FREE TEMPLATES — CPA/SFPSG COMPLIANT
Excavator Lift Plan Template & Risk Assessment
Professional, CPA/SFPSG compliant templates developed by a CPCS Appointed Person with over 35 years of construction industry experience. Download, customise, and use on your projects — completely free. Need a site-specific plan written for you? Our excavator lift plan service starts from £200 + VAT with 24-48 hour turnaround.
Updated June 2026 · Aligned to the CPA/SFPSG CIG 0801 guidance (Fourth Revision)
Rather have it written for you, signed off by a CPCS Appointed Person?
Get an Excavator Lift Plan — from £200 + VAT →Why Use These Templates?
Most excavator lift plan templates available online are generic, incomplete, or fail to address the specific requirements of the CPA/SFPSG Guidance on the Use of Excavators as Cranes (CIG 0801). These templates have been built from the ground up to address every requirement in the guidance — not adapted from a general crane lift plan.
Built to CPA/SFPSG CIG 0801
Every section maps directly to the CPA/SFPSG guidance (Fourth Revision, October 2018). Includes excavator-specific requirements that generic lift plan templates miss entirely — justification for excavator use, pick and carry provisions, lift mode confirmation, and RCI/overload alarm management.
Fully Referenced Controls
The risk assessment contains 23 hazard categories with control measures that reference specific CPA sections, LOLER regulations, BS 7121-1:2016, CDM 2015, PUWER 1998, and OPERC guidance. Not vague statements — precise, auditable controls.
Ready to Use
Both templates are in .docx format. The lift plan has fillable fields for your project details. The risk assessment is pre-populated with initial and residual risk ratings using a 5×5 matrix — just review, adjust for your site-specific conditions, and print.
TEMPLATE 1
Excavator Lift Plan Template
A comprehensive 12-section lift plan template covering every aspect of excavator lifting operations. Designed to meet the requirements of LOLER 1998, BS 7121-1:2016, CDM 2015, and the CPA/SFPSG guidance in full.
Download Lift Plan Template (.docx)What's Included:
Section 0 — Justification
Why an excavator has been selected over purpose-designed lifting equipment. The CPA's primary emphasis — an excavator should never be the default choice.
Sections 1–2 — Documentation & Location
Supporting safe system of work documents, site address, and specific lift location details.
Section 3 — Lifting Appliance
Make, model, configuration, safety systems (RCI, check valves, overload warning), duties chart reference, and thorough examination status.
Section 4 — Ground Conditions
Separate tables for tracked and wheeled machines with bearing pressure calculations, mat/spreader requirements, and proximity to excavations.
Section 5 — Competencies
CPCS/NPORS card requirements for AP, Lifting Supervisor (A62/N405), Operator (A58c/A59c), Slinger-Signaller (A40), and Vehicle Marshall (A73).
Sections 6–8 — Comms, Hazards & Weather
Communication methods, 22 pre-populated proximity hazards with control fields, and weather monitoring requirements.
Section 9 — Lifting Procedure
Written prompts guiding the sequence of operations, pick-up/set-down points, travel routes, exclusion zones, and contingency procedures.
Section 10 — Schedule of Lifts
Lift description, category (per CPA Figure 3), load weight, radius, SWL, and utilisation percentage for each lift.
Sections 11–12 — Change Management & Briefing
Change log and signature blocks for the entire lifting team.
Appendix A — OPERC Hand Signals
All 19 excavator-specific hand signals from the OPERC Voluntary Code of Practice with full stance descriptions.
23 Pre-Populated Hazards Across 5 Categories:
Planning (Hazards 1–4)
Lift plan authoring, competency verification, equipment suitability justification, ground conditions and bearing pressure calculations.
Delivery & Set-Up (Hazards 5–7)
Appliance delivery to site, maintenance and daily pre-use checks (CPA Annex E), work adjacent to excavations.
Machine Movement (Hazards 8–11)
Travel without load, pick and carry operations with specific load charts, fork attachment operations loaded and unloaded.
Lifting Activities (Hazards 12–21)
Encroachment, delivery offloading, fall protection, operative positioning, hand signal communication, blind lifting, accessory failure, person/load interface for both suspended loads and fork tines.
