CAT & Genny Training in Worcester & Worcestershire

Need CAT & Genny training in Worcester for employees who excavate, break ground or work around underground services?

Vally Plant Training provides practical CAT & Genny training, cable avoidance training and underground service detection training throughout Worcester and Worcestershire, with workplace delivery available for companies that have several employees to train.

For Worcester businesses, bringing the course to your site can be the most practical option. Your employees can train together without travelling away from the workplace, while the course can be delivered around the type of cable avoidance equipment and working environment they encounter in their normal jobs.

Individuals and smaller bookings can also attend our dedicated Tewkesbury training centre, conveniently located north of Worcester close to Junction 9 of the M5.

CAT And Genny Training in Worcester covers the safe and effective use of Cable Avoidance Tools (CAT scanners) and Signal Generators (Genny) alongside the wider precautions required when locating buried services before excavation.

The course also reinforces the principles of HSE HSG47 – Avoiding Danger from Underground Services. HSG47 identifies three basic elements of safe excavation work: planning the work, locating and identifying buried services, and safe excavation.

CAT & Genny courses are available as Novice or Refresher training. There is no CAT & Genny Experienced Worker Test route.

For complete course information, certification and current centre prices, visit our NPORS CAT & Genny Training Course.

Is this the right CAT & Genny course for your Worcester team?

If employees are expected to locate underground cables or buried services before excavation, simply having access to a CAT scanner does not mean they know how to use it correctly.

CAT & Genny training is relevant to a wide range of Worcestershire businesses, including:

• Groundworks contractors
• Civil engineering companies
• Utility contractors
• Drainage teams
• Housebuilders
• Highway and street works teams
• Telecommunications contractors
• Construction companies
• Site engineers
• Maintenance teams
• Landscapers carrying out excavation
• Excavator operators involved in service locating
• Supervisors overseeing excavation work

The course is particularly relevant where employees are involved in excavation, trenching, drainage installation, service connections, trial holes, duct installation, foundations or other work that disturbs the ground.

If your workforce also operates excavators, CAT & Genny competence and excavator competence should be treated separately. Operators requiring machine training can view our 360 Excavator Training Course.

Why Worcester businesses choose Vally Plant Training

For an employer with four, five or six employees requiring the same training, sending everybody away individually can be unnecessarily disruptive.

That’s why we offer on-site CAT & Genny training throughout Worcester and Worcestershire where suitable equipment and facilities are available.

It allows companies to organise workforce training around their operational requirements while keeping employees closer to their normal workplace.

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, delivering training directly rather than operating as a booking broker.

Businesses can speak to us about the actual requirement, including:

• Number of employees
• Existing CAT & Genny certification
• Novice or refresher training
• Equipment available
• Workplace facilities
• NPORS or in-house certification where appropriate
• Other plant training required by the workforce
• Tewkesbury centre alternatives

For individuals, sole traders and smaller bookings, attending our Tewkesbury centre may be easier than arranging a workplace course.

Which CAT & Genny course do I need?

There are two CAT & Genny training routes we need to consider: Novice and Refresher.

Never had CAT & Genny training before?

Choose Novice CAT & Genny training.

The novice course is intended for candidates with little or no previous formal cable avoidance training.

Candidates learn how to approach underground service detection methodically rather than simply switching on a locator and walking across the proposed excavation.

Training develops understanding of the CAT scanner, Signal Generator, different locating techniques, service plans, equipment limitations and the wider precautions required before excavation.

If you’re starting from the beginning, our NPORS Novice Training Guide provides further guidance on novice training.

Previously trained and need to renew?

Choose CAT & Genny Refresher Training where appropriate.

This route is for candidates who have already received recognised training but need to renew or refresh their CAT & Genny knowledge and certification.

It may be suitable where:

• Your existing certificate has expired
• Your certification needs renewal
• You haven’t used the equipment regularly
• Your employer requires updated training
• Your knowledge needs refreshing
• You previously held recognised accredited certification from another awarding body

We can check your previous certification before the course if you’re unsure which route applies.

