Excavator as a Crane Training in Bristol

Excavator as a Crane Training in Bristol

If your excavator operators are lifting drainage pipes, manhole rings, trench boxes, concrete chambers, kerbs or other suspended loads, their training needs to cover more than normal excavator operation. Vally Plant Training provides NPORS N100 Excavator as a Crane Training in Bristol, helping operators understand the additional risks, responsibilities and practical skills involved when an excavator is used for lifting.

For Bristol businesses with several operators to train, we can bring the training to your site. This can be a practical and cost-effective way to train an experienced workforce together, using suitable excavators and lifting equipment relevant to the work they actually carry out. For individual operators and smaller bookings, training is also available at our dedicated Tewkesbury centre.

We provide both NPORS accredited training and in-house Excavator as a Crane training, depending on the certification your business, client or site requires. If your lifting team also needs Slinger Signaller, Lift Supervisor or Appointed Person training, we can discuss combining requirements and potential discounts for multiple candidates or courses.

On-Site Excavator Lifting Training for Bristol Businesses

For many Bristol employers, the biggest advantage of customer-site training is simple: your workforce does not need to travel away from the job to complete its training.

Where you have suitable machinery, lifting equipment, documentation and a safe training area, our instructor can travel to your workplace and train operators together.

This can be particularly useful for:

• Groundworks contractors
• Drainage companies
• Civil engineering businesses
• Utilities contractors
• Housing developers
• Highway contractors
• Infrastructure projects
• Plant hire companies
• Demolition contractors
• Industrial and commercial construction

Bristol has a very different training market from locations closer to our centre. With major construction, regeneration, utilities and infrastructure work taking place across the city and surrounding areas, employers often have experienced operators already working on active projects.

Rather than losing several members of the workforce to travelling, bringing the training to the machinery and operators can make far more sense.

What Is NPORS N100 Excavator as a Crane Training?

An excavator operator may be highly experienced at digging, grading, trenching and loading without having the additional knowledge required to safely handle a suspended load.

NPORS N100 Excavator as a Crane Training covers the additional skills and knowledge required when a suitable excavator is used for lifting operations.

The course deals with areas including:

• Excavator suitability for lifting
• Manufacturer’s instructions
• Approved lifting points
• Rated lifting capacities
• Reading load charts
• Working radius
• Machine configuration
• Ground conditions
• Excavator stability
• Lifting accessories
• Suspended-load control
• Communication
• Exclusion zones
• Lift planning awareness
• Safe lifting and placement

For complete national course information and transparent training-centre pricing, visit our NPORS Excavator as a Crane Training Course.

Operators who still need the underlying excavator qualification can view our NPORS 360 Excavator Training Course.

Using an Excavator for Lifting Is Different from Digging

Excavators are extremely versatile machines, but lifting a suspended load changes the way the machine needs to be operated and assessed. Consider a typical drainage operation.

An operator may need to lift a concrete chamber from a delivery area, slew with it and lower it into an excavation. The load may initially be close to the machine but move further away as it is positioned.

That changing working radius matters.

The excavator may have enough capacity to initially raise the load but insufficient rated capacity to safely position it at the required radius.

This is why experienced excavator operators need to understand the machine’s load chart and limitations rather than relying on whether the excavator feels capable of lifting something.

Can Any Excavator Be Used as a Crane?

No.

An excavator should not be used for lifting simply because it is physically capable of picking up a load. The machine must be suitable for the lifting operation, lifting must be permitted by the manufacturer, and the correct lifting arrangement needs to be used.

Operators also need access to the information required to establish the machine’s safe lifting capacity for the configuration and working radius involved.

LOLER and Excavator Lifting

LOLER – the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 – applies to lifting equipment and lifting operations at work.

For employers, this means excavator lifting involves considerably more than obtaining an operator card.

Lifting operations need to be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out safely. The lifting equipment must also meet the relevant requirements for suitability, marking and thorough examination.

Our LOLER Explained Guide provides further practical information for employers and operators.

