Cat And Genny Training in Swindon

Need CAT & Genny training in Swindon for employees carrying out excavation, groundworks or other work where underground cables and services could be present?

Vally Plant Training provides practical CAT & Genny training, cable avoidance training and underground service detection training across Swindon and Wiltshire. For businesses, we can bring the course directly to a suitable workplace or project site, allowing several employees to complete their training together.

The course is relevant to groundworkers, excavator operators, utility teams, drainage contractors, highway workers, site engineers, supervisors and anyone expected to locate buried services before the ground is disturbed.

Candidates learn how to use a Cable Avoidance Tool (CAT scanner) and Signal Generator (Genny) correctly, how to approach a service search systematically and, crucially, why a clear scan should never automatically be taken to mean that the ground is safe to excavate.

Training also covers the principles behind HSE HSG47 – Avoiding Danger from Underground Services, which places underground service locating within the wider process of planning the work, locating and identifying services and excavating safely.

CAT & Genny training is available through Novice and Refresher routes. Refresher training may be suitable for candidates whose existing certification has expired or needs renewal, including candidates who have previously held recognised accredited certification from another awarding body.

Individuals and smaller bookings from Swindon can also attend our dedicated Tewkesbury training centre, close to Junction 9 of the M5.

For full national course information, visit our NPORS CAT & Genny Training Course.

Cable Avoidance Training In Swindon At A Glance

Is this the right course for your Swindon workforce?

CAT & Genny training is intended for people who need to locate or avoid underground services as part of their work.

Around Swindon, that can include employees working on new developments, utilities, highways, drainage schemes, industrial sites, commercial developments and general groundworks.

Typical candidates include:

• Groundworkers
• 360 excavator operators
• Utility operatives
• Drainage contractors
• Civil engineering teams
• Highway workers
• Telecommunications operatives
• Site engineers
• Construction workers
• Maintenance teams
• Landscapers carrying out excavation
• Supervisors responsible for excavation work

The important distinction is between operating the locating equipment and operating the machine that subsequently excavates the ground.

Those are different competencies.

If your workforce also needs plant operator training, see our 360 Excavator Training Course or Micro Excavator Training Course.

Why choose Vally Plant Training for CAT & Genny training in Swindon?

For many Swindon businesses, CAT & Genny training is required because employees are already carrying out groundworks, utilities or excavation work.

Taking several people away from site to attend separate courses isn’t always the best option.

Vally Plant Training can deliver on-site CAT & Genny training in Swindon and across Wiltshire, subject to suitable equipment and facilities.

This can allow a business to train several employees together while reducing unnecessary workforce travel.

Vally Plant Training is a family-run training provider established in 2014. We are an NPORS Approved Training Provider and CITB Training Provider Network Member, and training is delivered directly rather than passed to a third-party training broker.

Our Swindon customers can choose between:

• NPORS CAT & Genny training
• Novice training
• Refresher and renewal training
• On-site workforce courses
• Tewkesbury centre-based training
• In-house certification where appropriate
• Multiple-candidate bookings
• Combined plant training requirements

If you’re unsure whether somebody needs novice or refresher training, tell us what certification they currently or previously held and we can advise on the appropriate route.

Which CAT & Genny course do I need?

Unlike many plant operator categories, we do not offer an Experienced Worker Test route for CAT & Genny.

Candidates follow either the Novice or Refresher route, depending on their previous recognised training.

Novice CAT & Genny training

The novice course is for people who have not previously completed suitable recognised CAT & Genny training.

It is also the appropriate starting point where somebody may have used a cable locator informally at work but does not hold the previous recognised certification required for our refresher route.

Training starts with the fundamentals and develops practical skills in:

CAT scanner use • Signal Generator operation • service locating • systematic searching • interpreting indications • equipment limitations • underground service hazards • safe working principles

Previous informal use should not be confused with recognised training.

Candidates new to the process can also read our NPORS Novice Training Guide.

CAT & Genny refresher training

Refresher training is for previously trained candidates who need to renew or update their CAT & Genny competence.

This can include someone whose card or certificate has expired or requires renewal.

The route may also be appropriate where a candidate previously completed recognised accredited CAT & Genny training through another awarding body.

