Who is trained and assessed to run your backhoe loader, and can you show it when a main contractor or the HSE asks? PHW assesses your operators for competence on your own machine, on your own site. Built for the backhoe loader on a small groundworks crew, in a plant hire yard or on a farm.
Backhoe loaders such as the JCB 3CX and 4CX. All sizes are covered, including machines above 5 tonnes.
Theory and practical assessment, carried out on your own machine, on your own site. In plain terms: can the operator check the machine before use, move and manoeuvre it, dig and position material, load lorries, set it up for the road, and do the checks at the end of the shift.
The operator gets certificates to show on site. You get the records for your file. Anyone can scan the QR code on a certificate to check it live.
The duty to train and assess competence sits with the employer, under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 section 2(2)(c) and regulation 9 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER). The Approved Code of Practice L22, safe use of work equipment, explains how it applies.
If your operator lifts pipes or chambers on a chain or sling from the machine, that is a lifting operation and the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) apply as well. On a construction site the machine is also a site vehicle, so HSE guidance HSG144, The safe use of vehicles on construction sites, covers it too.
Between sites the machine goes on the public road, where the driver needs a driving licence for that class of vehicle (Road Traffic Act 1988 section 87).
The employer decides who is authorised to run each machine and keeps that decision on file. The certificate, unit credit, records and site evidence statement are the evidence behind it.
Up to four of your people assessed for competence in one day, on your own site and machines, with minimum downtime. Plus a written safe-system pack for each topic. Tell us the machine, the site postcode and how many operators, and we will come back with a quote and dates.
PHW has certificated thousands of candidates nationwide, for multinationals and small firms alike.