UDT authorizations – when is it worth getting them, how long are they valid, what has changed?

One of the most frequently conducted UDT courses is training allowing for obtaining qualifications for forklifts and moving platforms. Training in the operation of material handling equipment is one of the ways to improve qualifications and has enjoyed unflagging interest for years. It is worth doing them when looking for a job or to improve your own competences, but be careful! Curleasely, it is worth obtaining UDT licenses only if they will actually be used in everyday work, otherwise they may become invalid after 5 or 10 years.. 2019 brought major changes in terms of UDT authorizations and the methods of obtaining them. What does it look like now?

Legal regulations regarding the powers of the Office of Technical Inspection

The Act on Technical Inspection specifies, among others: rules for acquiring UDT licenses (for forklifts and other handling equipment). In 2019, it gained a new wording, significantly changing the method of obtaining and maintaining authorizations.

In the case of forklift trucks (forklifts) the old rules distinguished three categories of rights:

• IWJO qualifications - covering specialized forklifts and powered lift trucks with an operator's seat, guided and remotely controlled;
• IIWJO qualifications - including qualifications for powered mobile platforms, with operator's seat, side platforms and remotely controlled ones;
• IIIWJO qualifications - including, for example, guided trolleys.

UDT authorizations according to these categories have been abolished since 2019 i replaced by a higher category - equivalent to IWJO and a lower category - equivalent to IIWJO and IIIWJO. Moreover, once obtained, the rights were valid indefinitely, and it was also possible to obtain them in a company where the employer issued the employee with personal company rights, valid only at the workplace during the duration of the contract.

What does it look like in the light of the curlease rules?

Authorizations are issued only by the Office of Technical Inspection

It is no longer possible to obtain a personal permit issued on the basis of internal company training. All employees applying for work related to the operation of devices requiring skills confirmed by an appropriate certificate must have: state authorizations issued only by the Office of Technical Inspection. What then about the authorizations issued so far?

Until when are old forklift licenses valid?

 "What if I have old forklift licenses without the Office of Technical Inspection?", "Are old forklift licenses valid?", "I have forklift licenses without the Office of Technical Inspection and what next?" – these and similar questions arise quite often in connection with the introduction of new rules for acquiring and extending authorizations. UDT authorizations – how to check the expiry date?

The validity of UDT authorizations depends only on the date of their issue

Personal permits issued by employers cause the most confusion. They have been in force since 2019 three expiry dates for personal authorizations issued by the employer.

• Authorizations issued before December 31.12.2004, 2023 are valid until the end of XNUMX.
• Authorizations issued between January 1.01.2005, 31.12.2014 and December 2026, XNUMX are valid until the end of XNUMX.
• Authorizations issued between January 1.01.2015, 10.08.2018 and August 2027, XNUMX will be valid until the end of XNUMX.

In the case of company permits, after the expiry date of the permits for forklifts, loaders, lifts, etc., they can be purchased again by taking the state UDT exam. A uniform deadline has been introduced for all operators who acquired UDT rights before 2019, regardless of the date of obtaining the rights. All permits are valid for 5 years from January 1.01.2019, XNUMX. In order to retain them, you must apply for their extension at least 3 months before their expiry date.

How to check forklift licenses?

As with permissions for other devices, the expiry date on a document issued after 2019 is specified on the back of the document, in the case of older authorizations, the above-described expiration dates should be followed.

The new UDT authorizations are for a specified period!

The changes also included the indefinite issuance of certificates. Curleasely, technical supervision authorizations are valid for 5 or 10 years, depending on the device. The introduction of a shortened validity period of authorizations and the elimination of personal employer permits are aimed at improving the safety of operation of all devices supervised by the Office of Technical Inspection.

The five-year validity period includes: mechanically driven lifting trolleys equipped with a boom or with an operator lifted along with the load, mobile platforms, winches and hoists, overhead cranes and cranes (except stationary, mobile and portable cranes).

The 5-year validity period of the authorization covers: mechanically driven trucks without a boom and the ability to lift employees with loads, certain types of mobile platforms, cranes not covered by the XNUMX-year authorization period.

How to extend UDT authorizations?

Extension of licenses for forklifts and other equipment is possible at the request of the interested party after meeting certain conditions.

• Over the last 5 years, the operator should demonstrate at least 3 years of active work on a given device. An appropriate declaration is submitted in this regard.
• The application should be submitted (in traditional or online form) no later than 3 months before the expiry of the authorizations.

Extending the authorization does not involve a repeated examination, but is only a formal activity confirming the continuity of work on a given device.

Application to extend the validity of the certificate

UDT training – requirements

This issue remained unchanged after the amendment to the Act. Candidates to operate various devices subject to technical supervision should still have:

• over 18 years old,
• minimum primary education,
• medical certificate confirming the lack of contraindications to work at heights....

Courses in the operation of forklifts, lifts, loaders and cranes are organized by professional development centers. They may agree on a training program with the Office of Technical Inspection, but the office itself does not conduct training. The course includes a theoretical and practical part. Acquiring qualifications is confirmed by passing an exam before the UDT commission (usually two people). The issued document contains the expiry date of the authorizations.

Read also: Course for aerial work - UDT qualifications for aerial lifts

UDT forklift course – price

The final price of the forklift course is generally determined individually and depends on the training center, the number of students, possible promotions, etc. From February 9, 2020, pursuant to Art. 23 section 4 of the amended Act on technical supervision and the amount of average remuneration in the national economy in 2020, there is a new examination fee for checking qualifications at the Office of Technical Inspection and it amounts to PLN 193,78.

***

Full text Regulation of the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Technology of May 21, 2019.