PHW Training
Independent Training Provider — Est. Derbyshire

Plant & FLT training done properly.
Without the scheme tax.

HSE & PUWER-aligned competence training delivered on your site, on your machines, on your schedule. Full audit trail, NVQ-mapped assessment, at roughly half the cost of CPCS or NPORS — plus the UK's most comprehensive free online theory training app.

HSE / PUWER aligned NVQ-mapped assessments On-site delivery East Midlands based 15+ years experience

Live training standards

Legal framework
PUWER Reg. 9
Approved Code of Practice
HSE L117
Machine categories taught
23+
Saving vs CPCS
£400–£1,000 / operator
On-site delivery radius
Free within 25 miles DE65
Trainee portal
Live — free forever
23+
Machine categories
£200
Refresher from
220+
Theory questions
100%
PUWER aligned

Every lift truck, every plant category, every piece of kit on the yard.

From single-operator refreshers to corporate-wide compliance programmes. If it has hydraulics, forks, a bucket or a boom — we can train, assess and certify your team.

🏗️

Counterbalance FLT

B1, B2, B3, B4 — electric, gas, diesel. The yard workhorse.

🪜

Reach Truck

D1 / D2 narrow-aisle. High-level picking, pantograph & moving-mast.

📦

PPT / LLOP

Pedestrian pallet trucks and low-level order pickers.

🚧

Bendi / Flexi

Articulated / pivot-steer trucks for VNA racking.

🏭

Side Loader

Long-load handling for timber, steel and pipe stock.

🧱

Telehandler / Teletruk

A17, A77 — agricultural, construction and industrial telescopic handlers.

⛏️

360 Excavator

Tracked and wheeled, <10t and >10t, compact through to 30t.

🚜

180 / Backhoe Loader

JCB 3CX / 4CX and equivalent rear-digger loaders.

🪣

Forward Tipping Dumper

A09 — site dumpers including swivel and high-tip variants.

🔧

Articulated Dumper

Large-scale earthworks dumpers (ADT) for heavy civils.

📐

Skid Steer

Compact loaders — wheeled and tracked, multi-attachment.

🚜

Compact Track Loader

Bobcat / CAT / Kubota CTL and multi-terrain loaders.

🆙

MEWP Scissor (3A)

Mobile elevating work platform — scissor lifts, indoor and outdoor.

🎯

MEWP Boom (3B)

Articulating and telescopic booms, spider lifts, truck-mounted.

🏗️

Lorry Loader (HIAB)

Lorry-mounted loader crane, slinging, and load-chart work.

🪢

Slinger / Signaller

Banksman, slinger and signaller for lifting operations.

Same legal standing. Half the invoice.

CPCS and NPORS are card schemes — useful in specific contexts. But the law on private sites is PUWER, not a card colour. We deliver the same standard of assessment without the scheme admin you're paying for.

Requirement
Legal compliance under PUWER Reg. 9
Structured theory + practical assessment
NVQ-mapped assessment criteria
Full audit trail & certificates
Machine-specific training on your kit
On-site delivery (your yard, your schedule)
Scheme registration & card production fees
Typical cost per operator refresher
Accepted on major construction principal sites
Includes access to free online training app
PHW Training
Yes — fully aligned to L117
Yes — same format as schemes
Yes — mapped to the relevant units
Full pack including cert, checklist & trainer credentials
Yes — on your own machines where possible
Yes — 6 days a week, flexible hours
None — transparent day rate
£150–£260
Case-by-case — many employers accept
Yes — free with every course
CPCS / NPORS
Yes
Yes
Yes (scheme-specific)
Yes (plus card)
Often at accredited centre only
Sometimes (test centres common)
Registration + card + renewal fees
£500–£1,200+
Broadly — required on some sites
Typically no
When you DO need a card scheme: Some principal contractors and major construction sites make CPCS or NPORS mandatory as a contractual rule (not a legal one). We'll tell you up front if your situation needs a scheme route — and our training works as excellent preparation for scheme-based assessment where it does.

From enquiry to authorised operator in under 10 working days.

1

Enquiry & scope

Tell us how many operators, which machines, and where. We come back with a fixed price — no scheme fees, no hidden extras.

2

Online pre-learning

Trainees work through the free training app: theory modules, hazard perception, pre-use checks. Arrives on-site already prepared.

3

On-site delivery

Half-day or full-day on your site with your kit. Structured theory review, practical coaching, formal assessment.

4

Audit pack & cert

Full documentation delivered same day: certificate, assessment checklist, employer authorisation template, refresher schedule.

The UK's most comprehensive free plant & FLT training app.

Built by a working instructor, not a marketing team. Six interactive modules covering everything an operator needs to understand before getting on a machine. Free for every trainee, every employer, forever.

