10 Excavator Training Courses
We’ve made a list of excavator training courses to help protect your workers from potential illnesses and accidents and improve the efficiency of your business operation. With these courses, they’ll learn how to operate equipment and stay safe while working on their tasks.
1. Excavation and Trenching
Excavators are known for their powerful digging ability and mobility, which is why they’re popular in both excavation and trenching operations. If your operators are involved in this type of construction work, then they will definitely benefit from this excavator training course by SC Training (formerly EdApp). The Excavation and Trenching course contains an overview of excavation and trenching, as well as the risks that come with this type of job.
It also discusses the significance of pre-planning before bidding on an excavation or trenching job, and some factors to consider to ensure that the operation follows the safety guidelines set by OSHA. Toward the end of this course, your learners will get to learn the different protective systems to prevent excavator-related accidents.
For this course, you can take advantage of SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s Creator Tool to tweak its content and make sure that it fits the policies and processes that are exclusive to your team. You can also customize its font and styling, or even add your logo and branding requirements.
You can even get help from a team of expert instructional designers to make sure that your courses are interactive and engaging with SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s Course Creation Services (add-on). This will help your team pay attention to their training materials and retain their knowledge.
- Cost: Free (up to 10 users)
- Scope: Difference between excavation and trenching, job-related risks and hazards, the importance of pre-planning, protective systems
Created by SC Training (formerly EdApp)
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2. Working in the Heat
Working with excavators at high temperatures puts your workers at high risk of heat-related illnesses. Working in the Heat by the course authoring software SC Training (formerly EdApp) provides a comprehensive overview of the common heat hazards faced by excavator operators working in high-temperature settings. It also goes over the lesser-known dangers of working in the heat, which include fatal rhabdomyolysis, arrhythmia, and melanoma. What's great about this course is that it also outlines the early symptoms of these heat hazards, and how to respond to emergencies like heat stroke and rhabdomyolysis. The last part then focuses on the control measures and best practices to minimize heat stress at work, as well as the benefits of using PPEs.
This SC Training (formerly EdApp) course uses images and interactive templates to increase learners' engagement. There are also quizzes structured in smartphone game formats, like true or false, missing words, and number sentences to boost knowledge retention.
- Cost: Free (up to 10 users)
- Scope: Heat hazards, symptoms and first aid, hazard control measures and best practices, use of PPEs
Created by SC Training (formerly EdApp)
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3. Excavator Certification Course
This Leavitt Machinery excavator training course highlights the best safety and performance practices for working with or around excavators. Through a mix of multimedia presentations and interactive discussions, learners will get to explore the hazards of working with excavators, preventative maintenance procedures, and pre-operation inspections to minimize potential risks on site. They will learn safe operating practices like the proper excavator start-up and shutdown procedures, steering and maneuvering, and excavating techniques. A lesson on proper loading techniques and procedures will also be covered toward the end of this course.
- Cost: Available upon request
- Scope: Excavator hazards, preventative maintenance procedures, pre-operation inspections, safe operating practices, proper loading techniques and procedures
Created by Leavitt Machinery
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4. Excavator Operator Training Course
Bobcat Company’s Excavator Operator Training Course focuses on the safety rules and practices for operating compact excavators. It gives a comprehensive overview of the major components of a compact excavator, including its operating and safety features. The importance of maintenance for safe and efficient operation is also explained in detail. This course explores the steps of safe entry, start-up, parking, and exiting, followed by the fundamentals of safe maneuvering. Your workers will also learn the principles of lift capacity when lifting heavy loads using excavators. Enrolling in this course will give your learners access to the course DVD, handbooks, attendance certificates, and administrator’s guide to compact excavators.
- Cost: $143.43 USD
- Scope: Major components of the compact excavator, operating and safety features, the importance of maintenance, safe entry, start-up, parking and exiting, principles of lift capacity
Created by Bobcat Company
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5. Excavator Training
Building Safety Group’s Excavator Training is also a great excavator training course to consider. It goes over the fundamentals of excavators, including their controls, coolant, fuel, and lubrication system. There is also a lesson covering the current regulations, which your workers should adhere to avoid penalties and on-site accidents. This course explains the steps of performing deep and shallow excavation, as well as trenching, back-filling, and leveling. It also sheds light on the importance of pre-shift inspections to ensure that the equipment they’ll operate is safe and up-to-date. Workers who completed this training will be qualified to operate excavators in the UK, although they will still need a permission slip from an authorized person to ensure their health and safety on site.
