What this checklist is for
Perform a daily/shift walkaround for a backhoe loader. It has rubber tires, a pair of rear stabilizers, a loader bucket in front, and a hoe with a dipper and bucket in the back.
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The machine class is construction earthmoving equipment under 29 CFR 1926.602. It include such items as wheel tractors, loaders, etc. The tractor seat belt rule is retained regardless of the type of attachment being used. See paragraph (b)(1).
29 CFR 1926.1000 mandates the use of rollover protective structures on all wheel-type industrial and agricultural tractors for construction purposes. This applies whether they are equipped with attachments or not. According to OSHA's 24 July 1992 letter, even though you may have a hoe on that tractor, the tractor must still have ROPS. If each seat is protected by a ROPS, one ROPS can be used for both seats.
According to 29 CFR 1926.20(b)(2), the inspection duty is spelled out. A competent person appointed by the employer shall make regular and frequent inspections of all tools, machinery, and other equipment. According to paragraph (b)(3), unsafe equipment shall be physically removed, locked out or tagged. According to paragraph (b)(4), only those employees who is trained or experienced may operate such equipment.
What it is not
- It is not a crawler excavator walk (house, boom, stick, tracks, no front loader). OSHA's 9 May 2006 letter treats revolving-house excavators under 1926.602(b), not the 1926.602(a) seat-belt paragraph. If your fleet also runs a hydraulic crawler, use an excavator inspection checklist when that page is published. Do not paste track and slew-ring rows onto this tractor.
- It is not a skid steer inspection checklist. A skid-steer loader has lift arms beside the cab, no rear hoe, and no outriggers. Name that form in plain text until it is published. Do not copy lap-bar or chain-case rows here.
- It is not a Forklift Inspection Checklist under 29 CFR 1910.178, and not a Pre Trip Inspection Checklist for a Class A CMV. Gladhands, fifth wheels, and 4/32 inch steer tread do not belong on this machine.
- It is not the competent-person excavation inspection in 29 CFR 1926.651(k). That walk is the trench, adjacent area, and protective system, before work and after rain. This form only asks whether people, spoil, and overhead lines are clear enough to run the backhoe. Keep a separate trench sheet.
- It is not 29 CFR 1926.601. That motor-vehicle section says it does not apply to equipment covered by 1926.602. Do not treat 1926.601(b)(14) trailer-brake and coupling language as this loader's Pass/Fail list.
How to fill each block
The "frequent" portion is filled in with OEM timing. For example, the beginning-of-work walk is Caterpillar's Safety and Maintenance Inspection: Backhoe Loaders. The pre-start section of John Deere's 410G OMM includes Inspect Machine Daily Before Starting. The JCB 3CX and 4CX quick guide lists daily checks as 10 hours. This is not any OEM's serial-specific sheet; it is not OSHA's official blank.
Write down machine and operator info. Record the date, time, operator, unit, make, model, serial or PIN, hour meter, and site. Choose between extendible dipper, sideshift, or center-pivot, then cross out N/A truthfully later. Label the machine’s attachments today. Ensure training for this make and model (1926.20(b)(4)) is in place. Verify that any defects from previous shift were fixed or that the unit remained tagged out.
Operator protection and cab
First look around the work area. Then climb using the grab bar and clean steps with three-point contact (Deere pre-op card; Cat backhoe SMI). Inspect the belt, buckle, and mounts. Examine ROPS or FOPS for loose mounts and damage. Use a belt when rollover is a hazard, as required by OSHA’s 15 December 2003 letter and 29 CFR 1926.28(a). Seat should lock into position in rear (hoe) and front (loader). Glass must be safety glass and undistorted per 1926.600(a)(5). Verify presence of operator’s manual in cab. Both JCB and Deere have this on their pre-op card. This sheet is not a replacement.
Examine the loader end. Examine pins, arms, cylinders, GET, retainers and the front bucket. Those are the rows where Cat's backhoe SMI starts from the ground. OSHA 1926.602(a)(10) requires scissor-point guards at areas where operator could be pinched by the linkage.
OSHA 1926.600(a)(3)(i) mandates that when servicing or parking the machine, the loader bucket must be either blocked or fully lowered. Never walk underneath a raised arm unless it's blocked and the OEM boom service lock is in place.
Check the swing lock, hoe end, and stabilizers. The parts include the rear bucket, boom, stick, pins, Cat BH pivot, and swing pivot. Test the swing lock pin (Deere 410G transport pin; compact-tractor OMM swing lock). It should be in for travel and out and stored for digging. Prove boom lock: Engaged for road/trailer travel; Released before hoe work. This is the Deere 410G Operating Boom Lock.