Rather than starting again as a complete beginner, refresher training revisits the important knowledge and practical skills needed to use the equipment correctly and understand its limitations.

If you have an old certificate and aren’t sure whether it qualifies, contact us before booking so we can check it.

Further information is available through our NPORS Refresher Training Guide.

What will I learn on the CAT & Genny course?

The course combines theory with practical underground service locating.

Depending on the candidate and equipment, training can cover:

• Responsibilities when working near buried services
• Underground service hazards
• HSG47 principles
• Understanding utility information and service plans
• CAT scanner controls and functions
• Pre-use checks
• Different locating modes
• Signal Generator / Genny operation
• Passive and active locating techniques
• Systematic searching
• Tracing service routes
• Interpreting indications
• Marking detected services
• Equipment limitations
• Re-scanning as work develops
• Safe excavation principles

The aim is not to teach somebody to simply switch on a CAT and walk across the ground.

Candidates need to understand why they are carrying out the survey, how the equipment obtains information and where its limitations can leave uncertainty.

HSG47 and working near underground services

CAT & Genny equipment forms only one part of a safe excavation system.

The Health and Safety Executive’s HSG47 – Avoiding Danger from Underground Services applies to people involved in commissioning, planning, managing and carrying out work near underground services.

The guidance describes three basic elements:

Plan the work

Consider the proposed excavation and obtain available information about services before work starts.

Locate and identify buried services

Use appropriate plans, locating equipment and other available information to identify services that may be affected.

Excavate safely

Once services have been located, the work still needs to proceed using appropriate excavation precautions.

That distinction matters.

CAT & Genny training does not make every excavation automatically safe.

It gives candidates the skills and knowledge needed to use locating equipment as part of the wider safe system of work.

For a practical explanation aimed at construction and plant workers, read our Working Near Underground Services Guide.

Why cable avoidance matters on Swindon construction sites

Swindon has a broad mixture of housing, commercial, industrial, infrastructure and utility work.

Whatever the project, the problem below ground is the same: workers cannot safely assume they know where every service runs simply by looking at the surface.

Buried services can include:

Electricity • gas • water • drainage • telecommunications • fibre • street lighting • private site supplies

Striking one can lead to far more than a repair bill.

Depending on the service involved, consequences can include electric shock, arcing, fire, explosion, flooding, service disruption, injury, project delays and emergency shutdowns.

This is why cable avoidance needs to happen before the excavator bucket, breaker, drill or other ground-disturbing equipment reaches the service.

CAT scanner modes and Signal Generator use

A common weakness in poorly trained CAT users is over-reliance on one locating mode.

Different services and different conditions can require different approaches.

Candidates learn about the available functions of the equipment being used and why a proper underground service search should be systematic rather than a single quick pass over the proposed excavation.

The Genny or Signal Generator is particularly important.

Where suitable, it can introduce a detectable signal onto a service, helping the operator trace its route using compatible locating equipment.

Understanding how the CAT and Genny work together is therefore an important part of proper cable avoidance training.

A clear CAT scan does not mean clear ground

This is one of the most important messages on the course.

A CAT & Genny cannot guarantee that every underground service has been found.

Detection can be influenced by factors including the type of service, materials, signals present, depth, surrounding utilities, site conditions and the locating technique being used.

Some non-metallic services may not be directly detectable using conventional locating methods unless a detectable feature is present.

Therefore:

No signal ≠ no service.

Workers need to consider plans, site information, physical clues, survey results and the safe method of excavation together.

Read our Working Near Underground Services Guide for more information about locating services before breaking ground.

Utility plans and CAT & Genny surveys

Utility drawings are useful, but they should not be treated as an exact underground map.

Services may have been altered, diverted or repaired. Older information may not perfectly reflect what is actually beneath the proposed work area.

CAT & Genny equipment provides another source of information by helping the trained operator locate and trace detectable services.

Neither method should simply replace the other.

A safer approach is to use available service information to help plan the search, carry out the physical survey and then apply appropriate excavation controls.

CAT & Genny training for excavator and groundworks teams

For groundworks companies, cable avoidance and excavator training often sit naturally alongside one another.

