- 02 Dec, 2025
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Guidance for lifting with a Excavator
Using excavators to raise or suspend loads in a safe manner.
Earthmoving is the primary function of excavators. With the use of the right lifting attachment, certain excavators are built with a secondary function for handling objects. This implies that the excavator may be used for incidental lifting, which is when loads are lifted or supported by lifting machinery or lifting equipment attached to a specifically built lifting location.
Excavators are used to lift or support a variety of loads, some of which are shown below:
trench protectors
tubes
pits
excavator equipment
compactors, for instance, are examples of allied construction machinery.
Choosing a plant to raise and support loads
To identify the risks associated with the suggested usage of the plant for the lifting operation, a risk control assessment should be carried out during the planning stage of the project prior to utilizing an excavator to lift or suspend loads.
The evaluation may conclude that, due to the dangers involved in the particular activity, an excavator should not be used and that alternative forms of lifting machinery should be employed instead.
If the use of an excavator is deemed to be the most logically practical way to lessen the hazards associated with completing the task, then it is crucial to choose the best excavator for the job, implement the necessary risk controls, and ensure that the work is done safely.
Obligations Under the Law
Employers and the self-employed are required by the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (OHS Regulations) to, first and foremost, make sure that, to the extent that it is reasonably feasible, the following conditions are met:
A plant’s sole purpose is to raise or support the load, and it is specifically built for this purpose.
If the plant chosen has been built to lift or support machinery or materials, then the lifting and suspension must be carried out:
using lifting accessories suitable to the load to be lifted or suspended
inside the plant’s acceptable operating range.
No loads are suspended or moving over a person to the extent that it is reasonably feasible.
In addition to maintaining control of the load throughout the operation, employers and self-employed individuals should also make sure that loads are lifted or suspended.
Concerns about safety
If excavators are not utilized in accordance with the responsibilities outlined in the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and OHS Regulations, the operator or anyone else nearby may be injured by an overturning excavator or falling loads. This may expose them to the risk of injury from:
the excavator’s hydraulic, structural, or mechanical malfunction caused by a poor design
overloading causing the points where the lifting machinery and load are attached to fail
the suspended loads swinging into or falling onto the excavator’s cabin
The excavator exceeding the stability load charts or the structural capacity of the excavator components.
Methods suggested for managing the hazards
Make that the excavator is made to lift or suspend the load.
To determine whether the excavator is intended to lift and move freely suspended loads, consult the manufacturer or supplier, as listed in the specifications or operator’s handbook. The work can be described by manufacturers as a ‘secondary function for object handling’.
If you are unsure as to whether the excavator may be utilized for lifting and supporting loads, do not use it for that purpose.
Utilize an excavator with a suitable lifting attachment.
Make sure the excavator has the proper lifting point by consulting the operator’s guide or the rated lift capacity chart. This can be a lifting point that is incorporated into the quick hitch’s design. The excavator should have a matching rated capacity for this lifting location, which should feature a full-coverage eye. The Australian Standard AS 13031 offers instructions for lifting eyes, including those that have a locking mechanism.
When using a rapid hitch, make sure it’s properly attached to the excavator’s arm because it serves as a load pathway. When using the excavator to lift or support loads incidentally, there should be no additional connections to the quick hitch.
Make sure the pin-on attachments adhere to the manufacturer’s instructions. The mounting pins must have the right diameter and length, be firmly attached to the excavator arm, and not be subjected to excessive wear that exceeds the manufacturer’s specifications.
Make sure the H-link is well maintained and structurally sound.
Raise and suspend loads within the excavator’s safe operating limit range.
Before lifting, ascertain the load’s weight.
The excavator’s rated lift capacity for lifting or hanging loads should be displayed at the lifting location.
The rated capacity of excavators made to lift or support loads should be displayed in the operator cabin; this could be a single-rated capacity or a variable-rated lift capacity table.
Make sure that those who schedule the work, like project managers or supervisors, are familiar with the rated lift capability table, so that the right excavator may be chosen for the lifting job depending on its size, lift capacity, and arrangement.
Make sure the ground conditions are suitable for the excavator to be stable at all times.
Single Rated Capacity
A single-rated capacity is determined by the worst-case scenario or excavator arrangement. At maximum extension, this is often achieved by lifting over the side of the excavator’s undercarriage. The weight of the loads and the lifting machinery utilized must be known and within the rated capacity for this to be considered acceptable.
