It covers boom type machines only: vertical platforms such as scissor lifts are the N109 MEWP Scissor category, and many operators sensibly hold both. Where the person supervises MEWP operations rather than operating, the N035 MEWP Supervisor Awareness course is the better fit.
Entry requirements. You should be at least eighteen for most site work, fit enough to work at height for a full shift and to climb into and out of a raised platform, 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. Tell us about any condition affected by working at height, because the practical is carried out on a raised platform. No prior card is needed for the novice route. For the version of the card that carries the CSCS logo you need a CITB Health, Safety and Environment test pass taken within the last two years, which we can book. Tell us at enquiry what machines your operators will use and whether the site or client has specified a particular card scheme.
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, machine knowledge, harness use and rescue, then practical siting and operation of the boom, finishing with the NPORS theory and practical test.
The law, the machine and working at height
- The Work at Height Regulations 2005, PUWER 1998 and LOLER 1998 as they apply to a MEWP
- Thorough examination at least every six months because the machine lifts persons
- Boom machine types, categories, controls, safety devices and stability systems
- Harness and lanyard use in boom type platforms as work restraint, and why vertical platforms differ
- Entrapment: the mechanism, the approach, positioning and the ground level emergency controls
- Ground assessment, outriggers, levelling, slopes, covers, voids and proximity to excavations
- Wind limits, weather, platform load limits and carrying materials
- Rescue planning, emergency lowering and who is trained to operate the ground controls
- Familiarisation on a specific model, and why a card does not replace it
Operating the machine
- Pre use inspection of the machine, the platform and the harness equipment
- Checking the thorough examination record and the machine handbook before use
- Siting and setting up, including outriggers and levelling where fitted
- Fitting the harness and adjusting the lanyard correctly before elevating
- Elevating, slewing and positioning the platform accurately and without sudden inputs
- Working close to a structure with entrapment risk in mind
- Travelling with the platform raised where the machine allows it
- Emergency lowering from the ground controls, and lowering from the platform
- Shutting down, securing the machine and reporting defects
Method of assessment
How the N108 MEWP boom 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, what machines they will use and whether your client has specified a card scheme. NPORS allow four candidates with one instructor and one machine on the training routes and six on the experienced worker test. We quote per group.
2. Pre course check
We confirm the route each operator needs, check any existing cards, check whether the CITB Health, Safety and Environment test is in date for the CSCS logo version, look at the machine and its thorough examination record, and take the details NPORS need.
3. Training
Classroom on the law, machine knowledge, harness use and rescue, then practical siting and operation on the machine your operators will actually use.
4. Theory test
The NPORS theory test covering legislation, machine knowledge, siting, harness use, entrapment, wind and rescue.
5. Practical test
You carry out pre use checks, site and set up the machine, operate the boom accurately, demonstrate emergency lowering and shut down, assessed against the NPORS test specification.
6. Registration and card
We register the pass with NPORS and the N108 category goes on the card. With a valid CITB Health, Safety and Environment test the card carries the CSCS logo.
After the course
Where NPORS sits alongside IPAF, honestly
IPAF, the International Powered Access Federation, runs the PAL card and it is the best known powered access qualification in the UK and internationally. Plenty of hire companies, and some principal contractors, name it in their own rules, and if your client's requirement says IPAF then IPAF is what you need. NPORS is a recognised alternative that trains and tests to a comparable operator standard, and it has one thing the PAL card does not: where the operator holds a valid CITB Health, Safety and Environment test, the NPORS card carries the CSCS logo, which matters at a site gate that checks for it. We will not tell you NPORS is accepted everywhere IPAF is, because that is not true, and we would rather you asked your client before booking than found out on the first morning.
Whichever card an operator holds, it does not replace familiarisation on the machine in front of them. Controls, outrigger arrangements and emergency systems differ between models, and the operator needs to be shown the specific machine before using it. The other thing to have in place is a rescue arrangement: somebody at ground level who knows where the emergency lowering controls are and has used them. On the equipment side, a MEWP lifts people, so it is thoroughly examined at least every six months under LOLER rather than every twelve.
- Machine specific familiarisation for each model your operators use
- A written rescue arrangement, with someone trained on the ground controls
- N109 MEWP Scissor where the same operators also use vertical platforms
- CITB Health, Safety and Environment test booked with us for the CSCS logo version of the card
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.
N108 MEWP Boom FAQs
Often, but not always. IPAF is the better known powered access scheme and some hire companies and principal contractors specify the PAL card by name, in which case that is what you need. NPORS trains and tests operators to a comparable standard and, with a valid CITB Health, Safety and Environment test, its card carries the CSCS logo, which the PAL card does not. Check your client's requirement before booking and we will tell you honestly which route fits.
Industry guidance published by IPAF and supported by HSE recommends that occupants of boom type platforms wear a full body harness with a lanyard short enough to restrain them within the platform. That is restraint rather than fall arrest, and the purpose is to stop an operator being thrown out if the boom is struck or moves suddenly. In vertical platforms such as scissor lifts, fall protection is not normally needed other than in exceptional circumstances.
Entrapment rather than falling. An operator working close to a structure can catch a control or drive the platform into an obstruction and be crushed against it with the machine still running. That is why positioning, approach and the ground level emergency lowering controls take up so much of the course.
The category covers boom type MEWPs, but no card removes the need for familiarisation on the specific machine. Controls, outriggers and emergency systems vary by model, and the operator should be shown the machine in front of them before using it. We cover that expectation on the course.
One day for a novice on the NPORS test sheet, with four candidates on one machine. An operator already doing the work can sit the shorter experienced worker test, which allows six. Adding the scissor lift category normally adds time rather than fitting into the same day, and we will say so rather than promising both in a morning.
At least every six months, because it is lifting equipment used for lifting persons. That is a shorter interval than the twelve months that applies to lifting equipment which does not lift people, and it is a common gap in hire and in owned fleets. We check the report before we train on a machine.
Someone on site who knows where the ground level emergency lowering controls are and has used them. A rescue arrangement that relies on calling the fire service is not a plan, and an operator suspended in a harness needs to be recovered quickly. We practise ground rescue on the course rather than describing it.
Yes, and it is the better option because familiarisation happens at the same time. We need a machine with a current thorough examination, space to operate it and suitable harness equipment in date. There are no scheduled dates: we run it when your operators and the machine 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.
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