Excavator Lift Plan Software (UK) — LOLER-compliant lifting plans

The Problem

The Appointed Person builds the plan in Excel, photocopies duty charts from machine manuals, and emails a PDF that goes stale the moment the load or radius changes. On civils sites excavators lift every day — precast chambers, cover slabs, pipe runs, site huts — and LOLER 1998 Reg 8 requires every lifting operation to be properly planned by a competent person. When the client or HSE asks to see the plan, "it is on my laptop" is not an answer.

What Changes

Answer 11 guided questions, load first. Site Samurai computes the safe working load at radius from a verified duty chart, applies accessory mode factors, shows spare capacity and categorises the lift basic, intermediate or complex. The Appointed Person authorises with card-validated sign-off, and a status-aware, org-branded PDF goes to the client — or as a secure read-only link — with REVnn history so the plan on site is always the plan that was approved.

Load first, then the machine — the 11-step wizard follows the way the AP actually plansCapacity computed from the verified duty chart, not a calculator in a spreadsheet cellSpare capacity and utilisation shown on every lift, with every factor printed and traceableAppointed Person authorisation gated on a valid CPCS A61 / NPORS card — not just a signatureStatus-aware, org-branded PDF plus a secure client link that expires and can be revoked

How It Works

From the load on the lorry to the plan on site, the Lift Plan Builder takes the Appointed Person from first answer to issued document — with the capacity maths computed and traceable at every step.

1
Record the load first
Answer the questions that actually govern the lift: what is it, how much does it weigh, how is that weight known, where is the centre of gravity, are there designated lifting points, could it trap water, is it fragile or live? Weight-source factors (data plate, data sheet, drawing, volume × density) apply automatically. Only once the load is known does the wizard ask what will lift it — the sequence the SFPSG guidance and PUWER reg 4 suitability both require.
Step 1 of the lift plan wizard, "What are you lifting?" — a precast concrete chamber ring load of 600 kg with the data-plate weight factor selected, centre of gravity known and central, and dimensions 1.2 m by 1.2 m by 1 m recorded.
2
Pick the machine — the engine computes the capacity
Select the excavator and its configuration. Site Samurai looks up the safe working load from the machine's verified duty chart at the radius and lift-point height, applies the accessory mode factors and the company factor of safety, and returns the gross load, planning load, allowable capacity, spare capacity and utilisation — every factor printed with its citation. No calculator, no transcribing numbers from a photocopied manual page.
The verified duty chart for a Kobelco SK140LC-11 object-handling configuration — a grid of over-front and over-side rated capacities at reach and height, marked VERIFIED and immutable, with the note that a blank cell means not rated at that position.
3
Build the lifting team and validate the cards
Add the Appointed Person, lift supervisor, operator and slinger/signaller. The wizard snapshots each person's CPCS or NPORS card — scheme, grade, number, categories and expiry — and gates the plan on them: a red trained-grade card cannot act as Appointed Person, and the AP must attest each person's competence for the complexity of the lift.
The lifting team step of the wizard — the Appointed Person, lift supervisor, operator and slinger/signaller with their CPCS card details, card categories such as A61 and A62, and the Appointed Person competence attestation checkbox.
4
Answer the method and environment questions
The wizard works through geometry, slinging, method and the site: radius and slew angle, accessories and their thorough-examination currency, pick and carry, tag lines, trial lift, ground bearing, exclusion zone, wind and overhead lines. The GS6 overhead-line questions capture the voltage band, isolation and the 10 m rule — and the answers drive the lift category and the printed controls.
5
The Appointed Person reviews and authorises
The AP reviews the complete plan — load and capacity, team, method, findings — and authorises with card-validated sign-off. Every authorisation is frozen as an immutable revision snapshot, so the plan the client holds is exactly the plan that was approved. A generic (standard) plan is permitted for basic lifts only; intermediate and complex lifts require the recorded AP appointment reference and attestations.
The AP authorisations and competence attestations page of an issued lift plan PDF — the Appointed Person, lift supervisor, operator and slinger/signaller each authorised by the Appointed Person with the date recorded.
6
Issue the PDF — or share the secure client link
Issue the plan with a permit window and it becomes a status-aware, org-branded PDF — the cover carries the reference, revision, category and AP signature. Send it by email or mint a secure client link: no account needed, expires after 30 days, revocable at any time, and the client can only ever see the revision you issued.
The secure client view of an issued lift plan — Northfield Civil Engineering Ltd branded, marked Secure, showing LP-0001 REV 01 as an intermediate lift with the project, planned lift date, permit window and a download link for the lift plan PDF.

