Supervision of a Trainee and the Limits of a WP Ticket
You hold a current WP licence and have been asked to supervise a new worker who is 'keen to learn the machine'. The new worker has no licence and no training. The job is to trim tree branches over a car park using a 16 m boom lift. The site manager suggests the new worker can operate the lift 'under your supervision' because you will be standing next to the machine, and that this will count as on-the-job training towards his licence. The car park is open to the public, with pedestrians walking beneath the work area, and the branch trimming requires the basket to be positioned directly over a walkway.
1. Can the unlicensed worker operate the boom lift under your supervision? Explain the supervision rules that actually apply.
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No. Supervision does not convert an unlicensed person into a licensed operator. The licensing requirement applies to the person operating the boom-type EWP with a boom length of 11 m or more; standing beside the machine does not transfer the licence, and there is no 'supervised operation' exemption that lets an unlicensed person take the controls on a public site.
Supervision has a real role, but it is about overseeing licensed operators and managing risk - checking the SWMS, the traffic management, the load chart, the exclusion zone - not about authorising unlicensed operation.
Training towards a licence happens through a registered training organisation delivering the unit of competency, which includes structured training and assessment on the machine, followed by the regulator issuing the licence. Informal 'having a go' on a live public site is not that, and it is the worst possible environment for it: public pedestrians beneath the work area, a machine over a walkway, and an untrained hand on the controls.
So the new worker can be a spotter, a ground hand, or a pedestrian-control person - all useful - but not the operator.
2. Describe how you would set up the work so the licensed operation can proceed safely, and how genuine training could be arranged.
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Setting up the job:
- Close the walkway beneath the work area and provide a signed detour; do not rely on cones alone where pedestrians can walk under a basket.
- A traffic controller or ground spotter at each approach, with the public held clear of the drop zone.
- Confirm the load chart and the basket configuration for the reach required over the walkway.
- Check for overhead services near the branches and confirm the machine's insulation status if there is any chance of contact.
- SWMS briefed to everyone on site, including the ground hand.
Genuine training path for the new worker:
- Enrol with an RTO for the WP unit; the training includes supervised practice on a machine in a controlled area, not a live public car park.
- Once assessed competent, the RTO notifies the regulator and the licence is issued.
- Only then does he operate on site, and even then under the normal supervision any new operator receives.
That sequence protects the public, the worker, and you. The site manager's shortcut would expose all three to the consequences of an unlicensed operator causing an injury over a public walkway.