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Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 7:56 pm
by DNgroundworks
Yes pablo i would consider myself pretty good on machines and my labourer is my brother, he wont rip me off lol
A week long for a telehandler? ive got it in writing 2 days? how could you not be a safe operator, surely depends on the individual? my brother who is 19 has been driving a telehandler and norm forklift for 5 months for 50 hours a week up at lancaster as he was considered the best out of fifty lads by the management, but he does have an uncanny knack of being able drive pretty much anything.
Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 8:04 pm
by haggistini
just passed my cpcs telehandler its a week long and 100 odd marks on the theory recorded on tape and a tough test good luck in 2 days must be a dickie test center if you ask me
Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 8:05 pm
by rab1
Dan,
There basically one in the same. Basics
How will you do the job safely?.
How will you deal with waste management?.
Supply deliveries?
Basically all you have to do is state how you will protect the public and others from your works along with describing how the works will be carried out along with the safty measures you intend to use regarding plant/hand arm vibration etc and how you as an employer intend to reduce these risks.
Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 9:22 pm
by Pablo
DNgroundworks wrote:Yes pablo i would consider myself pretty good on machines and my labourer is my brother, he wont rip me off lol
A week long for a telehandler? ive got it in writing 2 days? how could you not be a safe operator, surely depends on the individual? my brother who is 19 has been driving a telehandler and norm forklift for 5 months for 50 hours a week up at lancaster as he was considered the best out of fifty lads by the management, but he does have an uncanny knack of being able drive pretty much anything.
Fair enough if you get the tickets then it's their heads that'll roll not yours. A lot of these courses spend as much time on theory as they do in the machines and no harm to your brother but if you went to a proper centre then you'd fail it's one thing to be able to drive a machine but if you've never had any formal training then you know no more than a newbie. I find it incredible that someone would stake their reputation signing you off on all those machines with no theory and not having any knowledge of you. The H&S part is a full day so thats 3 tickets including showing you the ropes and testing in 1 day. Got to be a dodgy centre. I'm not giving off to you by the way I'm actually jealous that you can do it. It would be worth the plane fair and hotel room to come over for a week and blast a load of licences with them.
Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 9:43 pm
by lutonlagerlout
maybe its different regs for NI paul?
the rock and roll paid for my old labourer to do a 3 day telehandler ticket near bristol somewhere
hes got the ticket and he said the course was pish
i did mine on a fairviews site 20 years ago,needless to say when i jacked they never passed the ticket on,it was half day then moving empty pallets around the compound
LLL
Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 10:11 pm
by Pablo
I did all my original tickets at Ritchies in Glasgow 2001 the place was a hole and the machines were worse but they were right sticklers. I remember staying in a highrise block of flats run by the YMCA there were various refugees on each floor and used to meet on ours to beat the sh#t out of each other it was bloody scary some nights. The queue for the icecream van consisted of smackheads getting their fix with a token kid in tow I don't think it actually had anything edible for sale. Good times.
Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 4:22 pm
by henpecked
DNgroundworks wrote:Yes pablo i would consider myself pretty good on machines and my labourer is my brother, he wont rip me off lol
A week long for a telehandler? ive got it in writing 2 days? how could you not be a safe operator, surely depends on the individual? my brother who is 19 has been driving a telehandler and norm forklift for 5 months for 50 hours a week up at lancaster as he was considered the best out of fifty lads by the management, but he does have an uncanny knack of being able drive pretty much anything.
2 days for experience Op's. If your totally green ,4 days to get a feel for it. Then a red card license that lasts 3 years. In that time you have to verify 300 hours of driving.
Once you get 300, you go for the blue ticket (which is for life) you pay an assessor to observe you on the truck ,submit your papers, and the CPCS will scrutiny the docs and send you your nice blue ticket (I could pass guys for NVQ2 on my ticket)
Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 6:53 pm
by DNgroundworks
well my brother has done more than 300 hours on one job on a telehandler, alone between November and February, so he is in now way green, you may be right he may fail though! Pablo your wrong to automatically presume that we will fail lol Ive ran my own company for 4 years worked for big civils outfits and things are starting to come together, so in a way we've had to get good IYKWIM.
Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 6:54 pm
by DNgroundworks
Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 8:11 pm
by Pablo
I'm not saying you're gonna fail that course by the sounds of it you've already passed. What I'm saying is if you did the test with most outfits you me and every other fella on here would probably fail just like none of us could sit a driving test or even theory for that matter and pass without a days refreshment. Operating the machine is the easy part it's all the little things like observation /morning checks and loading theory that would be our downfall. There's a very set way of doing it and the checklist the examiner has needs to be perfect and there's no way someone who has a lot of experience but no training could learn and tick all the boxes on 3 machines in 1 day. The civils firms you've been working for mustn't give a damn either to not want to see your cards when we get subbied by them we have to jump through all sorts of hoops even if it's just a bit of planting or street furniture work. I'm jealous you're getting an easy ride. 
Edited By Pablo on 1298664740
Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 10:10 am
by henpecked
DNgroundworks wrote:well my brother has done more than 300 hours on one job on a telehandler, alone between November and February, so he is in now way green, you may be right he may fail though! Pablo your wrong to automatically presume that we will fail lol Ive ran my own company for 4 years worked for big civils outfits and things are starting to come together, so in a way we've had to get good IYKWIM.
He should have had his evidential book signed by the site agent weekly to confirm the hours worked. This is vetted by the CPCS ,so no cheating! 
Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 2:09 pm
by DNgroundworks
Lol we were actually driving the machines dare i say it "illegaly" as i know the owner of the firm personally, thats the only reason we got on the site in the first place.
I get were your coming from Pablo, but the lads who have done the test round here say there really easy, and this is no exaggeration, one fella said that all he had to do to get his 10t and above ticket was to load a dumper with mot and hey presto he had his ticket ,took literally 5 mins? And this was about 4 months ago he just came to the contractors yard and it was all done?
Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 2:25 pm
by henpecked
It is straight forward, you have to show competence in controlling the machine and carrying out operations safely. The idea is the allow a 'novice'on site to hone their skills. You should do an initial enroll for the red card (2 or 4 day depending on experience) you get a little log book to fill. Make sure you have over 300 hours accounted for (do this within 3 years of ticket issue, or you wont be able to reapply for the ticket for a year or so I think). The get reassessed for your blue card ( £400 ish) this is a day or so, and the costs are for the fees envolved in presenting the paperwork and assessment.
Oh not to rain on your parade or nowt, but jumoing on a machine without said ticket invalidates ANY public liablity insurance you may have or the site. So you run someone over, you can kiss goodbye to your business/home as you get your ass sued off :;):
Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 2:52 pm
by DNgroundworks
Ye i know that henpecked, but i was very desperate, but i appreciate what your all saying, thanks for the advice guys you lot obviously know more than me.
Cheers Dan
Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 5:50 pm
by rab1
Most of the main contractors we work for require all of the tickets you hold to be printed on your hi-viz vest and proof of each card submitted before you can even look at a piece of plant.