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Streetworks

New Roads & Street Works Act 1991, NRSWA Streetworks Training. NRSWA Street Works Qualifications/ NRSWA Streetworks Training Courses.

How to Qualify, Register & Re-register for a streetworks ticket: (NRSWA streetworks Training)

Below details the qualifications that are required by law to carry out, or supervise, streetworks (NRSWA). It explains how to gain the streetworks qualifications, how they should be registered and re-registered.

What are the legal requirements for New Road & Streetworks Act?

The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA) requires undertakers to ensure that work to install, renew, maintain and inspect underground apparatus in the street is controlled by competent people. To meet these requirements, undertakers have to make sure that an operative, with the appropriate qualification(s), is on site when works are in progress. In addition, a suitably qualified supervisor must supervise street works in most cases. The supervisor does not need to be on site at all times, and can supervise more than one set of works. However, a supervisor qualification does not qualify the holder to work as a qualified operative or vice versa. A person may only act as a trained operative or supervisor for the type of work for which they hold the relevant qualification. Therefore, it may be necessary for a number of people with different qualifications to be involved with the work during its various stages. There is no limit to the number of qualifications held by one person.

What is an undertaker?

An undertaker is an organisation or person carrying out street works under: a) a statutory right (e.g. organisations such as gas, water, electricity and communications companies); or b) a streetworks licence granted by the street authority (e.g. people laying sewers, drains, water supply connections and other apparatus for their own private purposes.) This street works licence is commonly called a section 50 licence. Undertakers can arrange for their contractors or agents to provide the qualified operatives and supervisor, but the undertakers are ultimately responsible for making sure that their works comply with NRSWA.

What are prescribed qualifications?

The prescribed qualifications for various types and combinations of work are set out in the Street Works (Qualifications of Supervisors and Operatives) (England) Regulations. To be qualified a person has to: a) have achieved a certificate of competence as issued by an Awarding Body; and b) register that certificate with the approved register, the Street Works Qualifications Register (SWQR). The Regulations outline the qualifications for both supervisors and operatives by referring to the various units of competence in which they will be assessed. A registered qualification allows a person to only carry out the type of work covered by that qualification. The qualifications for the various types of work are given below and are made up of one or more units of competence

Units of competence for streetworks Operatives:

1. Location and avoidance of underground apparatus
2. Signing, lighting and guarding
3. Excavation in the highway
4. Reinstatement and compaction of backfill materials
5. Reinstatement of sub base and base in non bituminous materials
6. Reinstatement in cold lay bituminous materials
7. Reinstatement in hot lay bituminous materials
8. Reinstatement of concrete slabs
9. Reinstatement of modular surfaces and concrete footways

Streetworks Qualifications for Operatives

Currently, there are five separate street works qualifications that may be registered by trained operatives: From April 2011 onwards, a sixth qualification for signing, lighting and guarding must be registered with the SWQR.

Units of competence for NRSWA Streetworks Supervisors ticket:

1. Location and avoidance of underground apparatus
10. Monitoring signing, lighting and guarding
11. Monitoring excavation in the highway
12. Monitoring reinstatement and compaction of backfill materials
13. Monitoring reinstatement of sub base and base in non bituminous materials
14. Monitoring reinstatement in bituminous materials
15. Monitoring reinstatement of concrete slabs
16. Monitoring reinstatement of modular surfaces and concrete footways

NRSWA Street Works Qualifications for Supervisors

Currently, there are five separate qualifications that may be registered by streetworks supervisors:

Qualifications, (type of work) Units of competence required for NRSWA street works:

· Excavation in the highway Units 1, 2 and 3
· Excavation, backfilling and reinstatement of construction layers with a cold-lay bituminous surface Units 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
· Reinstatement of construction layers in hot-lay and cold lay bituminous materials Units 1, 2, 6 and 7
· Reinstatement of concrete slabs Units 1, 2 and 8
· Reinstatement of modular surfaces and concrete footways Units 1, 2 and 9

From April 2011 onwards, a sixth qualification for the monitoring of signing, lighting and guarding must be registered with the SWQR.

How is the streetworks training assessment carried out?

Assessment of the units can be done at one of the approved assessment centres nationwide. The assessment process, as agreed by HAUC(UK), is in the form of a purpose designed practical and knowledge test. The test covers questions relating to the materials, equipment and methods given in the current version of the Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings in Highways Code of Practice (the SROH or the "Yellow Book") and the traffic management procedures set out in the latest edition Qualifications (type of supervisory work) Units of competence required:

· Monitoring excavation in the highway Units 1, 10 and 11
· Monitoring excavation, backfilling and reinstatement of construction layers with bituminous materials Units 1, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14
· Monitoring reinstatement of construction layers in bituminous materials Units 1, 10 and 14
· Monitoring reinstatement of concrete slabs Units 1, 10 and 15
· Monitoring reinstatement of modular surfaces and concrete footways Units 1, 10 and 16 of the Safety at Street Works and Road Works Approved Code of Practice

Further information on the location of streetworks assessment centres and procedures for approval can be obtained from the NRSWA Awarding Bodies. While training may be carried out with the assistance of an interpreter, assessment must be carried out in English without assistance.

What are the re-registration and reassessment requirements for a Streetworks Ticket?

From 6th April 2010 an operative or supervisor can re-register for another five years as long as the application to re-register is received by the SWQR within a window of 6 months before and 6 months after expiry of the earlier registration. From 6th April 2011 onwards, operatives and supervisors will be required to have successfully completed reassessment for the units of competence that they already hold before they can re-register. The reassessment certificate will also be registered. The window for re-registration is 6 months before and 6 months after expiry of the earlier registration.

The reassessment process has been introduced to make sure that operatives and supervisors maintain their level of skill and understanding since they registered or re-registered. This reassessment, as agreed by HAUC(UK), will be in the form of a knowledge based, multiple choice test and will only be used when an operative or supervisor wishes to re-register.

What are the cost implications of a NRSWA Streetworks course?

The assessment centres will charge for initial approval of each streetworks unit of competence. A fee will also be charged by the Street Works Qualifications Registrar for individual entries in the SWQR. Assessment centres will establish their own scale of charges for candidates undertaking reassessment. Details of fees and charges are obtainable, on request, from the relevant organisations.