Excavator as a Crane Training

Build your excavator lifting skills with practical NPORS N100 Excavator as a Crane Training.

Novice, Experienced Worker Test and refresher routes are available at our Tewkesbury centre, with nationwide on-site training for businesses with suitable machinery, lifting equipment and facilities.

Training for Your Team: On suitable customer sites throughout the UK.

Booking for Yourself or Your Team?: At our Tewkesbury centre in Gloucestershire.

Call 01684 297167.

Enquire About Excavator Lifting.

Already operate a 360 excavator but need to lift pipes, manhole rings, trench boxes, chambers or other suspended loads?

Vally Plant Training provides practical NPORS N100 Excavator as a Crane Training for operators who need the additional skills and knowledge required when an excavator stops digging and starts lifting.

We provide NPORS Accredited Training Provider and in-house Excavator as a Crane certification, depending on what you actually need.

Whether you are an experienced operator adding lifting to your existing excavator skills or an employer training a complete lifting team, speak to us about the most appropriate route before booking.

Company Training: Published prices apply to training and testing at our Tewkesbury centre.

Nationwide customer-site training is quoted separately, normally around the training days, candidate numbers, location, machinery and lifting requirements.

Multiple-booking discounts may be available.

This course is designed for operators who use a suitable excavator to lift and position freely suspended loads.

Typical lifting work can include:

If you only use an excavator for digging, grading, trenching and loading, you may simply need our NPORS 360 Excavator Training Course.

If you are expected to attach a load to an approved lifting point and use the excavator as lifting equipment, Excavator as a Crane Training is the specialist route to discuss with us.

Already an experienced excavator operator with suitable lifting knowledge and practical ability?

The NPORS Excavator as a Crane Experienced Worker Test provides an assessment route without putting a competent operator through unnecessary novice training.

The experienced route is 1 day with up to 6 candidates.

Candidates should already have appropriate excavator operating ability before attending an experienced assessment.

An EWT is an assessment route for competent operators, not a shortcut where substantial training is still needed.

Our novice N100 route is for excavator operators who need instruction and practical experience in lifting operations before assessment.

The novice course is 2 days with up to 4 candidates.

This route is particularly relevant to operators who are already familiar with normal excavator operation but have little or no practical experience controlling suspended loads.

Refresher training is available for operators who have previously completed suitable excavator lifting training but need to update their knowledge or practical skills.

This may be appropriate after time away from lifting operations, following an employer training review or where updated competence is required.

We can help you choose between novice training, an Experienced Worker Test or refresher training before you book.

The right course depends on your existing excavator competence, lifting experience and the work you are expected to carry out.

NOVICE • EXPERIENCED WORKER TEST • REFRESHER • NPORS N100 • IN-HOUSE OPTION

The course combines theory with practical excavator lifting exercises.

Depending on the training route, subjects can include:

The aim is not simply to teach an operator how to pick something up.

A competent operator needs to understand why the machine's capacity changes, how the load can affect stability and when a proposed lift should not go ahead.

During normal excavation work, material is generally contained within the bucket or attachment.

A suspended load behaves differently.

It can:

An experienced excavator operator therefore needs to understand an additional set of risks when moving from normal earthmoving to lifting operations.

Yes, suitable excavators can be used for lifting operations, but that does not mean every excavator is suitable for every lift.

HSE guidance explains that lifting must be permitted by the original manufacturer, appropriate dedicated lifting points and capacity information are required, manufacturer's instructions must be followed and relevant thorough-examination requirements apply.

The fact that an excavator is physically capable of picking something up does not prove that the lifting operation is safe.

The machine, load, radius, lifting point, accessories, ground conditions and complete lifting operation all need to be considered.

One of the most important lessons in excavator lifting is that the machine does not have one fixed lifting capacity.

How much an excavator can safely lift can change according to:

This can catch inexperienced operators out.

A concrete chamber may be well within the machine's capacity when first lifted close to the tracks, but moving it further away can significantly change the lifting capacity available.

The operator needs to check the manufacturer's information for the machine configuration and radius actually being used.

A Rated Capacity Indicator – RCI – helps warn the operator as the excavator approaches its rated lifting capacity.

It is an important safety aid on machines where required, but it does not replace the load chart or proper lift planning.

The operator still needs to know:

An RCI should support competent decision-making rather than replace it.

Machine stability is critical when an excavator is used as lifting equipment.

Factors can include:

A machine can be perfectly stable in one position and unsuitable in another.

The operator needs to understand how the load and machine position affect stability throughout the entire lift.

A lifting chain or sling should not simply be attached wherever it happens to fit.

Bucket teeth should not automatically be treated as lifting points.

Neither should a quick hitch automatically be assumed to be suitable.

Where the excavator is approved for lifting, the manufacturer's designated lifting arrangement and lifting point must be followed.

The operator also needs to understand any limitations associated with the attachment and machine configuration.

The excavator is only one part of the lifting arrangement.

Depending on the load, lifting accessories can include:

Lifting accessories need to be appropriate for the load and configuration.

