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Concreting · Australia

SWMS for tilt-up panel installation

By Safety PaperworkBuilt from Safe Work Australia and state regulator guidance · How we write and check theseUpdated

Yes. Tilt-up panel installation usually includes high risk construction work (risk of a person falling more than 2 metres; work involving tilt-up or precast concrete elements), so a SWMS is required by law before work starts.

It must list the hazards, the controls and how they will be put in place, monitored and reviewed, and the workers must be consulted and sign before starting. The main hazards are falling from height, EWP tip-over or crush, falling tools and materials and public entering the work area.

Make this SWMS nowWord templatePDF

SWMS example: tilt-up panel installation

This is a complete SWMS for tilt-up panel installation, with 6 job steps. Open it in the builder to add your site, crew and signatures, change anything, and download a PDF. Or download the free Word template below and fill it in by hand.

Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
Tilt-up and precast panel installation · Concreting · Example
Document SWMS-001 · Rev 1

High risk construction work covered

Risk of a person falling more than 2 metresWork involving tilt-up or precast concrete elementsWork in an area with movement of powered mobile plant

Job steps, hazards and controls

#Job stepHazardsRisk beforeControlsRisk after
1Review the erection design and lift plan, and check crane set up and ground
  • Tilt-up and precast panel failure
  • Crane and lifting failure
High
  • Set an exclusion zone around the lift and bracing. Nobody stands under or beside a panel being lifted. Isolate
  • Use panels, lifting inserts and braces designed and certified by an engineer. Engineering
  • Use a crane rated for the panel at the radius, with a written lift plan. Engineering
  • Check bracing after it goes in, daily, and after strong wind. Administrative
  • Do not remove braces until the panel is permanently fixed and the engineer approves. Administrative
  • Follow the erection design and bracing plan for every panel, and keep everyone out of the fall zone during lifting and propping. Administrative
  • Wear a hard hat, hi-vis, gloves and safety boots. PPE
  • Barricade the lift zone and keep everyone out from under the load. Isolate
  • Use a crane rated for the load at the radius, set up on firm ground with outrigger pads. Engineering
  • Check slings, chains, shackles and hooks before use. Remove anything damaged or not tagged. Engineering
  • Plan the lift: weight, radius, ground, path and landing area. Use a written lift plan for complex lifts. Administrative
  • Crane operators and doggers or riggers hold the right High Risk Work Licence. Administrative
  • Use tag lines to control loads and agree on clear radio or hand signals. Administrative
  • Stop lifting in high wind or when the operator cannot see the signaller. Administrative
  • Never ride on a load or hook. Administrative
Medium
2Set exclusion zones so no one is under or beside a panel being lifted
  • Falling tools and materials
  • Crane and lifting failure
  • Public entering the work area
High
  • Barricade and sign the drop zone under overhead work so nobody walks beneath. Isolate
  • Fit toe boards, kick plates and mesh screens on scaffolds and edges. Engineering
  • Use catch fans, debris netting or covered walkways where people pass below. Engineering
  • Tether hand tools when working at height. Engineering
  • Keep platforms tidy. Do not stack materials near edges or above toe board height. Administrative
  • Crane and lifting failure: see step 1 for the full controls Administrative
  • Fence off the site with secure temporary fencing and lock the gates when you leave. Isolate
  • Give pedestrians a safe, marked path around the work, with ramps for prams and wheelchairs. Isolate
  • Use hoarding, covered walkways or catch fans where work is above public areas. Engineering
  • Put signs at each entry: site name, contact number and "No unauthorised entry". Administrative
  • Make the site safe at the end of each day: cover holes, lower plant, remove ladders and lock tools away. Administrative
Medium
3Inspect lifting inserts and rigging before each lift
  • Crane and lifting failure
  • Tilt-up and precast panel failure
High
  • Crane and lifting failure: see step 1 for the full controls Administrative
  • Tilt-up and precast panel failure: see step 1 for the full controls Administrative
Medium
4Stand and brace each panel before releasing the crane
  • Structural collapse during alterations
  • Tilt-up and precast panel failure
  • Strong wind and storms
High
  • Get an engineer to check before removing any wall, beam, post or bracing that may be load-bearing. Eliminate
  • Keep everyone clear of the area under and next to the work. Isolate
  • Structural collapse during alterations: see step 6 for the full controls Administrative
  • Tilt-up and precast panel failure: see step 1 for the full controls Administrative
  • Check the forecast each morning and plan work at height and lifting around the weather. Eliminate
  • Tie down or weigh down loose sheets, panels, boards and rubbish at the end of each shift. Engineering
  • Set wind limits for roof work, platforms and cranes, using the manufacturer's limits, and stop when they are reached. Administrative
  • Stop work and get down in lightning. Wait 30 minutes after the last thunder before going back up. Administrative
  • Check scaffold, fencing and edge protection after strong wind before anyone uses them. Administrative
Medium
5Release rigging from the EWP, not by climbing the panel
  • EWP tip-over or crush
  • Falling from height
Extreme
  • Check the ground before setting up. Use outriggers and spreader pads, and keep clear of trenches, pits and slopes. Engineering
  • Use a platform with tilt alarm and secondary guarding (anti-entrapment) where there is an overhead crush risk. Engineering
  • Hold a High Risk Work Licence (WP) for boom-type EWPs with a boom of 11 metres or more. Under 11 metres and scissor lifts: trained and assessed (for example EWPA Yellow Card). Administrative
  • Do a pre-start check each day. Keep a trained person on the ground who can lower the platform in an emergency. Administrative
  • Have a written emergency and rescue plan, tested before work starts, for a worker stuck in the platform or hanging in a harness (WHS Regulations r.80). Administrative
  • Never exceed the safe working load, climb on the rails or use a ladder in the basket. Administrative
  • In boom-type platforms, wear a harness clipped to the basket anchor point. PPE
  • Do the work from the ground where you can, for example pre-assemble on the ground or use extension poles. Eliminate
  • Install guardrails or edge protection on all open edges before work starts. Isolate
  • Use a scaffold, mobile work platform or EWP instead of working off a ladder. Engineering
  • Where edge protection is not practical, use a fall restraint or fall arrest system on a rated anchor point. Engineering
  • Everyone working at height holds a White Card and has been briefed on this SWMS before going up. Administrative
  • Have a written emergency and rescue plan, tested before work starts, so a worker hanging in a harness can be brought down within minutes (WHS Regulations r.80). Administrative
  • Wear a full body harness with a shock-absorbing lanyard, clipped on at all times when using fall arrest. PPE
Medium
6Check braces daily until the structure is tied in
  • Structural collapse during alterations
High
  • Get an engineer to check before removing any wall, beam, post or bracing that may be load-bearing. Eliminate
  • Keep everyone clear of the area under and next to the work. Isolate
  • Install temporary props, needles or shoring as designed before removing any support. Engineering
  • Follow the engineer's sequence. Do not change it without approval. Administrative
  • Check props daily. Do not remove them until the permanent support is in and approved. Administrative
  • Install temporary support to the engineer's or temporary works design before any load bearing element is altered. Administrative
  • Wear a hard hat and safety boots. PPE
Medium