- Cost: £394
- Scope: Excavator controls, coolant, fuel, and lubrication systems, industry regulations, deep and shallow excavation, pre-shift inspections
Created by Building Safety Group
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6. Excavator Pre-Operation Inspection Training Video
Performing a pre-operation inspection on excavators is extremely vital. This is primarily because this process helps ensure that this equipment is in good working condition before your workers start their digging and lifting works. In this excavator training course by Hard Hat, your workers will learn how to do an excavator pre-operation inspection correctly. They will also get to discover the importance of using excavator inspection checklists in clarifying their inspection responsibilities and reporting their inspection activities. This training resource can be used either as an onboarding or refresher material for your excavator operators. What's great is that it will only run for approximately 17 minutes, perfect for the busy schedules of your workers.
- Cost: $95.00 USD – $125.00 USD
- Scope: Importance of excavator pre-operation inspection, inspection steps and guidelines, use of excavator inspection checklists
Created by Hard Hat
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7. Working Safely with Machinery
SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s Working Safely with Machinery was designed particularly for workers involved in operating heavy machinery and equipment, like excavators. Here, they’ll learn more about some of the most common machine and equipment hazards they are most likely to face, and some safeguarding measures to prevent on-site accidents. In some cases where workplace hazards may be hard to avoid, they will also know how to follow risk controls in order to keep the risks and potential harms to a minimum. The importance of pre- and post-operational safety inspections in securing on-site safety are also discussed. It will guide your workers through their responsibilities to ensure their safety before and after operating heavy equipment like excavators.
Your learners will receive a certificate upon completion of the course, which can be used as proof that they have adequate knowledge of working safely with excavators. They're automatically generated with your branding, designs, and imagery, so you no longer need to spend time customizing certificates.
- Cost: Free (up to 10 users)
- Scope: Common machine and equipment hazards, safeguarding measures, risk controls, pre- and post-operational safety inspections
Created by SC Training (formerly EdApp)
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8. Excavator Operator Safety Course Online
This excavator training course by 360training can lend a hand in ensuring that your workers are fully equipped with the OSHA-mandated skills and knowledge needed to operate excavators, both safely and efficiently. It details the anatomy and moving parts of an excavator, and the right way to maintain and inspect them to ensure their safety and usability when operating. Learners are also guided through the excavator safety best practices to help them avoid common excavator hazards. This employee safety training is 100% online, perfect for self-paced learning. The content is also updated regularly to make sure that it remains current with the guidelines set by OSHA.
- Cost: $79 USD
- Scope: Anatomy and moving parts of an excavator, maintenance and inspection, excavator safety best practices
Created by 360training
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9. Excavator Operator Certification
United Rentals has also put together an excavator training course that can be used to onboard new operators or refresh the knowledge of seasoned workers. It contains a comprehensive rundown of the basics of excavators, which include the different types of this equipment, main parts, and their functions. The importance of pre-inspection and how to implement this task are also discussed in full depth. The other half of this course focuses on the key information needed to ensure the safe operation of an excavator. Limitations, hazards, and controls are also explored. Upon successful completion, learners will get an operator’s certificate and a free wallet card.
- Cost: $225 USD
- Scope: Excavator basics, pre-use inspection, safe operation of an excavator, excavator limitations, hazards, and controls
Created by United Rentals
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10. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Construction
Personal protective equipment (PPE) serves as the first line of defense against untoward accidents that can occur when working with excavators. However, providing your employees with this safety equipment isn't enough to protect them from hazards and injuries — they must also know how to use and maintain their PPEs to get the most safety and protection from them. SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Construction course guides learners through the importance of PPE when working with equipment like excavators, and how this safety equipment will protect them from workplace-related injuries and illnesses. It discusses the different types of PPE used in the construction industry, and how the work clothing and equipment should be worn and used. There’s also a lesson on the basics of hearing conservation to reduce the progression of noise-induced hearing loss, which is prevalent when working with excavators.
This construction training course follows a microlearning design model, which increases the likelihood of retention. It also fits the busy schedules of your excavator operators as it will not take them too long to finish this course. They can access it using their tablets and smartphones, allowing them to take it anytime and anywhere they prefer.
- Cost: Free (up to 10 users)
- Scope: Importance of PPE, types of PPEs, hearing conservation
Created by SC Training (formerly EdApp)
Explore the courseImprove on-site safety with excavator training courses
Providing your workers with excavator training courses, either as an onboarding or refresher material, is vital for their on-site safety. Handling excavators is risky, and it’s your responsibility as an employer to ensure that your team has adequate operational knowledge and experience under their belts to minimize these risks. Investing in excavator training courses will give you peace of mind knowing that they are fully capable of operating excavators, both safely and efficiently. These courses will also ensure that your team's conforming to government-imposed standards and regulations. It will save you from potential fines and financial losses in the future, and help you secure a compliance record that will prove and maintain your operation's safety and credibility in the long run.