Until the weight of a load is known, it shouldn’t be lifted.
Additionally, an overload warning might signal when the excavator is carrying too much weight.
Variable-rated lift capacity chart
The rated capacity load chart, sometimes referred to as a variable-rated lift capacity chart, should include the following information:
the right place for lifting or connecting
the excavator’s safe operating limits
any setups or load management methods for lifting suspended loads
top and front operator protective guards
devices that regulate lowering, such as hose burst protection
Choose a selection of lift capacities at various spots throughout the excavator’s range of motion.
If a variable-rated lift capacity chart is supplied, the machine should have more engineering controls that prevent lifting weights beyond safe limits. A Load Management System (LMS), for instance, has a rated capacity limiter and a load radius limiter.
Static and dynamic ratings
The rated static capacity is for raising and suspending loads when the excavator is still and only swinging rather than moving. The rated capacity of the excavator is defined by AS 10567 as the lesser of:
75% of the tipping load, plus
87% of the lesser hydraulic lift capability of boom or arm hydraulic lifts at particular lift-point locations.
The rated capacity must be decreased when the excavator is used for pick and carry operations, which involve raising the load and moving with it in suspension, in order to account for the dynamic forces acting on the machine that might make it unstable.
For hydraulic excavators, the dynamic rated capacity should be just 66% of the lesser of the tipping load or hydraulic lift capacity at that lift point location.
When the excavator’s rated capacity is detected by the load management system to be derated, or when the suspended load surpasses the derated capacity, the system should automatically derate the rated capacity or prevent the excavator from moving.
No loads are lifted or suspended over or travel over a person
lower the possibility of items falling on the operator. For instance, if a lifted load could fall on the excavator cabin, a falling object protection system (FOPS), like a top guard that complies with AS ISO 10262, should be installed on top of the operator station.
Minimize the danger of the operator being hit by swinging loads. For instance, in cases where a lifted or hanging load might swing and hit the operator in the cabin, a front guard that complies with AS ISO 10262 should also be installed in front of the operator station.
To aid in risk management, a spotter or supervisor should oversee an exclusion zone around the excavator’s working area.
Ensure that the lifted or suspended load remains under control
The excavator should be equipped with regulated lowering equipment, such as hose burst protection valves, if it is intended to lift and support loads. This guarantees that the boom, arm, and load won’t break and that the operator will retain control in the event of a hydraulic failure.
Where necessary, use taglines.
Provide information, instruction, and training
In order for this job to be done safely and without health hazards, you must equip operators with the essential knowledge, training, and instruction on how to utilize the excavator for lifting and hanging loads.
This could involve receiving training and instruction on the methods used to identify risks, manage risk, the safety protocols related to operating excavators in the workplace, and the use, fit, testing, and storage of personal protective equipment used there to mitigate risk.
Operators ought to be aware of:
If given, how to understand the rated lift capacity variable chart for lifting loads
the functioning of any safety equipment and its possible effects on the excavator’s operation. For instance, the rated capacity limiter might stop the load from being raised, or the load radius limiter might stop the load from being extended away from the operator.
the signals the dogger employs when giving instructions during a lift.
Safe work method statement (SWMS)
You must ensure that excavators are being used safely and that appropriate risk controls are in place.
The use of excavators on a construction site is classed as high-risk construction work. This means you must also complete a safe work method statement (SWMS) before starting work. A SWMS must:
state the hazards and risks of the work
sufficiently describe measures to control those risks and
describe how the risk control measures are to be implemented.
The types of hazards and risks that should be identified, controlled and documented in the SWMS include:
assessing the load
selection and inspection of lifting equipment
application of lifting techniques
selection of plant to lift the load including consideration of
rated lift capacity
lifting point radius
ground conditions
path of travel if load is being picked and carried
exclusion zones separating people and other plant from the lifting zone
placing and alignment of lifted parts with other components
operator training requirements.
The SWMS must be readily accessible and easy to understand by any persons doing or involved in the work.
High-risk work licenses
An operator of an excavator used for incidental lifting does not need to hold a high-risk work license (HRWL). The employer must, however, ensure that operators are trained and suitably competent.
If a person is undertaking dogging work, they will require a HRWL. This is when the person undertakes one or both of the following:
The application of slinging techniques, including the selection or inspection of lifting gear, to sling a load.
The directing of an excavator operator in the movement of the load when the load is out of the operator’s view.
For more information on dogging and slinging techniques, see Dogging and slinging techniques.