I do drop kerbing, which NRSWA units do I need?
In a nutshell, if you are doing drop kerbing, you will need to complete the full course. This is because you will need to scan the area before you start digging, then sign out the area so you are safely protected and excavate and then reinstate.
What is a drop kerb?
A drop kerb is a change in a public pathway to allow vehicles to drive over the pavement from the road into a driveway. In urban areas, parking can be a nightmare! This is why lots of people decide to turn their front gardens into driveways.
When building a drop kerb, you need to lower the existing kerb and lay new foundations to the paving. To do this, you need to be NRSWA qualified. This is to ensure that the pathway (which is the responsibility of your local council and highways agency) is adapted for the driveway to the same standards as expected for the roads and paths that the public use. As a result, the safety of the public is protected and when contractors are working on areas that the council are responsible for, the same rules are followed.
What NRSWA Course do I need to do it?
To make a drop kerb, you need to take a 5-day course called NRSWA Operative. This course teaches you how to safely find underground cables and pipes before you start digging. You’ll also learn the right signs to use to keep everyone safe, how to dig up roads and paths, and how to put everything back the way it was.
If you’re working on the road or footpaths, the law says you must do the NRSWA training. This makes sure everyone is trained the same way and keeps the roads and paths safe. Imagine if every company used different stuff to fill holes in the road, or if people dug up the road without knowing what’s underneath. The roads would be in a much worse state!
You might have seen a path that was fixed but then sank soon after. This probably happened because the workers didn’t follow the rules they learned in their NRSWA course.
You also need a Supervisor in your team who checks the work is done right. The council will check anyway, so it’s best to do it properly the first time.
NRSWA Units for Drop Kerbs
The full operative course units are listed below:
- Unit LA – Location and avoidance of underground apparatus
- Unit O1 – Signing lighting and guarding
- Unit O2 – Excavation in the highway
- Unit O3 – Reinstatement & compaction of backfill materials
- Unit O4 – Reinstatement & compaction of sub-base & road-base in non-bituminous materials
- Unit O5 – Reinstatement in cold-lay bituminous materials
- Unit O6 – Reinstatement in hot-lay bituminous materials
- Unit O7 – reinstatement of modular surfaces & concrete footways
NRSWA Operative and Supervisor Courses
The NRSWA Operative training runs as a 5-day block, running Monday to Friday. At each location, we run different units so the cost and unit combination varies. You can find the course closest operative or supervisor course to you by visiting our course page using the links below. You can book courses direct on our website or if you would prefer you can call our training team on 0800 0213 263 and book over the phone.
At Project Skills Solutions we offer over 35 locations across the UK where you can take a NRSWA course or reassessment.