The CAT & Genny user helps establish information about buried services.

The excavator operator then needs to understand the controls placed on the excavation.

But one certificate doesn’t replace the other.

Someone can be an excellent excavator operator without being trained to carry out an underground service survey.

Similarly, CAT & Genny training does not demonstrate competence to operate an excavator.

Businesses requiring both can combine their training planning with Vally Plant Training.

See our 360 Excavator Training Course and NPORS Dumper Training Course for related groundworks training.

Re-scanning as excavation progresses

Underground service detection should not always be treated as something completed once at the start of the job.

As ground is removed, the excavation changes.

Additional information may become available and the relationship between the suspected service route and the excavation may become clearer.

Re-scanning as the work progresses can therefore form an important part of maintaining awareness of buried services.

Our Working Near Underground Services Guide covers scanning, marking and re-checking the work area in more detail.

On-site CAT & Genny training in Swindon and Wiltshire

On-site delivery is the main option we recommend for Swindon employers training several members of staff.

We can deliver suitable courses across the wider area, including businesses operating around:

Swindon • Royal Wootton Bassett • Highworth • Cricklade • Wroughton and surrounding Wiltshire areas

This can work particularly well for contractors involved in groundworks, utilities, drainage, construction and civil engineering who want employees trained together.

On-site training is quoted according to the actual requirement rather than pretending that every Swindon business has the same training needs.

Factors can include:

• Number of candidates
• Swindon/Wiltshire site location
• Novice or refresher requirements
• Equipment available
• Training facilities
• Travel
• Certification requirements
• Other courses required

CAT & Genny training for individuals from Swindon

If you’re an individual looking for CAT & Genny training near Swindon, you do not need to provide a complete company group.

Candidates can attend our dedicated training centre in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.

The centre is located close to Junction 9 of the M5, with parking available. Ashchurch for Tewkesbury railway station is also approximately five minutes’ walk away.

This option is useful for:

• Individual workers
• Self-employed groundworkers
• People entering construction
• Small companies
• Single employees
• Candidates without suitable workplace equipment
• People needing refresher training

Published centre-based course prices apply at Tewkesbury rather than to on-site Swindon delivery.

On-site training requirements

For workplace CAT & Genny training in Swindon, suitable arrangements need to be in place before the instructor arrives.

Depending on the course, these can include:

• Suitable CAT & Genny equipment
• Manufacturer’s instructions where required
• A safe practical training area
• Suitable underground-service locating opportunities
• Relevant risk assessments
• Method statements where applicable
• Suitable theory/welfare facilities
• Candidate photo ID
• Appropriate PPE

Before arranging workplace training, read our Customer Site Requirements for Plant Operator Training.

CAT & Genny training prices for Swindon

Centre-based and on-site pricing should be kept separate.

Current prices at our Tewkesbury training centre start from:

NPORS Novice CAT & Genny Course – From £280 + VAT per person

NPORS Refresher CAT & Genny Course – From £280 + VAT per person

NPORS Card & Registration – £45 + VAT per person

These are Tewkesbury centre prices, not a fixed price for delivering training at a customer’s premises in Swindon.

For on-site CAT & Genny training in Swindon, contact us for a quotation based on candidate numbers, location, travel, training route and the facilities/equipment available.

Where several employees need training, ask about group or multi-course arrangements.

Assessment and certification

CAT & Genny assessment considers both practical equipment use and the candidate’s understanding of safe underground service locating.

Candidates need to demonstrate that they can use the equipment appropriately, interpret information and recognise its limitations.

NPORS certification is available following successful completion of the applicable NPORS course and assessment.

In-house CAT & Genny certification may also be available where appropriate. Acceptance depends on the employer, client, principal contractor, site and insurer and should not be treated as the same as NPORS certification.

For complete certification information, visit our NPORS CAT & Genny Training Course.

CITB funding for Swindon employers

Vally Plant Training is a CITB Training Provider Network Member.

Eligible CITB-registered employers may be able to access funding towards qualifying training, subject to current CITB rules and eligibility.

If your Swindon or Wiltshire business is CITB registered, tell us when requesting your quotation.