Excavators

What you need to do

The law says you must organise your site so as to segregate pedestrians and excavators. Those excavators used must be carefully selected, maintained and operated by trained drivers. Key issues are:

What you need to know

A safe workplace for all vehicle operations must be established by separating pedestrians and vehicles and providing hazard-free traffic routes. See Traffic management

Excavator hazards

Most fatal and serious injuries involving excavators occur when the excavator is:

Controlling the risk

It is important to select the right excavator for the job. There are five main precautions needed to control excavator hazards. These are:

Training and competence

There are three categories of worker who must be trained and competent regarding the excavator hazards and precautions:

Inspection and maintenance

A programme of daily visual checks, regular inspections and servicing schedules should be established in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and the risks associated with each vehicle.

Drivers should be encouraged to report defects or problems. Reported problems should be put right quickly and the excavator taken out of service if the item is safety critical.

2021-11-19