Form library · Health and safety
Excavator daily checklist
For excavator operators recording daily checks. Record equipment and scope, machine setup and daily checks. Try the form below, see every question or download a blank PDF or Word copy.
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What does HSE identify for excavator safety?
HSE highlights separation from pedestrians, suitable equipment, maintenance and trained operators. Moving, slewing and falling attachments create serious risks. A machine check must be used alongside site controls.
Last updated . Facts checked by the SiteSurvey team on 6 October 2026 against HSE excavator safety and HSE inspection of work equipment.
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Want to see one filled in? See a completed excavator daily check report (PDF), made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit.
Fill it in on a phone or tablet
Your team completes the excavator daily check on site in the SiteSurvey app on iPhone, iPad and Android phones and tablets. The project name and address fill in for them, it works without signal, and it syncs when the device is back online with photos kept against the question they answer.
Customers and subcontractors do not need the app: send them a link and they can fill it in from any browser.
Every question in the excavator daily check template
An excavator pre-use record covering machine identity, attachment security, visibility, visible leaks, authorised function checks and defect restrictions. 6 sections and 39 questions. Follow-up questions and guidance appear only when an answer calls for them, so the person on site never sees the ones that do not apply.
Make it your own: every question is editable
This is a starting point, not a fixed form. Once it is in your SiteSurvey account you can reword any question, add or remove questions, sections and answer options, and add your own logo, so it fits the way your team works and the jobs you do.
Details you only enter once
Add this form to a project in SiteSurvey and it fills in what the project already knows, so nobody on site retypes it and every form on the job uses the same names. Anything filled in can still be changed.
- Project: the project name
- Site or premises address: the site address, from the space or the project
- Client or organisation: the project's customer
Record details and scope
- ProjectShort answer
Filled in from the project in SiteSurvey.
Fills in from the project name - Site or premises addressShort answerFills in from the site address, from the space or the project
- Client or organisationShort answerFills in from the project's customer
- Record date*Date
- Person completing the record*Short answer
- CheckFor trained operators following the machine instructions. This is not a lift plan, lifting examination, quick-hitch certification or permission to work near buried or overhead services.
- CheckHSE highlights separation from pedestrians, suitable equipment, maintenance and trained operators. Moving, slewing and falling attachments create serious risks. A machine check must be used alongside site controls.
Equipment and scope
- Excavator ID, model and location*Short answer
- Scan the machine data plateScan a label: serial number, model number, asset number
Optional. Scan the label or data plate to capture the serial and other numbers.
- Competent person and authorisation*Short answer
- Manufacturer or approved procedure reference*Short answer
- Work or inspection scope and exclusions*Notes
Machine setup
- Hours and shiftShort answer
- Attachment and quick-hitch identity*Short answer
- Attachment connection verification under manufacturer procedure*Short answer
Identify the attachment and the check specified for its coupling arrangement. Do not infer a satisfactory check from attachment appearance alone.
- Work area and segregation plan referenceShort answer
Daily checks
- Tracks or tyres and visible running gear checked*Choose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
- Action, limitation or reason not applicable*NotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Boom, dipper and attachment visibly checked*Choose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
- Action, limitation or reason not applicable*NotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Hydraulic leaks and hoses checked from a safe position*Choose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
- Action, limitation or reason not applicable*NotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Cab access, restraint, mirrors and cameras checked*Choose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
- Action, limitation or reason not applicable*NotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Warnings, controls and emergency functions checked to procedure*Choose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
- Action, limitation or reason not applicable*NotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
Handover
- Use decision*Choose one
- Available within recorded limits
- Restricted use
- Out of service
- Restrictions, isolation and person informed*NotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Repair or follow-up job referenceShort answer
- Condition and defect evidencePhotos
Actions and review
- Are further actions required?*Choose one
- Yes
- No
- Further actionRepeat for each further action. Each one asks:Shown when “Are further actions required?” is “Yes”
- Action and evidence reference*Notes
- Person responsible*Short answer
- Target dateDate
- Action status*Choose one
- Open
- In progress
- Completed
- Completion evidence*NotesShown when “Action status” is “Completed”
- Outstanding limitations and information to pass onNotes
- Record status*Choose one
- Ready for review
- Further work needed
- Work or use stopped
- Reviewed byShort answer
- Review dateDate
- Author signature*Signature
- CheckSigning records the information entered. It does not itself certify legal compliance, remove a limitation or authorise unsafe work.
Scope and responsibility
For trained operators following the machine instructions. This is not a lift plan, lifting examination, quick-hitch certification or permission to work near buried or overhead services.
What a useful entry looks like
Attachment connection verification under manufacturer procedure
Identify the attachment and the check specified for its coupling arrangement. Do not infer a satisfactory check from attachment appearance alone.
Attachment AT-06 identified with machine EX-03. Coupling check recorded against the current machine and attachment instructions.
Fictional example of record wording. Use the actual evidence and approved arrangements for your job; this is not a completed report or an instruction to carry out the work.
See it filled in
A completed excavator daily check report, made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit: every answer, the photos, the guidance that applied and the sign-off, ready to send as a PDF.
Excavator Daily Check FAQs
How should I record “Attachment connection verification under manufacturer procedure”?
Identify the attachment and the check specified for its coupling arrangement. Do not infer a satisfactory check from attachment appearance alone.
Can a visual check prove a hitch is locked?
Use and record the manufacturer’s verification procedure. This form supplies no universal hitch test.
Does it permit lifting suspended loads?
No. Lifting suitability, planning and examination requirements must be established separately.
Are work-area controls included?
The form references them, but completing the check does not establish safe pedestrian segregation or service locations.
What are the limits of this template?
For trained operators following the machine instructions. This is not a lift plan, lifting examination, quick-hitch certification or permission to work near buried or overhead services.
Can I complete this form on site and share the record?
In the SiteSurvey app the form works offline, with photos and signatures recorded against the questions. Share the completed record as a PDF or a link. Dates and action owners are recorded fields; this form does not send reminders or update other systems.
Related
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Templates that go with the excavator daily check form
A crane operator pre-use record covering machine identification, manufacturer checks, visible condition, safety devices, defects and handover.
A lifting accessory pre-use record with identification, capacity markings, examination references, condition findings, quarantine and handover details.
A MEWP pre-use record with machine and operator details, visual and functional checks, operating-area constraints, rescue arrangements and defects.
An excavation inspection record with scope, shift or event trigger, ground and support observations, hazards, actions and competent inspector details.
A PUWER assessment record covering intended use, equipment hazards, safeguarding evidence, maintenance arrangements, competence and risk-control decisions.
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