NRSWA Training Courses - Essential for Supervisors and Operatives

If you’re a regular driver then you will no doubt be aware that there are a lot of road works going on across the country at any given time. There are many reasons behind these; to improve road conditions or to allow engineers and workers to access underground pipes, fix barriers, lampposts or any other job on the road. Frustrating as roadworks can be, they are essential to keep both our roads and services running properly.

What is the NRSWA?

The New Roads and Street Works Act(NRSWA) sets out a legislative framework for street works activities. The key objectives of the New Roads and Street Works Act are to ensure the safety of the public and those involved in the works, and to minimise inconvenience to the public, and to protect the structure of the street and its services.

What are NRSWA Courses?

NRSWA training courses have been designed  to help workers stay safe whilst working on the roads. There are different courses for different levels of operator and job role, unitised and structured around the requirements for those working on the highways to hold the relevant City & Guilds certification for specific units and in compliance with the New Roads and Street Works Act and associated Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs).

NRSWA Courses Available
NRSWA training courses are split into 2 categories; courses for Operators and courses for Supervisors.

For Supervisors

·        Supervisor Unit– Unit 1 - Location and avoidance of underground apparatus. Suitable for both supervisors and operatives, this course is designed to make workers aware of the dangers involved in excavating on public highway and private land and train them to detect and avoid most buried apparatus.

·        Supervisor Unit – Unit 10 - Signing, lighting and guarding. Designed for Supervisors who have to erect or monitor the erection of signing, lighting and guarding for work on the roadways and highways.

·        Supervisor Unit – Unit 11 - Monitoring of excavations in the highway. A supervisor’s unit, which qualifies supervisors to monitor others involved in excavating works on the highway.

·        Supervisor Unit – Unit 12 - Monitoring reinstatement and compaction of backfill materials. For those who need to supervise others who are reinstating backfill materials.

·        Supervisor Unit – Unit 13 - Monitoring reinstatement of sub-base and road base in non-bituminous materials. A supervisory unit to train candidates on monitoring the reinstatement of sub-base and road base in non-bituminous materials.
Supervisor Unit – Unit 14 - Monitoring reinstatement in bituminous materials. A supervisor’s unit training those in this role on how to monitor others in reinstating bituminous materials for use in flexible carriageways and footway reinstatements.

·        Supervisor Unit – Unit 15 - Monitoring reinstatement of concrete slabs. Training supervisors how to correctly monitor those who are reinstating concrete slabs as well as site safety.

·        Supervisor Unit – Unit 16 - Monitoring reinstatement of modular surfaces and concrete footways. A unit tailored for Supervisors who will be monitoring the work carried out to both remove and reinstate modular surfaces and concrete footways.

For Operatives

·        Operative Unit – Unit 1 - Location and avoidance of underground apparatus. Suitable for both supervisors and operatives, this course is designed to make workers aware of the dangers involved in excavating on public highway and private land and train them to detect and avoid most buried apparatus.

·        Operative Unit - Unit 2 - Signing, lighting and guarding. An operative unit relating to setting out of signs, traffic lights, cones and barriers.

·        Operative Unit - Unit 3 - Excavation in the highway. Course covers excavation on different types of highway and carriageway as well as supporting and protecting underground services during excavation.

·        Operative Unit - Unit 4 - Reinstatement and compaction of backfill materials. Content covered includes identifying and protecting backfill materials and reinstating said backfill.

·        Operative Unit - Unit 5 - Reinstatement of sub-base and road base in non-bituminous materials. Training on the reinstatement of sub-base and road vase including howto prepare and store materials and disposal of surplus materials.

·        Operative Unit - Unit 6 - Reinstatement in cold-lay bituminous materials. Aimed at operators who lay cold bituminous materials on the highway or site and require the knowledge, understanding and tolerance of the product

·        Operative Unit - Unit 7 - Reinstatement in hot-lay bituminous materials. Aimed at operatorswholay hot bituminous materials on the highway or site and require the knowledge, understanding and tolerance of the product

·        Operative Unit - Unit 8 - Reinstatement of concrete slabs. For operators already employed in the highways maintenance and utilities sector and who require the skills to carry out excavation and reinstatement work of concretes labs

·        Operative Unit - Unit 9 - Reinstatement of modular surfaces and concrete footways. Unit consists of removing existing modular or concrete surfacing,laying bedding materials and relaying new surfacing.

Other common combinations of NRSWA Training Units are:

·        5 Day NRSWA Training programs for Supervisors, including Units 1, 10-16

·        5 Day NRSWA Training programs for Operatives, including Units 1-6 and 9

·        5 Day NRSWA Training programs for Operatives, including Units 1-7 and 9

·        2 Days NRSWA - New Roads and Street Works - for Operatives Units 7 &8

Works being carried out on the highways or streets are required, under Chapter 8 of NRSWA to have at least one appointed qualified supervisor to oversee the works and additionally the operatives involved in the works need to be qualified to carry out their work.

Course Delivery

NRSWA courses include both a theory element and a practical element.Courses are either carried out as public courses or can sometimes be carried out at as dedicated courses on a remote site provided that the site meets defined minimum standards. The number of units taken by individual candidates will vary dependent on specific candidate requirements.