Excavator Lifting Operations — Safe Work Method Statement

Using an excavator to lift pipes, pits, precast units, trench shields and other loads is routine on civil and plumbing jobs, and it is one of the most misunderstood tasks on site. This template is only for lifting with an excavator. For general operation of the machine (pre-starts, quick hitch changes, tracking, slewing near people) use the Excavator Operations template. The work is High Risk Construction Work because the excavator is powered mobile plant, and pipe laying usually also involves trenches deeper than 1.5 metres.

An excavator can only be used to lift a suspended load if the manufacturer has designed and rated it for lifting. That generally means a lifting point with a marked working load limit (on the coupler or the linkage, not the bucket teeth), a load chart for the machine in lifting mode, and the safety devices the manufacturer specifies for lifting, usually hose burst or load holding valves on the boom and arm cylinders and an overload warning device. Chains wrapped around the bucket, slings hooked over teeth, and hooks welded on without engineering certification are not acceptable. Rated capacity drops sharply as the load moves out from the machine, and is often lower over the side than over the front or rear in line with the tracks, so a lift that is fine at the trench can tip the machine at the stack.

Licensing for lifting with earthmoving machinery is not uniform. Under the model WHS Regulations, high risk work licences cover listed crane types and dogging and rigging work. Whether an excavator used as a crane needs a crane licence, or whether slinging loads for it needs a dogging licence, depends on how your state or territory applies those rules and on the lift itself. Do not assume an exemption: check your state or territory regulator, and if in doubt use a licensed dogger to select and attach the slings. At a minimum, the operator must be trained and competent in lifting with that excavator, including reading its load chart, and anyone slinging must be competent in selecting and inspecting lifting gear. If a lift is outside the chart, close to its limits, or out of the operator's view, use a crane.

The SWMS must address confirming the machine is rated for lifting, the load weight and radius at pick-up and set-down, the chart capacity over the front and the side, lifting gear selection, ground conditions, the exclusion zone, communication, and how workers in the trench are protected while loads are lowered.

Customise this template with the excavator make, model and load chart reference, the rated lifting point and its working load limit, the loads being lifted and their weights, the maximum radius, the lifting gear used, the trench depth and ground support, any overhead powerlines, and the competency or licence held by the operator and slinger.