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Whoever is free drives the dumper. Another cuts concrete with a Stihl saw. Then a council, a principal contractor or an injured employee's solicitor asks who is trained. PHW assesses your people for competence on your own site and machines, and writes the procedures that back them up.
In Derby, AP Tree Specialists Ltd was fined £20,000 after a worker fell over 30 feet from a malfunctioning platform. The film shows what a council, a principal contractor or a solicitor asks next, and what you can hand over.
Open the film on its own page, with the words written out underneath.
HSE prosecutions in this line of work.
£16,000 + £4,000 costs · 2026-04-01
A labourer fell through an unprotected stairwell opening while fitting wall insulation, fracturing a skull and back.
Read the case →£88,300 + £5,018 costs · 2026-03-06
Demolition went ahead at a Cannock site despite a survey identifying asbestos. A later survey found 218m² of asbestos-containing materials and debris, and an unlicensed company was appointed to clear it up instead of a licensed contractor.
Read the case →£20,000 + £6,956 costs · 2025-12-03
A worker fell more than 30 feet attempting to abseil from a malfunctioning platform basket with no rescue plan in place.
Read the case →Up to four of your people assessed for competence in one day, on your own site and machines, with minimum downtime. Plus a written safe-system pack for each topic.
Small contractors, roadworks and civils crews, groundworkers and landscapers.
Kerbing, resurfacing, drainage, groundworks and utility work run on mini plant from 1 to 8 tonnes: a mini excavator, a dumper, a roller, sometimes a telescopic handler. Alongside them come the Stihl saw, the whacker plate and hand tools. A machine might only run for an hour or two on any given day, in between hand tool work, which is exactly why the operator authorisation and training record needs to be in place rather than assumed.
Two things worry employers in this position. First, a claim from a member of staff if something goes wrong: a training record is the employer's evidence that the machine was used by a trained, assessed operator, and PUWER 1998 regulation 9 requires adequate training for everyone who uses work equipment. Second, getting onto site work at all: principal contractors and councils ask for evidence of training before a small contractor is allowed on site.
What goes wrong on a small civils or groundworks job.
Mini excavators, dumpers, rollers and telescopic handlers working alongside people on foot are a serious risk on any construction or roadworks site. Every operator needs assessed, documented competence on the machine they are actually running, on that site, however briefly it is used that day.
A Stihl saw cutting out old tarmac or concrete puts silica dust into the air and vibration into the operator's hands, and whoever fits the disc needs training in abrasive wheels. A whacker plate adds more vibration. Each of these needs its own control measures and its own paper trail.
Falls from height remain a leading cause of death in construction. Scaffolds, edges, roof work and MEWPs all carry the same underlying duty: plan the work, use the right equipment, and keep the record that shows the plan was followed.
Every excavation risks a buried cable or main. Materials moved by hand cause a steady toll of back and joint injuries, and any refurbishment or demolition work carries an asbestos risk until the survey says otherwise.
The regulations by name.
Many small contractors believe every plant operator must hold a card. The law says something different.
The law does not ask for a CPCS card. It asks for adequate training, and proof your people are competent. A principal contractor can set its own site rules, so ask each site what evidence it wants.
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 set out the duties of principal contractors and contractors for managing health and safety on site.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 section 2(2)(c) requires the employer to provide the information, instruction, training and supervision needed for the health and safety of employees. PUWER 1998 regulation 9 requires every employer to make sure that people who use work equipment have received adequate training, and the Approved Code of Practice and guidance L22 explains how.
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 govern any work where a person could fall a distance liable to cause injury.
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 cover silica dust, and the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 cover hand-arm vibration.
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 apply wherever refurbishment or demolition work could disturb asbestos-containing materials.
The employer still authorises each operator or member of staff in writing. PHW's certificates, records and packs are the evidence behind that decision.
The machines, packs and records that fit this trade.
Micro and mini diggers from 1 to 8 tonnes, assessed on your own machine.
View →Dumpers moving loose material round site, assessed on your own machine.
View →The evidence trail a council, a principal contractor or a solicitor can check.
How verification works → · Take the one-minute construction check →
Tell us the machines and how many of your people, and we will come back with a quote and dates.
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