ISO/SAE's hoe page at Deere is blunt: "Do not operate the backhoe if you are not in the seat in the hoe position with the stabilizers down." Level the machine on firm ground. Lower both outriggers. Don't write an inch limit for stabilizer spread in OK / Defect. Do not write a stabilizer-spread inch limit in OK / Defect. That's a spec, not Pass/Fail on this form. On a center-pivot Case, Cat or Deere mark sideshift N/A.
Examine fluids & hydraulics. For levels, shut down engine. Daily fluid checks for Cat F-series and SMI on Cat backhoes cover fuel, coolant, hydraulic tank, and engine oil. For a Deere 410G hydraulic example, the sight glass should be in the mid-range of the decal. The loader bucket should be on the ground, with the hoe and stabilizers in transport. The machine should be level and the oil cool.
Never make up a Pass/Fail by guessing at hydraulic-pressure psi. An extra relief (2500 psi, listed on another Deere machine) might be mentioned in a compact-tractor attachment manual. It is not the daily tick of this loader. Use cardboard, not a hand, to find pinhole leaks (Deere high-pressure fluid caution).
Lights, tires, alarms, work area. Test work area. Check lights, horn, reverse alarm, tires. Horn. Bidirectional machines like front-end loaders must have a horn. This requirement is found in 1926.602(a)(9)(i). Use a reverse signal alarm. Before reversing with obstructed rear view, use signal person or a reverse signal alarm that can be heard above other noises at the site. This rule is 1926.602(a)(9)(ii).
What varies
This section covers parking. Chock if parked on incline. Set the parking brake when parked (1926.600(a)(3)(ii)). Clearance. Overhead wires. Assume all overhead wires are live until owner tells you different. Under 1926.600(a)(6)(i), keep a clearance of 10 ft for lines rated 50 kV or less.
Digging. Keep spoil and equipment 2 ft (0.61 m) from the edge of the excavation, unless you use a retaining device. (1926.651(j)(2)) No one may stand under a bucket. (1926.651(e)) Defects. Sign off after walk. Note defects. Select repaired, scheduled and still safe, or tagged out. 1926.20(b)(3) prohibits driving an unsafe machine to the shop.
Sideshift carriages are not found on center-pivot hoes, which is a common pattern for Case, Cat, and Deere in North America. It is often present on JCB 3CX and 4CX. Extendable dipper (Deere extendible dipperstick, Case Extendahoe) requires wear pads and lock pin.
Other differences include 2WD vs 4WD, enclosed cab vs ROPS canopy, pilot vs mechanical controls, and SAE vs ISO vs Case three-lever patterns. These variations change which rows you mark N/A. The Deere 410G has multiple control patterns; always check how it responds before working.
Check the seat belt, park brake, ROPS/FOPS, attachments, pins, and oil every 10 hours on the JCB. Check the hub bolts, transmission oil, and boom lock every 50 hours. For the Deere 410G, check the engine oil and pivot lube every 10 hours or daily, whichever comes first. Always check these daily before starting. Check the coolant on a weekly list and the hydraulic oil on a 250-hour list.
Don't follow a blend of intervals from this page! Follow the serial OMM in the cab. Public-road travel adds escort rules, slow-moving-vehicle emblems, and lighting, which are DOT/state, not 1926.602. This form doesn't score those.
After you finish
Recordkeeping might be added by your state-plan OSHA. The sheet isn't any state's official one. Don't copy CMV tread or air-brake psi onto this tractor. Don't copy 1910.178 data-plate math onto a hoe. Setup for stabilizers, tire psi, hydraulic fill, etc., comes from the OMM on this unit and the data plate.
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If you’d like to fill one out by hand, download a blank PDF to do so. Answers stay in this tab only. It will reset for the following person using it. Here’s the form up top. Below the form is the preview image and the printable PDF.
Give signed record to employer’s maintenance process. The fact that you tagged it doesn’t send an email to OSHA, put a work order on it, or do a 1926.651(k) trench inspection. If you tagged it out, it’s out till someone who can fix it lets it go.
You might also have fleet policy which adds rows (theft locks, ride control, quick coupler indicator lamps). Put those in Notes. Don’t delete ROPS, seat belt, swing lock, stabilizers, horn, or reverse alarm to make the walk shorter.
Not a substitute for the OEM or a licensed inspection
It’s not intended to be a replacement for Subpart O, Subpart W, or Subpart P of 29 CFR 1926, nor is it a replacement for the procedure from the maker of the specific machine whose serial number is in front of you (Caterpillar, Case, John Deere, JCB). This is not legal advice. It is meant to serve as a recordkeeping form only.
Don’t invent your own OK / Defect thresholds for hydraulic pressure or stabilizer spread if the OEM didn’t specify those on that particular unit as something to check. Refer to the operator's manual and cited OSHA text.