SIM vs Safe Excavator
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SIM
Reinforce safety techniques taught in training with remote review and guided conversations. This app provides scripted content and animations to help users apply specific safety methods in any environment or for any task.
- Reinforce safety techniques
- Remote review capability
- Scripted content for conversations
- Animations for technical review
- Integrates with safety tools
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We believe learning should be specific and continuous. Action after education is an integral component of behavior change. SIM integrates with other tools in your safety tool box to effectively drive culture change for sustained results. This app, produced by Safety In Motion, Inc. is designed to reinforce proprietary techniques taught in Safety In Motion® training. Each technique taught in training can now be reviewed remotely in any environment and for any task. Scripted content guides conversations related to each technique and animations deliver the technical review for how to apply a specific technique.
Safe Excavator
Access excavation legal requirements by state and topic. Track and report damages or near misses involving underground facilities. Streamline safety and productivity for excavation projects.
- State-specific excavation laws
- Damage and near-miss tracking
- Reporting to DIRT
- 811 notification center links
- Safe digging tips and checklist
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What It Does: Safe Excavator is an easy, fast, and free way to access the legal requirements pertaining to excavation in every state, arranged by relevant topic. It also allows you collect and track data regarding excavation damage and near misses to underground facilities, and if you choose to, report it to the Damage Information Reporting Tool. By making information accessible to users in a rapid, flexible, and secure manner, Safe Excavator maximizes user efficiency – whether that involves planning an excavation project, or in assessing safety and productivity at a glance. Forget the paperwork and get on with the actual work! For Example: No matter what state you are (or will be) in, Safe Excavator can help you determine: • The length of advance notice required to be given to the 811 notification center in order to have underground utilities marked prior to the start of excavation; • Whether and how need for pre-marking or white-lining should take place before contacting the 811 notification center; • The information you will need to provide the 811 notification center in order to get a ticket issued, as well as information about the ticket itself – including size and life limitations; • How to determine the “tolerance zone” surrounding any underground facilities in the area of a proposed excavation, as well as activity limitations within the zone; and • When it’s necessary to re-contact the 811 notification center. Safe Excavator can now also be used to: • Track damages and near-misses involving underground facilities; • Collect and analyze both leading and lagging root cause indicators; and • With user permission, submit information to the Damage Information Reporting Tool, also known as DIRT. Highlights of App: • Safe digging laws organized by state and topic. • In-app links to 811 notification centers – both telephone and web – by state. • Damage tracking and analysis. • Contact information for 811 notification centers and enforcement agencies by state. • Identification and contact information for underground facility owners by state. • Safe digging tips and checklist.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Safe Excavator at 4.5 against SIM's 4.0. Safe Excavator also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). SIM's advantage is iOS requirement (13.4 vs 15.1). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Safe Excavator holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 6 respectively.
SIM ships an update every 2 months, Safe Excavator every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SIM | Safe Excavator |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (3 ratings) | 4.5 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 6 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.4 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Safety in Motion Inc | National Excavator Initiative |
Customer experience
SIM
Safe Excavator
In-app purchases
SIM
No in-app purchases
Safe Excavator
No in-app purchases