Features That Move The Needle

Built for high-stakes construction workflows: deadlines, compliance, and audit trails.

Load-first wizard

The 11 steps follow the order the guidance demands — the load first, then the equipment that lifts it. The AP is never asked to justify an excavator before anyone has said what is being lifted.

Deterministic capacity engine

SWL at radius comes from the verified duty chart, not a spreadsheet formula. Gross load, planning load, allowable capacity, spare capacity and utilisation are computed once, the same way every time, and every factor prints with its citation.

Immutable verified duty charts

Every chart is checked cell by cell against the operator's manual before any lift can use it — and once verified it cannot be edited, only superseded by a correction copy. The chart in the plan is the chart the machine was rated on.

Lifting-accessory register with RoTE currency

Chains, slings, shackles, hooks and pins live in a register with their thorough-examination dates. The engine checks TE currency against the planned lift date before authorisation — an out-of-date sling stops the plan, not the lift.

Card-validated AP authorisation

The plan is signed by the Appointed Person named on it, gated on a valid CPCS A61 or NPORS card with scheme, number and expiry. A signature alone is not authority to sign a lift plan.

Lifting team with competency cards

Every member's CPCS/NPORS card is snapshotted on the plan — grade, categories, expiry — with red-card gating and AP competence attestation. The plan carries the team as it was on the day.

Status-aware org-branded PDF

The issued document carries your branding, the reference, REV number, category and the AP signature. A draft, authorised and issued plan print differently — and the revision history shows exactly what changed and why.

Secure client link

Clients and Principal Contractors view the plan in a branded, read-only page — no account, no app. Links expire and can be revoked, and the client can only ever see the revision you issued.

UK LOLER 1998 built in

Anchored in the regulations that govern lifting on UK sites

Excavator lifting in the UK sits on LOLER 1998, its ACOP L113, BS 7121, and the CPA/SFPSG excavator-lifting guidance — with GS6 for overhead lines. Site Samurai is built around that framework: the plan records what Reg 8 requires, the capacity maths come from verified manufacturer duty charts, and the team and AP authorisation carry the card evidence. The platform captures and computes the evidence; it does not make the lift safe — that remains the Appointed Person's duty.

LOLER 1998 Regulation 8 — Planning of lifting operations

Regulation 8 requires every lifting operation to be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised, and carried out in a safe manner. The product supports this with the load-first wizard, the recorded Appointed Person, the deterministic capacity engine and the issued plan document that stands as the record of the planning.

Regulation 8, LOLER 1998

LOLER 1998 Regulation 9 — Organisation of lifting operations

Regulation 9 covers the organisation of lifting operations — competent persons, supervision and safe systems of work — and, under reg 9(3), thorough examination of lifting equipment. The product records the lifting team and their cards, enforces thorough-examination currency against the planned lift date, and keeps the RoTE reference on every accessory, machine and quick hitch.

Regulation 9, LOLER 1998

ACOP L113 — Safe use of lifting equipment

L113 is the HSE Approved Code of Practice for LOLER, giving practical guidance on what Reg 8 planning and Reg 9 organisation look like in practice. Site Samurai's plan record — load, machine, duty chart, team, method, controls and sign-off — is structured around what L113 expects a properly planned lifting operation to evidence.

L113 on HSE

BS 7121 — Safe use of cranes (excavators used as cranes)

BS 7121 is the BSI code of practice for the safe use of cranes; its parts cover general practice, mobile cranes and the use of excavators as cranes, including the role of the Appointed Person and written appointment (BS 7121-1 4.2.2.1). The product's categories, AP appointment reference, lifting team and electronic records (permitted by BS 7121-3 10.3.2) follow that framework.

