Mobile plant risk assessment template

A mobile plant risk assessment must start with the actual machine and work area. An excavator slewing beside a trench, a dumper on a changing haul route and a telehandler working near a pedestrian entrance have different hazards. A generic form that says “trained operator, banksman and high-vis” is not a safe traffic plan. This worksheet helps a competent team document machine suitability, operator competence, route, ground, people segregation, visibility, exclusion, maintenance and stop-work conditions for a task in Great Britain.

Use it for a defined piece of plant and operation. It does not approve a crane lift, a lifting plan, a temporary-works design, a public-highway traffic order or a machine examination. Northern Ireland requires a separate legal review. If the machine is used for lifting, loading, excavation, work at height or another specialist activity, add the relevant task assessment and competent plan. The completed form should be briefed and checked on site; it is not a substitute for controls actually installed.

Define the operation

Record the plant type, make/model, attachment, serial or fleet ID, planned work, operator, supervisor, dates and site area. State whether the machine will travel, slew, tip, lift, excavate, load, grade or reverse. Check the manufacturer's instructions for the selected configuration. An excavator with a different bucket or quick hitch may change reach and visibility. A machine delivered as a substitute should be assessed before use, not accepted because it is “similar”.

Walk the route and work zone with the operator. Mark pedestrians, delivery vehicles, occupied buildings, public boundaries, fixed objects, overhead services, buried services, excavations, slopes, weak surfaces, water, scaffolds and temporary works. Review the ground both before and during operation; weather and repeated traffic can change it. Where support capacity, trench-edge stability or temporary structure protection is uncertain, obtain competent design or engineering input. This worksheet should record that hold point rather than invent a bearing value.

HSE's construction traffic-management guidance includes excavators, dumpers and lift trucks in “vehicles” and emphasises separating pedestrians and vehicles, minimising movement, managing turning and visibility. A site-wide traffic plan may set the framework, but this assessment must explain how the specific machine will operate within it.

Critical hazards and controls

People struck or crushed. Separate workers and the public from moving plant using layout, barriers, routes and controlled crossings where reasonably practicable. Define the exclusion zone for slewing, reversing, loading and tipping. A banksman or spotter does not replace physical separation where separation is feasible. Agree a single communication system, where the spotter stands and what the operator does if contact is lost. HSE's workplace transport guidance asks sites to map vehicle and pedestrian movement and reduce interaction.

Slew and tail-swing. Mark the full arc of the machine, boom, attachment and load, not just its tracks or wheels. Keep people out of the crushing gap against walls, scaffolds, parked vehicles and temporary works. HSE's construction guidance warns that mirrors or cameras alone do not prove a slewing area is clear, because the operator's attention may be on the boom. If a confined site has inadequate clearance, select a different machine or establish effective secure segregation. Do not assume a painted line on the ground is enough.

Unintended movement. Check controls, guards, interlocks, safety levers and parking arrangements. HSE's excavator safety notice identifies fatal risk from accidental control movement when people are in the operating arc. The team should know how the machine is made safe when paused and when anyone needs to approach it. The operator must stop and secure plant before communicating at close range or allowing a person into the danger zone. Follow the actual manufacturer and site rules.

Ground and overturning. Assess slope, soft ground, voids, buried structures, edge protection, trench proximity, water and loading. Check the machine's operating limits and attachment configuration. Do not place a dumper near a trench or tip into a void based only on habit; use the approved site design, stop blocks or other controls where required. Reassess after heavy rain, excavation, backfilling or a route change. If the support of a scaffold or temporary work could be struck, plan a protected route.

Visibility and reversing. Minimise reversing through a route design and turning area. Where reversing is unavoidable, assess mirrors, cameras, alarms, lighting, obstructions and people. An alarm may be inaudible on a noisy site; cameras may be obscured by mud. State the marshal's position and no-signal stop rule. Night work or a dark internal area needs lighting that allows the operator and people on foot to see each other without glare.

Plant condition and operator competence. Check service/inspection records and pre-use condition of tyres or tracks, brakes, steering, hydraulics, alarms, lights, mirrors, guards, seat/restraint, attachment locking and leaks as relevant. Record defects and isolate plant until resolved. Confirm the operator is competent for this machine and activity; a card or certificate is one input, not proof of competence for every attachment or site condition. Induct visiting operators into local routes, exclusion zones and emergency arrangements.

Loading or lifting with plant. If an excavator or telehandler lifts a suspended load, the lifting operation has separate LOLER planning, equipment suitability and supervision duties. HSE's LOLER overview covers those duties. This mobile-plant assessment can reference the approved lift plan but cannot replace it. For buckets or grabs carrying loose material, assess falling material and keep people out of the path. For delivery vehicles, coordinate the loading/unloading assessment and prevent vehicle movement until the operation is complete.

Services and environmental risks. Check overhead line and buried service information for travel, digging and lifting. Do not assume lines are safe because a machine can fit beneath them. Assess exhaust, dust, noise, vibration, fuel and spill response for the environment. A diesel machine in a partially enclosed space may need different ventilation or a different power source. The actual manufacturer, substance information and site rules determine controls.

Copy-and-complete mobile plant assessment

Use a separate version for a materially different machine, attachment or work area. Add rows for hazards that the table does not anticipate. Where a critical field is unknown, hold that activity and obtain evidence.

Working sequence: (1) Brief the operator and team on routes, boundaries, signals and stop rules. (2) Confirm plant identity, configuration and checks. (3) Inspect the route, work zone, ground and services; put segregation in place. (4) Enter the zone under the agreed traffic control. (5) Carry out the operation inside the defined envelope. (6) Stop and secure the machine before a person approaches or conditions change. (7) Park, isolate and leave the area safe. Add task-specific steps for excavation, lifting or tipping; refer to the separate specialist plan as needed.

Change control: record the author, competent reviewer, issue date, workers briefed and version. Revise if the machine or attachment changes, the route is blocked, new people enter the area, ground deteriorates, services are discovered, lighting fails or an alarm/guard is defective. Withdraw the old version at the workface. A signature does not compensate for missing barriers or uncertain ground.

Example: excavator beside a pedestrian access route

A small excavator is planned to dig beside the only entrance to an occupied unit. The assessment must show how the pedestrian route is closed or rerouted, how workers are kept out of the excavator's tail-swing and how deliveries are coordinated. The operator and supervisor check the ground and any buried service information before digging. If a temporary scaffold is erected beside the route later that day, the work envelope has changed. The team stops, checks clearance and revises the route and segregation before restarting. They should not rely on the operator's mirror or on visitors noticing a warning sign.

Related pages and product boundary

This is a machine-and-task assessment. A loading/unloading assessment addresses the transfer activity; a lifting-operation assessment feeds a competent lift plan where plant lifts loads. The manifest requires links to a verified /rams pillar and /risk-assessment-software money page; confirm current canonical host and product capability before inserting them. Do not claim Complys performs machine inspection, ground calculation, quick-hitch verification or operator approval without implementation evidence. CTA: keep the approved assessment, plant records and briefing evidence together in the organisation's verified system.

Source, claim and writer-side QA register

Intent/cannibalisation: a mobile-plant task assessment is distinct from general site traffic management, a daily inspection or a lift plan. No exact indexed Complys template owner was found on observed hosts on 5 October 2026; repo/in-flight preflight remains necessary. Product truth: no unverified Complys feature, trial or price claim. Links: N5-051, N5-053 and verified parent/money page. Writer-side QA: GB terminology, primary sources, useful form, limitations and metadata checked; competent plant, product and canonical publication gates remain.