Environmental & Safety Systems (Hazards 22–23)
Weather conditions and wind speed limits, RCI/overload alarm interference — including why early alarm sounding over the end is normal and must not be disabled.
TEMPLATE 2
Excavator Lifting Operations Risk Assessment
A fully populated activity risk assessment with 23 hazard categories specific to excavator lifting operations. Every control measure references the relevant CPA section, regulation, or standard. A4 landscape format with colour-coded 5×5 risk matrix.
Risk Rating Structure
Standards & Guidance Referenced
CPA/SFPSG CIG 0801
Guidance on the Use of Excavators as Cranes (4th Rev, Oct 2018)
LOLER 1998
Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations
BS 7121-1:2016
Code of Practice for Safe Use of Cranes
CDM 2015
Construction (Design and Management) Regulations
PUWER 1998
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations
BS EN 474
Earth-Moving Machinery — Safety
OPERC VCOP
Hand Signals for Excavators Used as Cranes
CPA Ground Conditions
Guidance on Ground Conditions for Construction Equipment
CPA Quick Hitches
Guidance on the Safe Use of Quick Hitches on Excavators
Excavator Lift Plan FAQs
Do I need a lift plan to lift with an excavator?
Yes. Under LOLER 1998 Regulation 8, every lifting operation must be planned by a competent person, properly supervised and carried out safely. Using an excavator as a crane ("object handling") is a lifting operation, so it requires a written excavator lift plan and a supporting risk assessment — which is exactly what these templates provide.
Can an excavator legally be used as a crane in the UK?
Yes, provided the machine is rated and equipped for object handling — typically a marked safe working load, check valves on the boom and dipper rams, a Rated Capacity Indicator (RCI) where required, and an available duties (lifting) chart. The CPA/SFPSG CIG 0801 guidance sets out the conditions in full, and the lift plan template includes a justification section so you can record why the excavator was a suitable choice.
What is the CPA/SFPSG CIG 0801 guidance?
CIG 0801 — "Guidance on the Use of Excavators as Cranes" (Fourth Revision, October 2018) — is the UK industry reference for planning excavator lifting operations. Generic crane lift plan templates do not cover its excavator-specific requirements, so every section of these templates maps directly to it.
Who can write or sign off an excavator lift plan?
A competent Appointed Person — in practice a CPCS A61 Appointed Person — should prepare or review the lift plan before the operation begins. These templates give you a compliant structure, but a competent person must complete and approve them for your specific site and lift. If you would rather have it done professionally, we offer an excavator lift plan service with a 24–48 hour turnaround.
How is an excavator lift plan different from a crane lift plan?
An excavator lift plan must address things a standard crane plan does not: justification for using an excavator at all, pick-and-carry provisions, lift-mode and RCI/overload-alarm management, quick-hitch safety, and the duties chart for the specific machine configuration. That is why an adapted crane template is not enough — these documents are built around CIG 0801 from the ground up.
Is this excavator lift plan template really free?
Yes — both the lift plan template and the risk assessment are free to download in editable Word (.docx) format. Download them, adapt them for your project and site conditions, and have a competent Appointed Person review the completed documents before lifting.
Important Notice
These templates are provided as a starting point for your excavator lifting operations documentation. It is your responsibility to review, adapt, and complete them for your specific project, site conditions, equipment, and lifting operations. A competent Appointed Person must prepare or review the completed lift plan before operations commence.
As per BS 7121-1:2016, CDM 2015, and LOLER 1998, the user must ensure they properly risk assess and plan their own lifting operations to discharge their legal requirements. No liability is accepted for incidents resulting from the use of these templates.
Want this written for your site instead? Plans from £200, 24-48h turnaround
07803 8080933 fields, 30 seconds. We reply within 24 hours.
Need a Professional Lift Plan?
These templates are great for straightforward lifts. For complex operations, tandem lifts, blind lifts, or anything near capacity — use our professional lift planning services from a CPCS Appointed Person with 35 years of experience.
Fast turnaround. Tier 1 contractor approved. LOLER compliant.