BS 7121 — BSI

CPA / SFPSG — Excavator lifting guidance (CIG 0801)

The Construction Plant-hire Association and Strategic Forum for Plant Safety guidance for excavators used as cranes (CIG 0801) covers load-first planning, weight factors, pick and carry, slinging and team roles. The product's weight-source factors, pick-and-carry de-rating, tag-line controls and team attestations are aligned to that guidance.

CPA — excavator lifting

HSE GS6 — Avoiding danger from overhead power lines

GS6 is HSE guidance on working near overhead power lines: minimum distances by voltage band, isolation, and the 10 m rule for equipment and loads. The product's overhead-line step records the voltage band, envelope, isolation and proximity-warning-device answers, and the exclusion zone is built from the recorded distances.

GS6 on HSE

Why not just keep using Excel and the manual?

Most civils teams plan excavator lifts one of four ways before they land on something that fits. Here is what tends to break.

Excel + photocopied duty charts

Capacity maths typed by hand — a transposed number on a 5.0 m radius passes the chart
Duty chart photocopies go stale the moment the machine or attachment changes
No revision control — "LP_v7_FINAL_use-this-one.xlsx" is the audit trail
No record of who checked what, when, or that the AP actually signed
The plan lives on one laptop; the site cabin has last month's version

RAMS-led H&S suites (SafetyCulture, PlanRadar, Salus)

Document workflows only — no capacity maths, no duty charts, no spare capacity
The lift plan is a PDF attached to a task list, not a computed, signed document
No Appointed Person workflow — authorisation is not card-validated
No thorough-examination currency checks against the planned lift date

PDF template shops

A blank form to fill in — every number still typed by hand, every chart still photocopied
No calculations, so the maths errors the engine exists to remove are all still there
No sign-off workflow, no revision control, no audit trail
No client links, no TE currency, and nothing gates on the team's cards

Heavy crane-engineering planners (3D / OEM chart tools)

Built for mobile cranes on major projects — machine-specific and priced accordingly
Do not cover excavators used as cranes, which is what civils sites actually lift with
A 3D model for a 600 kg chamber ring is the wrong tool for the job
Enterprise onboarding and per-seat costs that punish an SME groundworks team

Site Samurai

Deterministic capacity engine — SWL at radius from the verified duty chart, never hand-typed
Immutable duty-chart library verified cell by cell against the operator's manual
Appointed Person workflow with card-validated authorisation and written appointment reference
Lifting team with CPCS/NPORS cards, red-card gating and AP competence attestation
Status-aware org-branded PDF, secure client link and REVnn revision history

Site Samurai is built in the UK around the Appointed Person's workflow. The load comes first, the engine computes the capacity from a verified duty chart with every factor printed, the team carries card evidence, and the AP signs with card-validated authorisation before a branded PDF or secure client link is issued. It captures and computes the evidence — the judgement on whether the lift is safe stays with the Appointed Person, exactly where LOLER Reg 8 puts it.

Seen enough?

Start a 14-day free trial — you won’t be charged until it ends, or book 15 minutes with Rich (the founder) to walk through your exact workflow.

Why It Works

UK excavator lifting plans built around the Appointed Person's workflow. The 11-step wizard records the load first, the deterministic engine computes capacity from the verified duty chart — no manual maths, every factor printed — and the AP authorises with card-validated sign-off before an org-branded PDF or secure client link is issued, with REVnn history throughout.

Site Samurai — built around LOLER 1998 and BS 7121

Capacity always computed from the verified duty chart — never hand-typed

Guided questions, load first

Lift categories — basic, intermediate, complex

Manual maths — the engine computes from the chart

Who It’s For

If you're a civils or groundworks contractor lifting precast chambers, cover slabs, pipe runs and site huts with an excavator — every working day, on every job
If you're a drainage, water or utilities contractor whose benchmark is sewage-treatment-works lifts — and the client asks for the plan before the machine starts
If you're a lifting subcontractor or plant-hire firm whose excavators are used as cranes and need a plan that holds up when the Principal Contractor asks
If you're the Appointed Person (CPCS A61 or the NPORS equivalent) who carries the planning duty under LOLER Reg 8 and wants the maths computed, not typed
If you're the H&S manager keeping the register who needs the TE dates, card expiries and revision trail in one place when the inspector calls
If you're the contracts manager who gets asked for lift plans at tender stage and wants to show the client a compliant, issued document

Already using Site Samurai? Jump to the module features and workflows your team needs.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions teams ask before they book a demo.

