Training Requirements
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Chapters
WinCan Training
WinCan delivers training for GDMS data entry and processing over a 3-day course. The days of the training are split into 3 distinct parts and assessment is included in the training, so there are pass/fail scenarios.
Day 1 – covers data entry for GDMS projects and project setup.
Day 2 – describes how to use WinCan Map VX in partnership with WinCan VX.
Day 3 – goes into the detail of how to process GDMS projects towards successful delivery to the client.
CCTV van operators are expected to attend days 1 and 2, and back-office processors should attend all 3 days. Here, we will teach all the processes required to deliver GDMS data in WinCan VX from cradle to grave.
The requirements of this training get tougher and tougher as the days progress, and CCTV contractors are urged to consider if their staff have the adequate personal skills to complete the course. These include:
A good understanding of and some experience of delivering GDMS data, and a good understanding of the GDMS deliverables requirements for their projects.
An excellent ‘significantly above average’ prior knowledge of using WinCan products.
Excellent general PC working, even for the operators on the vans. Users must be dynamic in their approach to using the computer, and simply clicking buttons blindly because ‘that’s how we did it on the training course’ is not enough. Users must be able to ‘think’ their way out of trouble using their excellent prior PC skills. This applies both on the CCTV van and in the office.
CCTV operators should have a fair understanding of GIS data, and office post-processors must have an excellent ‘above average’ grasp of working with and handling GIS data.
If the contractor requesting training has a real GDMS inspection job lined up in the foreseeable future, then they must also provide to the WinCan trainer at least 3 working days before the training course takes place:
The shapefiles downloaded from GDMS that they are going to work on.
The work order extents drawings as described earlier from their client and/or Marker Post numbers.
When we have access to the real data, it is often a good starting point during the training to use it as a ‘live’ example and prepare the WinCan project(s) in the classroom so that they are ready to go to site by the time learners leave the training environment. Having a real job in the balance is useful for focussing the candidate’s attention on the job at hand.
There are some well known and well established CCTV inspection qualifications which are considered mandatory for this type of work including OS19X sewer inspection from RelyOn Develop Training, but this is training the WRc (Water Research Centre) MSCC (Manual of Sewer Condition Classification) standard for general water company workstreams and it should be borne in mind that the GDMS inspection standard is not the same as the WRc inspection standard.
While there are some similarities, there are also many differences from the section header fields to the observation codes to the scoring outputs. GDMS data does not consider the MSCC at all and is its own entity completely. So, even the most established CCTV surveyor is likely to feel a certain amount of trepidation going into this training.
While at WinCan, we will endeavour to provide all of the skills and tools needed to process data inside the WinCan software suite, the core business of training CCTV coding still sits with Develop Training, and they should be contacted by contractors wishing to organise upgrade training for operators with an OS19X needing to up-skill into GDMS surveying. OS19X is no longer an acceptable qualification for this type of work.
National Highways Training
The shift in the data standard from DDMS to GDMS has also introduced new training requirements from the end client National Highways, and these requirements cascade from the top down through the supply chain by the very nature of the CS551 and CD535 documents.
These are but not limited to the following courses, also from RelyOn Develop Training:
OS21X - Inspection of Brick and Masonry Pipes to MSCC5.
OS23X - Inspection of surface mounted Continuous items, Point items and Region items to National Highways requirements.
OS26X - Inspection of below ground Continuous items to National Highways requirements, over and above the OS19X requirements and its related content.
OS30X - Upgrade of OS19x from MSCC4 to MSCC5. MSCC4 will no longer be valid for Water Company inspections from April 2026.
It should be noted that CS551 and CD535 are updated in April 2025 and there has been a significant change therein that these training requirements are a ‘must have’, and no longer a ‘should have’ expectation. There is also scope for contractors to demonstrate competence by other means.
Access to GDMS Online
The new GDMS online platform is available by clicking here.
To gain reviewer access rights to the system, you will need to complete at least the ‘Drainage asset data – Review access’ training module and get at least 80% in the quiz to pass the course. After successfully completing the course, there will be instructions on what to do next to gain access to the system within the area or areas where you are working.
The list of training modules is available here - National Highways: Geotechnical & Drainage Management Service (GDMS) - Supply Chain Sustainability School