Read our NPORS Refresher Training Guide for further information about refresher training.

CAT & Genny does not have an Experienced Worker Test route.

What does CAT & Genny training cover?

Training combines practical cable avoidance equipment use with the health and safety knowledge needed when working around buried utilities.

Course content can include:

• Responsibilities when working near underground services
• HSG47 principles
• Hazards from buried utilities
• Understanding service drawings
• CAT scanner familiarisation
• Pre-use equipment checks
• CAT operating modes
• Signal Generator / Genny use
• Passive and active locating techniques
• Systematic scanning of the work area
• Tracing suspected services
• Interpreting locator indications
• Marking detected service routes
• Equipment limitations
• Safe excavation principles
• Re-scanning as work progresses
• Actions where expected services cannot be located

Candidates should leave understanding that obtaining no signal is not proof that there is nothing underground.

HSG47 and underground service safety

HSG47 – Avoiding Danger from Underground Services is central to understanding why cable avoidance equipment is used in the first place.

The HSE guidance applies to those commissioning, planning, managing and carrying out work on or near underground services. It describes three basic elements of a safe system of excavation work: planning, locating and identifying buried services, and safe excavation.

Plan the work

Before excavation starts, available information about buried services needs to be considered alongside the proposed work.

That can include utility drawings, site information, risk assessments and the method by which services will be located.

Locate and identify services

CAT & Genny equipment can form an important part of locating detectable underground services.

But the equipment has limitations. Results need to be interpreted alongside plans, site conditions and other available information.

Excavate safely

Locating a service doesn’t remove the hazard.

The excavation still needs to proceed using suitable controls and safe digging methods.

For a more detailed explanation, read our Working Near Underground Services Guide. It covers utility drawings, CAT & Genny use, service marking, re-scanning and excavation precautions.

Why a quick CAT scan isn’t enough

One of the most dangerous assumptions around excavation work is:

“We’ve scanned it and found nothing, so we’re clear to dig.”

Underground service locating is more involved than that.

Different services may respond differently depending on the equipment and locating method being used. Site conditions, service material, depth, surrounding utilities and operator technique can all affect the information obtained.

A proper search needs to be systematic.

Workers also need to understand when the Genny or Signal Generator should be used rather than relying entirely on passive detection.

Good training teaches candidates to understand what their equipment is telling them — and equally importantly, what it cannot tell them.

CAT scanner modes and using the Genny

Depending on the locating equipment used, a CAT may provide different detection modes.

Candidates need to understand the purpose of the available modes and why relying on one setting may not provide enough information about everything beneath the work area.

The Signal Generator (Genny) can introduce a detectable signal onto suitable services, helping the operator trace their route using compatible locating equipment.

That is why our Worcester cable avoidance course covers the CAT and Genny together.

The aim is to develop competent equipment users, not people who have simply been shown which button turns the locator on.

Can CAT & Genny find every buried service?

No.

And anybody carrying out an underground service survey needs to understand that limitation.

Some services can be difficult or impossible to detect using conventional locating techniques.

A clear survey result therefore does not automatically mean:

“There are no services here.”

Plans, site information, visual clues, locating equipment and appropriate excavation techniques all have a part to play.

Our Working Near Underground Services Guide explains why utility drawings should be treated as useful information rather than a guarantee of the exact position of a service.

Utility drawings and cable avoidance equipment

A service drawing and a CAT scanner do different jobs.

Plans can indicate which services are expected within the area and their recorded routes.

A CAT & Genny survey can then help locate and trace detectable services on the ground.

Neither should be treated as an infallible answer by itself.

Buried services may have been repaired, diverted or installed differently from what somebody expects from the drawing.

The safest approach is to combine available information with a properly planned survey and safe excavation procedure.

