CSCS Mini Digger cheat sheet

Minimum welfare provision under CDM 2015 Schedule 2: sanitary conveniences, washing facilities with soap and hot/cold water, drinking water, changing and drying rooms, rest facilities and first aid.

Safety sign colour rules: blue circle = mandatory action; red circle with a diagonal bar = prohibition; yellow triangle = warning; green rectangle = safe condition such as an escape route or first-aid point.

Excavated spoil is placed at least 1 metre back from the trench edge, and plant and materials are kept clear of the edge, because loading near the edge surcharges the sides and causes collapse.

Any excavation deeper than 1.2 metres needs a means of escape, with ladders spaced so no worker has to travel more than about 25 metres to reach one.

Treat every overhead power line as live: HSE guidance GS6 sets minimum clearance distances by voltage, and height restriction goal posts or barriers mark a safe route beneath the line.

Before digging, obtain service plans, scan with a cable avoidance tool and signal generator in a grid pattern, mark the line, then confirm the position by careful hand digging.

Noise exposure action values: lower action value 80 dB(A) and upper action value 85 dB(A). Hearing protection becomes mandatory in hearing protection zones above the upper value.

Pedestrians and plant are physically separated by barriers or marked routes; reversing plant is controlled by a trained vehicle marshal who stays visible to the operator at all times.

Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974: section 2 places a duty on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of employees; section 7 requires employees to take reasonable care of themselves and others.

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999: employers must make a suitable and sufficient risk assessment, record significant findings, appoint competent persons and plan for emergencies.

PUWER 1998: work equipment must be suitable for its intended use, maintained in a safe condition, used only by trained and authorised people, and inspected at suitable intervals with results recorded.

LOLER 1998: lifting operations must be planned by a competent person; lifting accessories and equipment used to lift people need thorough examination at least every 6 months, other lifting equipment at least every 12 months.

CDM 2015: duties fall on client, principal designer, principal contractor and contractors; a construction phase plan is required and welfare facilities must be in place before work starts.

RIDDOR 2013: deaths and specified injuries are notified to the enforcing authority without delay; over-seven-day injuries are reported within 10 days; plant overturning or collapsing is a reportable dangerous occurrence.

PPE at Work Regulations 1992: PPE is supplied free of charge, is a last resort after engineering and organisational controls, and must be suitable, maintained and its use properly instructed.

HSG47 (underground services) and GS6 (overhead lines) are HSE guidance documents that support the general duties and set out the safe systems of work expected on site.

The CSCS Health, Safety and Environment Test must be passed before a CSCS card is issued, and the card type must match the operative's role and qualifications.

The machine is set up level before digging; on wheeled machines the dozer blade or outriggers are fully lowered to provide a stable base, and the bucket is never used to drag the machine.

A pedestrian exclusion zone equal to at least the machine's maximum reach plus a margin is maintained while slewing; the bucket must never pass over workers, vehicles or the cab.

When travelling, the bucket is kept low and on the downhill side, slopes are climbed and descended in line with the slope rather than across it, and only gradients within the manufacturer's rating are used.

Quick hitch procedure: the attachment is fully engaged, the locking pin or safety device is fitted, and a visual and physical check is made before work resumes; hydraulic locking alone is never relied on.

Lifting capacity decreases as the load radius and height increase, so the manufacturer's load chart is read for the actual radius, certified lifting points are used, and a banksman controls blind lifts.

Digging force is greatest when the dipper and bucket are in line with the machine and the bucket is curled toward the cab; crowding the bucket out reduces breakout force and can drag the machine forward.

Bucket selection: a toothed bucket for breaking out and general excavation, a wider toothless ditching or grading bucket for trimming, grading and clean trench finishes.

The spoil is cast to the side clear of the trench edge and of buried services, and the machine is never tracked along the edge of an unsupported excavation.

On stopping work the machine is parked on level ground, the attachment is lowered to the ground, the parking brake applied, the keys removed and the machine isolated.

Pre-use walkaround check each shift covers engine oil, coolant, hydraulic oil and fuel levels, track condition and tension, hoses, lights, horn, mirrors, seat belt, fire extinguisher and ROPS/FOPS condition.

PUWER requires a recorded inspection by a competent person at intervals set by risk assessment - commonly weekly in construction - and always before first use after installation, repair or alteration.

A defect that affects safe operation takes the machine out of service immediately: it is tagged, reported to the supervisor and entered in the defect log before any further work.

Hydraulic leaks are never searched for with bare hands; a pinhole in a pressurised hose can inject fluid through the skin, so a piece of card or wood is used and any injection injury is a medical emergency.

Greasing of pins, bushes, bucket linkage and quick hitch follows the manufacturer's schedule and is carried out more frequently in wet, dusty or high-use conditions.

Track tension is set to the manufacturer's specification; loose tracks can derail, and missing or badly worn track plates and sprockets reduce grip and must be recorded.

Refuelling: engine switched off and cooled, no smoking or naked flame, funnel and spill kit used, any spill cleaned up, and hoses and connections checked for leaks before restarting.

Seat belts and ROPS/FOPS structures must be fitted and serviceable; a damaged protective structure is not repaired or welded without the manufacturer's approval.

The machine carries a serviced fire extinguisher and first-aid provision appropriate to the site, both checked as part of the routine inspection.