Article Business Practice Data Management

CSCS Cards – Explained!

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There are four types of red cards which are new or recent entrants to the construction industry  for  experienced workers whose occupation has been closed for industry Accreditation and are working towards a NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) or SVQ (Scottish Vocational Qualification).

RED CARD- TRAINEE (craft and operative)
You will qualify for this card if you are a trainee, and registered for an NVQ or SVQ (or Construction Award) but have not yet achieved level 2 or 3 and have met current CSCS Health and Safety requirements.

Trainees must have passed the health and safety test and the card is valid for three years. The card can be renewed for a further three years on application.

RED CARD-GRADUATE (Technical, Supervisory and Management)
You will qualify for this card if your have completed a nationally recognised construction related qualification with a further/higher education college or university. You will be required to complete the Managerial and Professional (known as MAP) Health and Safety Test.

The Graduate card is valid for three years and can be renewed for three years on application.

RED CARD- EXPERIENCED TECHNICAN, SUPERVISOR OR MANAGER (Technical, Supervisory and Management)
This card is available to Supervisors and Managers with on the job experience (normally at least one year within the last three), but missed the industry accreditation opportunity and do not hold and NVQ or SVQ level 3,4 or 5 or a Member of an approved Professional Body. To qualify for this card you need to-

  • Check to see if your role is covered by CSCS
  • Pass the health and safety test
  • Register for an NVQ or SVQ
  • Complete and NVQ or SVQ profiling session

The card is valid for three years and is non renewable. The card is only issued on a temporary basis, while an NVQ/SVQ is being achieved. It is expected to be replaced by a skilled five year card on achievement of NQV/SVQ level 3 or higher.

RED CARD-EXPERIENCED WORKER
This card is available to everyone with on the job experience (normally at least one year within the last three), but missed the industry accreditation opportunity.
To qualify for this card you need to-

  • Check to see if your trade is covered by CSCS
  • Pass the health and safety test

This card is valid for one year and is non renewable.
This card is issued on a temporary basis, while an NVQ/SVQ is being achieved. It is expected to be replaced by a skilled five year card on achievement of NVQ/SVQ level 2 or higher.

An Experienced Worker Card can not be replaced by a Construction Site Operative (CRO) or a basic skills green card.

WHITE/YELLOW- PROFESSIONALLY QUALIFIED PERSON (PQP) CARD
The white/yellow PQP card is for competent assessed members of CSCS approved professional bodies such as (ICE, CIOB, RICS). The scope of the PQP card has recently been redefined after a lengthy consultation with the professional bodies and no longer has a time spent on site restriction placed on it. To apply for the PQP card you must-

  • Be a competent assessed Member of an approved institution
  • Pass the Managerial and Professional (MAP) Construction Skills health and safety test

These cards are valid for five years and can be renewed on re-verification of the PQP criteria.

WHITE/GREY- CONSTRUCTION RELATED OCCUPATION (CRO) CARD
This card covers construction related occupations not covered by the other categories of card and shows the holder’s occupation.

A CRO card is valid for five years and to renew it applicants must retake and pass the Construction Skills health and safety test.

Article Business Practice Data Management

Drilling competence – what’s the current proof?

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BDA Driller Accreditation is dead and buried. Its passing away went largely unannounced but it no longer exists. The British Drilling Association (BDA) has rolled out a new model, more fit for present and ongoing times. It’s called BDA AUDIT and features many improvements over its predecessor, being more embracing, inclusive and rigorous. With CDM 2007 making greater demands on the assessment of competence prior to workforce engagement, new BS EN geotechnical standards for auditing of drilling personnel and CSCS requirements, BDA Audited drilling operatives will supply the necessary third party proof of competence.

There’s been a sea change since the BDA Driller Accreditation Scheme came into being during 1991, some 16 years ago. The Scheme was originally introduced because of concerns about drilling quality, expressed principally by the Department of Transport and the Property Services Agency. The BDA was essentially charged, by those major clients of ground investigation, to produce a driller competence assessment system and ongoing auditing of competence. BDA Driller Accreditation was the result, becoming widely accepted by the geotechnical community and specified in contract documentation.