Yes, for lifting operations covered by LOLER. The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, Regulation 8, require every lifting operation to be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner. The regulation does not prescribe a document format — but the client or the Principal Contractor will ask to see the plan, and HSE will want evidence it was planned, which is what a recorded, issued lift plan provides.

Lifting operations are categorised by complexity so the planning effort matches the risk. Site Samurai computes the category from the answers: environmental complexity (E1-E3) and load complexity (L1-L3) combine into basic, intermediate or complex, following BS 7121 and CPA/SFPSG excavator-lifting guidance. A complex lift triggers stricter requirements in the product — a dimensioned drawing, an exact sequence of at least three steps, separate people as supervisor and slinger, and the Appointed Person present on site or a named deputy.

The Appointed Person (AP) is the competent person who plans the lifting operation — the role in LOLER 1998 Reg 8. In practice that is someone with CPCS A61 or the NPORS equivalent, appointed in writing by the employer (BS 7121-1 4.2.2.1). Anyone whose excavator is used as a crane needs an AP to plan the lift; the AP is the person whose name goes on the plan and who authorises it. Site Samurai records the written appointment reference, gates authorisation on the AP's card, and refuses to let a deputy sign in their place.

A duty chart is the manufacturer's rated capacity grid for a machine configuration — how much it can safely lift at each radius and lift-point height, over the front and over the side. It is the machine's legal rating: plan against it or you are planning in the dark. Site Samurai stores each chart as an immutable, cell-by-cell verified grid, looks up the capacity at the exact radius and height of your lift, and applies the company factor of safety on top — the planning load, not the gross load, is what utilisation is measured against.

Spare capacity is the allowable capacity at your radius minus the planning load — how much margin is left. Utilisation is the planning load as a percentage of the allowable capacity, and it also drives the load-complexity score (a lift above 75% utilisation is more demanding). Both are computed by the engine from the verified duty chart and printed on the plan, so the AP can see at a glance whether a radius change would still pass.

HSE guidance GS6 covers avoiding danger from overhead power lines. The rules are distance-based: equipment and loads must stay clear of lines, with minimum distances depending on the voltage band, and anything within 10 m of a line requires a specific risk assessment and control plan. Site Samurai's wizard captures the overhead-line questions — voltage band, whether the envelope intersects the exclusion zone, isolation, and the proximity warning device — and the answers feed the plan and the controls.

Yes. Once a plan is authorised or issued, you can mint a secure client link for a named contact. The client opens a branded, read-only page — no app, no account — showing the plan reference, revision, category, project, permit window and the PDF. Links expire (30 days by default) and can be revoked at any time, and the client can only ever see the revision you issued.

Yes. Every plan renders as a printable, org-branded PDF — cover with reference, revision, category and AP signature, duty chart and lookup, capacity build-up, schedule of lifts, risk assessment register, method, prohibitions and hand signals. BS 7121-3 clause 10.3.2 permits electronic records, and the issued PDF is exactly what a site briefing or a client audit expects to see on paper.

Today the engine computes duties for 360° and 180° excavators used as cranes — the machines that do the lifting on civils sites. The duty-chart library holds verified manufacturer grids, and the catalogue is built so mobile cranes and telehandlers can follow when the engine covers them. A plan can still record that a crane, telehandler or lorry loader is the right answer, with the suitability justification — the wizard just cannot compute its duties yet.

A lift plan moves through draft, ready for AP review, authorised, issued, completed, expired and superseded. A material change to an authorised or issued plan — a new load, radius, machine or team member — raises a new REV and returns it to the AP for re-authorisation; the outgoing revision is frozen as an immutable snapshot with a change log. The client link always shows the latest issued revision, and the register keeps the full REVnn history.