CPA Bulletin

www.cpa.uk.net CPA Bulletin > February 2024 43 Q&As: 2 As you are supplying the operator under the Model Conditions to your customer, then you must be assured that the operator is deemed competent, i.e., hold the relevant card for the machine they will be operating. If you are sourcing the operator from a third-party, then they have a duty to ensure that the operator they supplied to you is competent. If an incident has occurred on site, which questions the operator’s competence, then the third-party should provide an explanation as to the checks they have made before providing that person to you. [Provided that it can be shown that the operator is competent, then under the Model Conditions, the customer will liable for the operator’s actions and omissions (clause 8), as well as any damage to the plant you supplied (clause 13(b)) - though in this circumstance, you may not want to proceed with that option.] The third-party may have their own sets of terms and conditions, which may exclude liability in certain situations, so you should review these to confirmwhat liability, if any, the agency is under. Subject to that review, it would be worth contacting the third party to ascertain what steps they took to check competence, and whether they are willing to contribute to the loss you have suffered. I am happy to discuss this with you once you have more information. I amwondering whether you would be able to offer me some advice regarding the use of agency operators, and their liability for any damage to our plant whilst they were operating it. Is there anything within the Model Conditions that stipulates where the responsibility lies, or does it come down to the terms and conditions used by the agency? This is a certificate issued by a training provider - the National Construction College (NCC) - for a course that was either written by, or endorsed by, one of the CPA’s Special Interest Groups - in this case, the ‘Shoring Technology’ group. The certificate is only confirmation that the course was undertaken and is not connected to any national qualification framework. To be clear, the CPA do not, nor have ever accredited courses or hold records of certification - that will be in the domain of the provider. We do not have a syllabus on what was delivered so we are unable to determine to what current equivalents there are and according to the provider’s website, has been replaced by EUSR programmes. Only EUSR can determine if it is acceptable for their certification purposes. Hope that helps. I have an individual who has presented me with a qualification card that looks like it has been accredited by the CPA/yourselves. I wanted to know if this replaced the need to hold an EUSR Categories 3,4 & 5 qualification, or if it was the equivalent. As there is no expiry date on the card, I wanted to knowwhat type of qualification this was. The requirement for cab fitment for dumpers falls within EN474 part 1 2022 design requirements - safety. I am not sure when this requirement was added but has been a design requirement for all earthmoving equipment since I believe 2006, so technically it has been around for a while. EN474 part 6 for dumpers provides an exemption for machines of 4.5 tonnes and below. I understand however that certainly for the UKmarket, that some manufacturers claim that demand for non-cabbed machines meant that they continue to provide these for the marketplace. EN474 only covers the design requirements, and I am not aware that it is legislative in terms of mandating within the UK. I need to check with the HSE if it will become regulatory under say the supply of machinery regs as well as with the manufacturer’s trade association. The only driver for the increasing demand for cabbed types is through the Tier 1s along with the Construction Industry Plant Safety Group, in that manufacturers are now providing enclosed cabs for machines both above and below 4.5t. However, the cabs only need to comply with the ROPS and FOPS standard. There is also only a voluntary design standard being introduced in the UK for cab strike strength which will allow the operator to remain seated during the loading activity. Currently due to a lack of an ISO/EN standard, advice from the Construction Industry Plant Safety Group is that operators depart from the cab during loading unless certain parameters are met. Let me know if you require further information. I have been asked to look into any future legislation that will affect Site Dumpers in 2025. The info that I have sent tome is as follows: “The order comes ahead of new legislation regarding operator protection which comes into force in spring 2025. This legislation states that all site dumpers with an unladen weight of more than 4.5-tonnemust have a production fitted cab, which is in line with ROPS and FOPS ISO 3471 and 3449.” I have managed to get my hands on the two ISO Standards from 2008 and 2005 but not sure where to look for any new legislation that may be due.