What a card!

Like it or not, the dominant scheme is the Construction Industry Training Board's CTA scheme (CTA stands for Certificate of Training Achievement). CTA claims to have 311,000 car-holders. It also recognises other schemes. (See box.)

CTA is also the card of choice for the Major Contractors Group, which has committed to 100% trained plant operatives on MCG sites by the end of this month — and is sure this will be achieved.

If you have a role in site management the pressure's on you to handle this issue. Here are answers to some of the commonest questions about cards and training.

What fast-track training is available if he doesn't have a card?
Assuming the operative is experienced, theoretically it's possible to have onsite assessment that day. But you need a clean, dry place to do the written part, and site conditions must allow a practical assessment. Call the CTA helpline on 01485 577 877. They will fax you a list of training providers in your area. Then all you have to do is work the phone to find one to help.

If the worker passes he gets a provisional CTA certificate for 60 days. He cannot get a card until he's done a health and safety test, which he should do within those 60 days. Same day health and safety tests are impossible. You have to send away for a booklet and make an appointment for the touch-screen test.

Next day training is a bit more realistic. But training providers are unlikely to bust a gut for one operative.

Can you trust Bill’s Training Emporium to have prepared the 22-year-old rubbing his hands as he mounts the 360 deg excavator?

Note as well that the above also holds true for the Powered Access Licence, or PAL card, which is issued by the International Powered Access Federation. Call the IPAF hotline on 0845 130 7775.

If he doesn't have a card and causes an accident, will the HSE prosecute?

Maybe. A card isn't a legal requirement, but you have to make a reasonable effort to assess an operator's competence, and asking to see one is an obvious starting point.

Look at it this way: When someone dies you'll have to argue your corner. You'll have to justify why you didn't do what you didn't do. What will you say when it comes to light that the operator couldn't produce a card? It'll go better if you made a reasonable effort to assess the person's competence by, say, asking your foreman to take 20 minutes to see how familiar the operator is with the controls.

How far should I trust in-house cards?
Many training centres are CTA accredited but also run their own schemes and issue their own cards. Some do it because they feel their own scheme is more rigorous, some simply because of popular demand.

If an operator flashes one of these and you've never seen it before, you don't have to take it at face value. Ask what the course entailed. Call the training provider, first to see if it exists, secondly to check if the operator actually did the course. In the process of doing this you can sniff out how legitimate the provider is. Be more suspicious of cards without registration numbers or expiry dates.