CAT & Genny training for excavator operators in Worcester

An excavator can damage an underground service extremely quickly.

For groundworks and civil engineering businesses, it therefore makes sense to look at the competence of both the person locating the services and the person operating the machine.

A 360 excavator qualification does not automatically demonstrate competence to carry out a CAT & Genny survey.

Likewise, completing cable avoidance training does not qualify somebody to operate an excavator.

If employees need both competencies, see our NPORS 360 Excavator Training Course.

For smaller machines used on drainage, landscaping and restricted-access work, we also provide Micro Excavator Training.

CAT & Genny and permit-to-dig systems

Many Worcester construction and civil engineering sites use a permit-to-dig procedure to control excavation work.

A permit should not be viewed as a substitute for locating services.

Instead, service information, surveys, site controls and excavation arrangements need to work together.

CAT & Genny training helps employees understand the locating stage of this process and why findings need to be communicated clearly to the people actually carrying out the excavation.

Re-scan as excavation progresses

Underground service locating shouldn’t necessarily finish once somebody has marked the ground.

As excavation progresses, conditions change and additional information can become visible.

Re-scanning can help maintain awareness of the suspected route of buried services rather than relying indefinitely on the original survey.

Our Working Near Underground Services Guide specifically covers scanning the work area, marking detected services and re-scanning as excavation progresses.

On-site CAT & Genny training in Worcester

For employers, on-site CAT & Genny training in Worcester and Worcestershire can be particularly useful when several employees require the course.

Subject to suitable arrangements, we can travel to workplaces across the county.

This can suit businesses operating in and around:

Worcester • Droitwich • Malvern • Pershore • Bromsgrove • Kidderminster • Redditch • Upton-upon-Severn and surrounding Worcestershire areas

Training on your own site can reduce travel and allow a group of employees to complete training together.

It can also make sense when CAT & Genny forms only one part of a wider workforce training requirement.

If you have staff requiring excavator, dumper, roller or other plant training as well, tell us the complete requirement when requesting a quotation.

CAT & Genny training near Worcester at our Tewkesbury centre

Don’t have suitable equipment or facilities at your Worcester workplace?

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

The centre is conveniently located close to Junction 9 of the M5, making it straightforward to reach from Worcester and much of Worcestershire.

It is also within walking distance of Ashchurch for Tewkesbury railway station, and parking is available.

Centre-based courses can be particularly convenient for:

• Individual candidates
• Self-employed workers
• Small businesses
• One or two employees
• Companies without suitable training equipment
• Candidates wanting a published centre price

On-site training requirements

For CAT & Genny training at your Worcester workplace, suitable equipment and facilities need to be available.

This can include:

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

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

CAT & Genny training prices for Worcester customers

There is an important distinction between centre-based pricing and on-site Worcester training.

Published course prices apply to training completed at our Tewkesbury training centre.

Current centre prices 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

For businesses requiring on-site CAT & Genny training in Worcester, we provide a separate quotation based on the actual training requirement.

The quotation can take account of:

• Candidate numbers
• Training location
• Travel time and distance
• Equipment available
• Novice or refresher requirements
• Certification route
• Other courses being delivered

Where several employees require training, ask us about multiple-candidate and multi-course bookings.

Assessment and certification

CAT & Genny assessment combines practical equipment use with an understanding of underground service hazards and safe working principles.

Candidates need to demonstrate that they can use the equipment appropriately and understand its limitations rather than relying blindly on a locator indication.

NPORS certification is available for candidates completing the applicable NPORS course and assessment.

In-house CAT & Genny certification may also be available where appropriate.

In-house certification should not be confused with an NPORS Operator Card. Whether in-house certification is acceptable depends on the employer, client, principal contractor, site requirements and insurer.

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

CITB funding for Worcester employers

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

Vally Plant Training is a CITB Training Provider Network Member.

If your Worcester or Worcestershire business is CITB registered, tell us when requesting a quotation so the training requirement can be discussed correctly.