  • Theory quiz bank — 220+ questions across 8 machine categories
  • Pre-use inspection simulator — click-to-check interactive forklift
  • Hazard perception — spot the risks in real workplace scenarios
  • Scenario decision trees — what would you do in real situations?
  • Load & stability calculator — centre of gravity and rated capacity
  • Mock assessment — full test with downloadable theory certificate

App modules

🧠 Theory quiz engine
220 Q
🔧 Pre-use simulator
18 points
👁️ Hazard perception
12 scenes
🌳 Scenario trees
8 real-world
⚖️ Load calculator
Interactive
📜 Mock assessment
Certificate
💾 Progress tracking
Saved locally

Honest day rates. No scheme fees.

All on-site courses include travel within 25 miles of DE65 5EH. Every price is a fixed quote — no surprises, no renewal fees.

Individual

£180 + VAT
Half-day 1:1 remedial or refresher for a single operator
  • ~4 hours on-site at your yard
  • Theory review + practical assessment
  • Full audit pack & certificate
  • Employer authorisation template
  • Access to training app included
Book individual →

Corporate

From £5k / year
Annual compliance programme for multi-site operations
  • Scheduled rolling refresher calendar
  • New operator induction programme
  • RAMS + SSoW documentation refresh
  • Incident investigation support
  • Quarterly compliance review
  • Priority booking & emergency slots
Request proposal →
Travel beyond 25 miles charged at 50p/mile + VAT. Weekend & out-of-hours available. Quotes held for 30 days.

A tightly-run assessment, not a tick-box exercise.

📋

Evidence-first approach

Every judgement is documented. The audit pack we deliver is the same standard of evidence an HSE inspector or insurance investigator would look for.

🎯

Machine-specific, not generic

Training happens on your own machines in your own environment wherever possible. No learned behaviours from unfamiliar equipment.

⚖️

Pass-fail discipline

We will fail an operator who isn't safe. A certificate only leaves our van when the competence has been genuinely demonstrated. That's what protects you.

The questions every health & safety lead asks.

Is independent training actually legal? Will HSE accept it?
Yes. The legal basis for operator competence in the UK is PUWER 1998 (Regulation 9), supported by the HSE Approved Code of Practice L117 for rider-operated lift trucks. Neither requires a specific scheme. HSE inspectors look for structured training, competent assessment, and documented evidence — all of which our training delivers in full.
What's the difference between CPCS, NPORS and independent training?
CPCS (CITB-run) and NPORS are industry card schemes. They are widely recognised but they are not the only lawful route. Independent training that follows HSE guidance, uses a competent assessor, and produces a full audit trail is legally equivalent. The practical difference is the card: some principal contractors require CPCS/NPORS as a contractual rule on their sites. For 90%+ of UK operators working on their own employer's premises, independent training is sufficient and significantly cheaper.
How often do operators need refresher training?
HSE L117 recommends refresher training every 3 to 5 years as good practice. It's guidance, not a fixed legal deadline. The real test is whether the operator's competence is being maintained. Triggers for earlier refreshers include: any incident or near-miss, a significant gap in operating, new equipment or site layout, or observed unsafe habits. We'll recommend a refresher schedule with every course.
What if I've got operators with an expired CPCS or NPORS card?
We can refresh their competence to HSE standards regardless of the route the original certification took. If your site does require ongoing CPCS/NPORS, we'll tell you up front and help you route back into the scheme. If it doesn't (most don't), we'll refresh, document and authorise — same legal standing, lower cost.
Can you train multiple operators in one day?
For refreshers, up to 3 operators per trainer day is standard and keeps assessment quality high. For initial "new operator" training, 1:1 or 1:2 is recommended. Larger groups can be split across consecutive days — we'll build the schedule around your operational constraints.
What happens if an operator fails the assessment?
They don't get certified. That's the point of a genuine assessment. We'll document exactly what needs work and recommend a targeted remedial session. We will never pass an unsafe operator to keep a customer happy — our reputation and your legal exposure both depend on that discipline.
Do you cover road-legal plant like JCB 3CX or telehandlers?
Yes. We train the PUWER/HSE competence layer (operating the machine safely). We don't issue road driving entitlements — that's a DVLA matter. For road-going plant, both layers must be satisfied independently: plant competence (us) and DVLA entitlement/V5C/VED/insurance (you). We explain both clearly in the course brief.
What's in the audit pack?
Course syllabus mapped to L117, theory assessment results, completed practical assessment checklist, machine category and limits of competence statement, trainer credentials, recommended refresher period, and an employer authorisation template ready to sign. The pack is delivered as a PDF bundle the same day as the training — ready to drop into your health & safety file.

Get a fixed-price training quote — back within 24 hours.

Tell us how many operators, which machines, and where. No pressure, no scheme upsells. Just a straight number.