NPORS Remote Control Tower Crane Training (N115)

A tower crane worked from the ground on a radio remote control rather than from a cab, often called pedestrian operated or ped op. Most are self erecting machines that fold out on their own chassis, which makes them common on housing sites and smaller city centre jobs.

No. N115 and N102 are separate NPORS categories with separate tests. The N102 is the full cab operated tower crane and is a ten day novice course; the N115 is three days for a novice. The card you hold has to match the machine you are operating.

Three days for a novice, with three candidates, one instructor and one machine. If you already operate these cranes, the experienced worker route is shorter and test focused, with four candidates allowed. The refresher is shorter again and we confirm the length when we quote.

It is different rather than simply safer. You can move to keep the load in view, which helps, but you are now standing in the working area with the load, the slew path and everything else on site. A large part of the three days is about position, line of sight and not walking into something while watching the hook.

It covers the erection and stability arrangements as knowledge, because an operator has to understand the base, the ballast and the levelling of the machine they are working. Where a separate crew erects the crane, that remains a planned operation in its own right under BS 7121.

On these cranes it is common, and it is one of the reasons we suggest the N402 Slinger Signaller alongside. Doing both means the accessory selection and the sling angle have to be right as well as the driving, and the remote control has to be put down properly while the load is attached.

The NPORS N115 category. Without an NVQ that is a Red Trained Operator card; with the relevant plant operations 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.

Yes, and it is the better option. Your operators train on the machine already on site, with your site layout and your loads, and nothing has to be moved. There are no scheduled dates: we run it when the crane and the people 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.