Product Overview

This Heavy Earthmoving and Civil Plant Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) is designed to identify hazards, assess risks, and implement controls for the safe operation of heavy plant and equipment on civil and construction sites. It is a comprehensive, ready-to-use document covering multiple aspects of heavy earthmoving operations and WHS compliance for high-risk plant activities.

Activities & Specific Tasks Covered

This document includes specific risk controls for:

• Backfilling and compaction activities, including safe positioning of personnel, plant separation and ground stability controls
• Construction vehicle operation, including pre-start inspections, spotter use, traffic management and reversing controls
• Crusher operation, including guarding, isolation, lock-out/tag-out procedures and dust/noise exposure controls
• Dragline operation, including slew radius exclusion zones, overhead powerline clearances and swing path management
• GPS-guided machinery operation, including system calibration, data verification and maintaining situational awareness
• Loading and unloading of grinders from floats or trailers, including load restraint, ramp use and pinch/crush point controls
• Managing steep land movements, including assessment of ground conditions, slope limits and rollover prevention measures
• Material handler use, including safe lifting, stacking, slew control and overhead/underground services protection
• Processing plant operation, including conveyor safety, guarding, emergency stop systems and isolation procedures
• Ripper usage on dozers and other plant, including underground service checks, flying object controls and machine stability
• Scraper, dozer and grader operation, including safe cutting and filling practices, edge protection and working near batters
• Site clean-up using heavy equipment, including segregation of pedestrians, waste handling and visibility management
• Use of motorised buggies and site runabouts, including speed management, seatbelt use and designated route controls
• On-site plant maintenance and refuelling, including isolation, hot work controls and spill prevention
• Establishing and managing traffic management plans for mixed plant and pedestrian work areas

Who is this for?

This SWMS is designed for civil contractors, earthmoving contractors, quarry and mining support crews, plant hire companies, and site supervisors managing heavy earthmoving and civil plant operations.

Specific Job Steps & Hazards Covered

Legislation & References

This document was researched and developed to align with:

• Managing the Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice: Guidance on controlling risks associated with the use of plant and machinery
• Demolition Work Code of Practice: Relevant where heavy plant is used for demolition or structural removal activities
• Excavation Work Code of Practice: Controls for excavation, trenching, batters and ground stability when using earthmoving plant
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice: Requirements for managing noise from heavy machinery and processing plant
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice: Applicable to working on or around plant where fall risks exist
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice: Controls for manual handling associated with plant maintenance and ancillary tasks
• AS 4024 Safety of Machinery (series): Guidance on machinery guarding and safety-related control systems
• AS 2359 Powered Industrial Trucks (where applicable): Relevant for material handling equipment used in conjunction with earthmoving plant
• Work Health and Safety Act 2011
• Work Health and Safety Regulations 2017