What does a TLB do?
A TLB digs with the backhoe at its rear and loads with the bucket at its front, so one machine can open a trench and load the spoil onto a truck.[10][6]
In South Africa, Knysna Municipality's December 2023 hire request names the work: routine and emergency water and sewer reticulation maintenance, loading material for trucks, lifting slabs and excavations.[6]
One manufacturer's TLB has a front shovel that also dozes, grades and handles objects on flip-over forks, and can take hammer and auger attachments.[12]
SANS 20474-4:2010, reaffirmed in 2024, calls the machine a backhoe loader and sets the safety requirements specific to wheeled and crawler backhoe loaders.[4]
A TLB can drive to site on its own wheels: one manufacturer gives a top speed of 40 km/h for three of its South African models. A contractor must ensure that mobile plant travelling, working or operating on a public road complies with the National Road Traffic Act, 1996 (Construction Regulations, 2014, regulation 23(2)(j)).[13][5][1]
What size TLB do I need?
Knysna Municipality's 2023 hire requests size a TLB by net engine power, or by power and operating weight, and the dipper sets how deep the backhoe digs.[6][7]
| What to specify | Example | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Net engine power | 50 to 70 kW | Knysna Municipality, December 2023 |
| Operating weight, 4x4 with standard equipment | 8,040 kg, at 72 kW net peak power | Knysna Municipality, November 2023 |
| Digging depth, standard dipper | 4.17 m | The same request |
| Digging depth, extendable dipper | 5.7 m | The same request |
| Front shovel | 1.0, 1.2 or 1.3 m³, by model | One manufacturer, 2026 |
Does a TLB operator need a licence in South Africa?
The 2024 National Code of Practice for training providers of lifting machine operators has no code for a TLB or backhoe loader. On a construction site, the Construction Regulations, 2014 put the duty on the contractor: it must ensure that mobile plant is operated by a person who "has received appropriate training, is certified competent and in possession of proof of competency and is authorised in writing to operate" it, and who holds a medical certificate of fitness from an occupational health practitioner in the form of Annexure 3 (regulation 23(1)(d)).[3][1]
Regulation 1 defines mobile plant as "any machinery, appliance or other similar device that is able to move independently, and is used for the purpose of performing construction work on a construction site"; construction work includes "the moving of earth, clearing of land, the making of excavation".[1]
The Code, incorporated into the Driven Machinery Regulations, 2015 (GN R. 540), lists forklift codes and crane codes. Its Appendix 1 describes code F11 as "Rough Terrain / /Agricultural Equipment with lift truck attachments"; the captions in its illustrations read "Rough Terrain/Earthmoving/Agriculture Equipment with Lift Truck Attachment", and its note on certificates gives as an F11 example a front end loader or excavator "with Fork/grab attachment".[3][2]
Regulation 1 of the Driven Machinery Regulations defines "lift truck" as "a mobile lifting machine" and excludes from it "a mobile earth-moving machine".[2]
For equipment the Code covers, the operator needs "a valid certificate of competence and a carry card" (clause 14.5); the card is valid for up to 24 months and shows the machine code and attachments (clause 14.2).[3]
Regulation 23 of the Construction Regulations also requires, for mobile plant:[1]
- a structure protecting the operator from falling material or from being crushed if the machine overturns, a warning device the operator can sound and an automatic reversing alarm (regulation 23(1)(h) to (j));[1]
- a daily inspection by the authorised operator against a checklist before use, recorded in a register kept in the machine (regulation 23(1)(k)).[1]
What should a TLB hire request specify?
One municipality's TLB hire requests set out the machine, the rate and how hours are counted. Knysna Municipality's December 2023 request asked for an hourly wet rate including VAT and covering "fuel, operator, labour, health and safety, insurance and maintenance", with hours recorded by the machine operator and signed off daily by a municipal official.[6]
The municipality's November 2023 request priced establishment apart from 240 hours of hire, and stated that plant in its possession on rain days "will be considered to be booked off".[7]
Drawing on those requests and regulation 23, a TLB hire request can name:[6][7][1]
- the work and the deepest dig, which decides whether an extendable dipper is needed;[7]
- the size, by net power or operating weight;[6][7]
- attachments such as a hammer or auger;[12]
- what the hourly rate includes, and how hours, rain days and establishment are charged;[6][7]
- the operator's proof of competency, written authorisation and medical certificate of fitness.[1]
Questions buyers ask
What is the difference between a TLB and an excavator?
A TLB has a loader bucket at the front as well as its digging arm, and runs on wheels. One manufacturer explains that a backhoe's arm works through 180 degrees from the rear of the machine, while an excavator slews through 360 degrees. For tight access and trench depths by machine size, see mini excavator sizes.[10][11]
How long is TLB training?
Regulation 23 of the Construction Regulations, 2014 asks for "appropriate training" and proof of competency without setting a length. Knysna Municipality's October 2022 request for TLB training asked a SETA-accredited provider for a programme aligned to unit standard 262727, Operate a backhoe/loader (NQF level 2, 15 credits), completed in 7 days per group of 11. SAQA lists that unit standard as past its registration end date (30 June 2023), with 30 June 2027 the last date for achievement.[1][8][5]
What does TLB stand for?
Tractor loader backhoe. The machine is also called a backhoe loader, the name SANS 20474-4 uses for the wheeled and crawler machines it covers; one construction safety site describes backhoe loaders as 4x2 or 4x4 machines with "a bucket at the front and a backhoe at the rear".[9][4][10]
Sources
- Department of Labour (Government Gazette 37305), Construction Regulations, 2014 (GN R.84), 7 February 2014.
- Department of Labour (Government Gazette 38905), Driven Machinery Regulations, 2015 (GN R. 540), 24 June 2015.
- Department of Employment and Labour (Government Gazette 51711), Incorporation of the National Code of Practice for the Training Providers of Lifting Machine Operators, 2024, into the Driven Machinery Regulations 2015 (Notice 5526), 6 December 2024.
- SABS, SANS 20474-4:2010 (Ed. 1.00), Earth-moving machinery: Safety Part 4: Requirements for backhoe loaders, 20 January 2010, reaffirmed 3 May 2024.
- South African Qualifications Authority, Unit standard 262727: Operate a backhoe/loader, Registered 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2023; last date for achievement 30 June 2027.
- Knysna Municipality, RFQ 349/2023/24: Hiring of TLB in Sedgefield, Buffalo Bay and Karatara, net power range 50 to 70 kW, December 2023.
- Knysna Municipality, RFQ 322/2023/24: Hire of TLB with extendable boom, November 2023.
- Knysna Municipality, RFQ 173/2022/23: Training of employees on an accredited program (grader operator and TLB), 6 October 2022.
- George Municipality, Vacancy: Driver Operator (Tractor Loader Backhoe (TLB) Operator), George, reference 3410437, January 2025 (closing date 7 February 2025).
- Construction Safety (constructionsafety.co.za), TLB / Excavators (vehicle fitness: machine types), Published 21 February 2019, updated 27 March 2021.
- JCB (United Kingdom site), Backhoe Loaders: 3 to 11 tonnes (range page and frequently asked questions), 2026.
- JCB (South African site), 3CX backhoe loader, 2026.
- JCB (South African site), 4CX backhoe loader, 2026.