The same quality concerns exist today. Even more so because of the dependence on obtaining representative samples for more sophisticated laboratory testing, less experienced site supervision because of the skills shortage amongst clients and engineers to meet the volume of work, and commercial pressure. Rubbish in, rubbish out will always apply!

While BDA Driller Accreditation halted any further declines in quality, it had limitations in how far it could go to improve standards. This was partly a funding matter. Contractors were solely being asked to pay fees for their drillers to become accredited in the expectation that their drilling workforce would be employed. The reality was that non BDA Accredited drillers continued to be employed by industry clients. A company will only pay additional to an external body if it believes that a further benefit can be gained.

However the main reasons for moving on from BDA Driller Accreditation were to do with what was happening nationally. National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs, and in Scotland , SVQs) were becoming the measure of competence. NVQ assessment, conducted properly, is a far more rigorous and time involvement process. It is a government qualification and far more recognisable than any single industry sector award. The BDA grasped the opportunity in 2001 to develop and introduce NVQ Land Drilling, level 2, for all drilling operatives whatever their drilling discipline or position in the drilling crew. Since then the BDA has worked with ConstructionSkills (formerly CITB) to try and ensure consistency of assessment.

NVQ Land Drilling qualification, while supported by the BDA as a first step, is not sufficient. Any qualification is held for life, but without revisiting cannot be regarded as current competence. The ability to do a job today is not proven because of qualification in the past. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) evidence is required to maintain an individual’s status. The recent introduction of BS EN ISO 22475, part 3, on geotechnical sampling, requires that drilling operatives are audited regularly, post initial assessment – this is a European endorsement that ongoing auditing by an independent agency is required.

There are variations in the quality of NVQ assessment. Despite the BDA being involved it does not have control of the process. The BDA is highly critical that certain individuals may have become NVQ qualified through fast-track procedures, often through no fault of their own but because of lack of awarding body vigilance. This is a specialist industry and certain NVQ Assessors / Centres may not have the necessary experience to assess to the industry’s high standards.

The BDA AUDIT requirements are that any applicant is in possession of NVQ Land Drilling and a valid / current CSCS card (Construction Skills Certification Scheme card). This proves to the BDA that the individual has obtained an NVQ and passed the ConstructionSkills basic Health & Safety Test. An on-site audit is conducted on the individual by a BDA Auditor before Audited status is awarded. This initial audit covers competence, safety and equipment. Should non-conformances be identified they have to be closed off before the issue of a BDA Audited card. The card is the only proof of their status other than enquiry to the BDA office. The process repeats itself every 12 months.

The BDA took a real risk, on behalf of both sides of the industry, some 6 years ago, in deciding that NVQ / CSCS was the way forward and that a new BDA Auditing process would establish itself with the demise of BDA Driller Accreditation. It wasn’t easy giving up a completely in-house process. We do encourage AGS members to adopt this highest proof of drilling operative competence by specifying BDA Audited drilling personnel. Model clauses for insertion into tender documents are suggested below.

  1. All drilling operatives (Lead Drillers and Drillers) employed on the Contract shall hold a valid and current Audit card of competence applicable to the work and specific drilling operation on which they are engaged, as issued by the British Drilling Association Limited under its BDA Audit or an equivalent body in a State of the European Union.
  2. All drilling operatives (Lead Drillers and Drillers) employed on the contract shall hold a valid and current CSCS blue skilled (Land Drilling) card as issued by Construction Skills Certification Scheme Limited or an equivalent body in a State of the European Union.

We can assist with further guidance as to definitions and application of the model clauses.

Brian Stringer, National Secretary, BDA.            Tel: 01327 264622

Email: office@britishdrillingassociation.co.uk                  Fax: 01327 264623

Web:    www.britishdrillingassociation.co.uk