BDA updates free thorough examination course on its online Training Portal

The British Drilling Association (BDA) has updated its online course Thorough Examination Certification for Land Drilling, which is free to members through the association's Training Portal, the trade body said in a post on 9 November.

The post repeats, under the same headline and in the same wording, an announcement the BDA first published on 30 October. Neither post sets out what has changed in the course.

The BDA said the course gives an extensive guide to the requirements for Reports of Thorough Examination relating to drilling machinery and equipment, and supports a clearer understanding of the examination and certification requirements that underpin safe, properly managed drilling operations.

The association said it would keep adding training to the portal for members and the wider drilling sector.

The portal

The BDA Training Portal went live on 27 September 2026, according to the association, as a dedicated platform for individuals and employers. The BDA said it was aimed at drillers and drilling operatives, as well as employers and those responsible for training, health and safety and operations.

The portal, hosted at bda.learnworlds.com, offers short online continuing professional development (CPD) courses written specifically for the land drilling industry. Learners complete them independently and at their own pace. The BDA said at launch that the platform was designed to grow, with further courses and educational materials planned.

The portal landing page says members get some courses free and others at a discount.

Earlier guidance and the BDA Audit

Separately, on 4 November 2025 the BDA released a members-only training video, Thorough Examination Certification for Drilling. The association said that video covered what needs to be examined and when, and how to document findings accurately, and was intended to help members ensure their plant, winches, ropes and lifting accessories were compliant and safe.

The portal also hosts the BDA's hydraulic hose inspection course. On 26 October 2026 the association announced that hydraulic hose inspection training would become a pre-requisite for the BDA Audit, with the requirement planned to take effect from the start of April 2027.

The BDA said the hydraulic hose requirement will apply to all Lead Drillers operating machinery with hydraulic systems, and that members can complete the course through the Training Portal. The BDA Audit scheme, according to the association, checks all aspects of work undertaken, including health and safety and legal compliance.

The BDA describes itself as the UK trade association for drillers, rig and equipment suppliers and geotechnical service providers, and says it has been driven by the need for continuous improvement in safety since 1976.

The regulatory backdrop

The BDA's announcement does not itself cite legislation or examination intervals. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), however, sets out the legal framework for thorough examination of lifting equipment in its guidance on the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER).

HSE defines a thorough examination as a systematic and detailed examination of the equipment and its safety-critical parts. Unless an examination scheme specifies other intervals, HSE guidance says thorough examinations are due every 12 months for lifting equipment, and every six months for equipment that lifts people and for lifting accessories.

The examination should be followed by a written report, HSE says, a copy of which must also be sent to the relevant enforcing authority where required. Reporting and record-keeping duties sit under regulations 9, 10 and 11 of LOLER.

HSE also says the competent person carrying out a thorough examination should be sufficiently independent and impartial to ensure in-house examinations are made without fear or favour.

The hydraulic hose inspection pre-requisite for the BDA Audit is planned to apply from the start of April 2027.