Working load limit, condition, identification, sling angles and method of attachment can all matter.

LOLER stands for the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998.

Where lifting equipment is used at work, LOLER places duties around the equipment and lifting operation.

HSE states that lifting operations must be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out safely.

LOLER also covers areas including suitability, marking and thorough examination of lifting equipment.

This is why operator training should never be viewed in isolation.

A trained excavator operator still needs:

For further guidance, read our LOLER Explained Guide.

PUWER stands for the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

Employers need to ensure work equipment is suitable for the task and that people using it have received adequate information, instruction and training.

HSE specifically explains that employers must ensure employees using work equipment receive adequate training for health and safety purposes, including training in the methods that may be adopted, risks involved and precautions required.

For an employer using excavators for lifting, that means considering:

An NPORS card provides evidence of operator training and assessment.

It does not remove an employer's wider responsibilities for the lifting operation.

Where an excavator is used as lifting equipment, relevant LOLER thorough-examination requirements need to be considered.

This is separate from the operator's normal pre-use inspection.

The operator should still inspect the machine before work, but a daily check does not replace a statutory thorough examination where one is required.

Lifting operations need to be properly planned by a competent person.

The level of detail should reflect the complexity and risk of the operation.

Planning may need to consider:

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

The excavator operator is often only one part of the lifting team.

A competent Slinger Signaller may be responsible for tasks including attaching the load, checking lifting accessories, controlling the load and communicating with the machine operator.

Good communication is especially important where the operator cannot see the landing area clearly.

Before lifting begins, everyone should understand:

Companies carrying out lifting operations may need competence across more than one role.

Vally Plant Training also provides: If several members of the same lifting team require training, tell us the complete requirement when requesting your quotation.

Our current centre prices include: NPORS Experienced Worker Test – From £360 + VAT per person NPORS Registration/Card Fee – £45 + VAT per person where applicable NPORS Novice Course – From £1500 + VAT These published prices apply to courses delivered at our Tewkesbury training centre.

Multiple-candidate discounts may be available.

Customer-site training is quoted separately because the overall cost depends on factors such as:

If your business has several excavator operators to train, bringing the course to your workplace can reduce unnecessary travel and workforce downtime.

On-site N100 training can be delivered at suitable construction sites, company yards, groundworks projects, civil engineering schemes and other controlled workplaces throughout the UK.

Training several candidates together can be particularly useful for:

As an NPORS Accredited Training Provider and CITB Training Provider Network Member, we deliver Excavator as a Crane training nationwide, providing practical operator training and assessment at suitable customer sites.

Where suitable machinery, lifting accessories and facilities are available, Vally Plant Training can deliver NPORS N100 or in-house Excavator as a Crane training at your workplace.

Group delivery can reduce travel and allow several operators to complete training within the same booking.

NATIONWIDE DELIVERY • GROUP BOOKINGS • NPORS N100 • IN-HOUSE TRAINING • MULTI-COURSE DISCOUNTS

For training at your workplace, suitable machinery, equipment and facilities must be available.

Requirements can include:

Use our On-Site Plant Training Requirements Guide before arranging customer-site training.

Centre-based training can be particularly useful where:

The centre is close to Junction 9 of the M5 and has parking available.

For candidates travelling by public transport, Ashchurch for Tewkesbury railway station is approximately a five-minute walk from the training centre.

The NPORS route is appropriate where recognised accredited operator certification is required.

This may be specified by:

Candidates complete the appropriate training and assessment before receiving the relevant NPORS certification.

Not every employer requires an NPORS Operator Card.

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

This can provide documented evidence of instruction, training and assessment for employees using company equipment and may support internal competence, health and safety and insurance arrangements where the certification is accepted.

An in-house certificate is not the same as an NPORS Operator Card.

Acceptance depends on the employer, client, principal contractor, site and insurer.

Candidates complete appropriate theory and practical assessment.

Assessment can cover:

Successful candidates receive certification for the route completed and will be added to your NPORS Excavator Ticket.

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, course eligibility and employer requirements.

Vally Plant Training is a family-run specialist plant and lifting training provider established in 2014.

We are an NPORS Accredited Training Provider and CITB Training Provider Network Member (TPN), delivering training at our dedicated Gloucestershire centre and at suitable customer workplaces nationwide.

We are also a direct training provider rather than a course-booking broker.

That means you can discuss the real requirement with us:

We can then help you choose the appropriate route rather than simply selling a generic course place.

Lift Supervisor Training – for personnel supervising lifting operations and ensuring the agreed method is followed.

Practical guidance for excavator operators, lifting teams, supervisors and employers involved in lifting operations.

Tell us about your excavator experience, the lifting work you carry out and where you need training.

We can help you choose the correct novice, Experienced Worker Test or refresher route, arrange training at our Tewkesbury centre or quote for nationwide customer-site delivery.

NPORS N100 • NOVICE, EWT & REFRESHER • IN-HOUSE OPTION • TEWKESBURY CENTRE • NATIONWIDE ON-SITE TRAINING • GROUP DISCOUNTS Request Excavator as a Crane Training