PUWER and Employer Responsibilities

The excavator itself is work equipment, so employers also need to consider their responsibilities under PUWER – the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

Employers need to ensure that work equipment is suitable for its intended use and that employees using it have received appropriate information, instruction and training. For excavator lifting operations, employers should consider:

• Whether the excavator is suitable for lifting
• Manufacturer’s requirements
• Machine condition and maintenance
• Current thorough-examination documentation
• Appropriate lifting accessories
• Operator training and competence
• Ground conditions
• Safe systems of work
• Lift planning
• Supervision
• Communication between the lifting team

Operator certification is important, but it does not replace the employer’s wider responsibilities for the lifting operation.

Reading Excavator Load Charts

One of the most important parts of Excavator as a Crane Training is understanding that an excavator does not have one fixed lifting capacity.

The amount the machine can safely lift can change according to factors including:

• Working radius
• Boom position
• Dipper position
• Lift height
• Machine orientation
• Attachment fitted
• Excavator configuration

This is why knowing the load weight is only part of the calculation. The operator also needs to know where that load needs to go.

A lift that is within capacity at one radius may be outside the permitted capacity when the load is moved further away from the machine.

Machine Stability and Ground Conditions

Excavator lifting can place different forces on the machine compared with routine digging. Before lifting begins, consideration needs to be given to where the excavator is positioned and what is supporting it.

Potential issues include:

• Soft ground
• Backfilled ground
• Excavation edges
• Trenches
• Voids
• Sloping ground
• Underground structures
• Temporary working platforms
• Uneven surfaces

These factors are particularly important on busy construction and civil engineering projects where ground conditions can change as work progresses.

Use the Correct Excavator Lifting Point

A lifting chain should not simply be attached to the bucket teeth, quick hitch or another convenient part of the machine because it appears strong enough. Operators need to identify and use the manufacturer-approved lifting arrangement for the particular excavator and attachment configuration.

The lifting point, machine capacity and manufacturer’s instructions all form part of deciding whether the lifting operation can be carried out safely.

Lifting Accessories

A safe excavator does not make unsuitable lifting accessories safe.

Depending on the lifting operation, equipment may include:

• Chain slings
• Web slings
• Round slings
• Shackles
• Hooks
• Master links
• Spreader beams
• Other approved lifting accessories

The lifting team needs to consider the condition, identification, working load limit and suitability of the equipment for the particular load and lifting configuration.

Read our Lifting Accessories Explained Guide for more information.

Pre-Use Checks and Thorough Examination

An operator’s daily inspection and a statutory thorough examination are not the same thing. Operators still need to carry out appropriate pre-use checks before operating the excavator. Where the machine is used for lifting, the relevant thorough-examination requirements also need to be satisfied. The same principle applies to lifting accessories. A visual check by the operator does not replace the required examination arrangements.

Planning an Excavator Lift

Lifting operations need to be properly planned, but the level of planning should be proportionate to the complexity and risk of the work.

Factors may include:

• Load weight
• Load dimensions
• Centre of gravity
• Excavator capacity
• Working radius
• Lifting points
• Machine configuration
• Ground conditions
• Lifting accessories
• Load travel path
• Landing position
• Nearby excavations
• Underground services
• Overhead hazards
• Other plant and vehicles
• Personnel
• Communication
• Exclusion zones

A straightforward repetitive lift and a complicated non-routine lifting operation will not necessarily require the same level of planning, but both still need to be properly considered.

The Excavator Operator Is Part of a Lifting Team

Depending on the operation, other competent people may be involved.

A Slinger Signaller may be responsible for attaching and controlling the load and communicating with the operator.

A Lift Supervisor supervises the lifting operation and helps ensure the agreed method is followed.

An Appointed Person may be responsible for planning the lifting operation.

Vally Plant Training also provides NPORS Slinger Signaller Training, Lift Supervisor Training and Appointed Person Lifting Operations Training.

On-Site Excavator as a Crane Training Requirements

For training at your Bristol workplace, suitable facilities and equipment need to be available for the course and practical assessment.

Requirements can include:

• Suitable excavator approved for lifting
• Manufacturer’s operator manual
• Approved lifting point
• Current thorough-examination documentation
• Suitable lifting accessories
• Relevant examination records
• Suitable loads
• Safe practical lifting area
• Appropriate ground conditions
• Risk assessments
• Method statements
• Lift plan where required
• Candidate PPE
• Photo identification
• Separation from unrelated site activities

Please check our On-Site Plant Training Requirements Guide before arranging workplace delivery.

Bristol On-Site Training or Tewkesbury Centre?

For Bristol companies with several experienced operators, on-site training can make excellent commercial sense.

Instead of paying for individual candidates to travel to our centre, we can quote for delivering the required training at your workplace.

The quotation will depend on factors including:

• Number of candidates
• Experience levels
• Number of training days
• Bristol site location
• Machinery available
• Lifting equipment
• Courses required
• Travel requirements

Our transparent published course prices apply to training and testing at our Tewkesbury training centre. Discounts may be available for multiple candidates or businesses combining several training requirements. For current centre pricing and full course details, visit our NPORS Excavator as a Crane Training Course.

Training at Our Tewkesbury Centre

Individual Bristol operators and smaller company bookings can attend our dedicated training centre at Newton Farm Business Park, Ashchurch, Tewkesbury. The centre is conveniently located close to Junction 9 of the M5, making it accessible from Bristol via the M5.

Candidates travelling by public transport can use Ashchurch for Tewkesbury railway station, approximately a five-minute walk from the training centre.

The centre option can be particularly useful where an employer does not have a suitable excavator, lifting equipment or safe practical area available for training.

NPORS Accredited or In-House Training?

NPORS N100 Excavator as a Crane

NPORS N100 is suitable where recognised accredited operator certification is required by an employer, client, principal contractor or site.

In-House Excavator as a Crane Training

Vally Plant Training can also provide in-house Excavator as a Crane training and certification.

This can be suitable for employers that need documented evidence of training and assessment for employees operating company equipment but do not require an NPORS Operator Card. In-house certification can support an employer’s training, competence and health and safety records where it is accepted, but it is not the same as an NPORS Operator Card.

The employer should confirm the requirements of its client, principal contractor, site and insurer before choosing the certification route.

CITB Funding

Vally Plant Training is a CITB Training Provider Network Member.

Eligible CITB-registered employers may be able to access funding towards qualifying training, subject to current CITB rules and eligibility.

If your Bristol business is CITB registered, tell us when requesting your training quotation.

Excavator as a Crane Training Across Bristol

On-site training can be arranged at suitable workplaces across Bristol and the surrounding area, including:

• Bristol
• Avonmouth
• Severnside
• Filton
• Patchway
• Bradley Stoke
• Emersons Green
• Keynsham
• Portishead
• Clevedon
• South Gloucestershire
• North Somerset

We also provide customer-site plant and lifting training throughout the South West and nationwide for suitable company bookings.

Why Choose Vally Plant Training?

Vally Plant Training is a direct training provider, not a course-booking broker.

This means Bristol employers can discuss their actual workforce requirements directly with the people arranging their training. Tell us how many operators you have, their experience, the excavators they use and the lifting work they carry out.

We can then look at:

• NPORS N100 training
• In-house certification
• Experienced and novice routes
• Candidate numbers
• Customer-site delivery
• Training-centre options
• Lifting-team requirements
• Multiple-course bookings
• Potential group discounts

This helps businesses arrange training around their workforce and operational requirements rather than simply buying individual course places.

About Vally Plant Training

Vally Plant Training is a family-run specialist plant and lifting training provider based in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.

Established in 2014, we provide practical plant operator training, Experienced Worker Tests, lifting courses and workplace assessment for individuals and businesses working throughout construction, groundworks, civil engineering, utilities and related industries.

We are an NPORS Approved Training Provider and CITB Training Provider Network Member, delivering accredited and in-house training at our training centre and suitable customer workplaces throughout the UK.

Related Training for Excavator Lifting Operations

NPORS 360 Excavator Training – for operators who need the underlying excavator training and assessment.

NPORS Slinger Signaller Training – for personnel involved in attaching, controlling and directing loads during lifting operations.

Lift Supervisor Training – for personnel responsible for supervising lifting operations.

Appointed Person Lifting Operations Training – for personnel responsible for planning lifting operations.