PPE

Steel cap bootsHard hatHi-vis shirt or vestSafety harness and lanyardWork glovesSafety glasses

Plant and equipment

Crane (Franna or mobile): HRWL for the crane class (e.g. C2, CN, C6), plus Dogging licence (DG) where slinging needs judgement or the load is out of the operator's viewBoom lift (EWP): HRWL WP for boom-type EWPs with a boom of 11 m or more. Under 11 m: trained and assessed (e.g. EWPA Yellow Card)Power drillHand tools

Permits and plans

Lift planWorking at heights permit

Emergency

Call 000. Add the nearest hospital, the assembly point and the first aider for your site.

Sign-off

Supervisor and every worker sign to confirm they have read and understood this SWMS.

Free SWMS template for tilt-up panel installation

Word (.docx) and PDF, A4 landscape, no email needed. Fill in your site details, then print or send it.

Word template (.docx)PDF template

Make yours in 2 minutes

Same document, filled in for your job. Answer a few yes or no questions, the crew signs on the phone, and you send the PDF.

Start this SWMS

Pre-start checklist for tilt-up panel installation

Tick these off before work starts. They come from the hazards, permits and equipment in this job.

The safe sequence of work

  1. Review the erection design and lift plan, and check crane set up and ground
  2. Set exclusion zones so no one is under or beside a panel being lifted
  3. Inspect lifting inserts and rigging before each lift
  4. Stand and brace each panel before releasing the crane
  5. Release rigging from the EWP, not by climbing the panel
  6. Check braces daily until the structure is tied in

Hazards to watch on tilt-up panel installation

The hazards most specific to this job, and the step where each one comes up.

Step 1, 3, 4Tilt-up and precast panel failureA tilt-up or precast panel falls while it is lifted, propped or braced and crushes workers.
Step 5EWP tip-over or crushThe platform tips on soft or sloping ground, the worker is crushed against a beam or ceiling, or is thrown out of the basket.
Step 1, 2, 3Crane and lifting failureA load falls or swings, or the crane tips, crushing workers under or near the lift.
Step 4Strong wind and stormsWind blows sheets, panels and people off roofs and scaffolds, and storms and lightning make work at height and lifting unsafe.
Step 4, 6Structural collapse during alterationsRemoving a wall, beam, post or bracing makes part of the building fall on workers.
Step 5Falling from heightA worker falls more than 2 metres from an edge, platform or opening and is badly hurt or killed.
Almost certainLikelyPossibleUnlikelyRareHow bad it could be: Insignificant to CatastrophicBA
Highest risk on tilt-up panel installation: Extreme before controls (B), down to Medium after controls (A), on the Australia 5 by 5 risk matrix (likely and catastrophic becomes unlikely and major).

What changes on your site

This example covers the job itself. Your site may add more. Add controls for any of these that apply (the builder asks you these as yes or no questions):

  • Will anyone use a ladder or stepladder?
  • Will anyone work on a roof?
  • Is there a skylight, clear sheet, fibro or other fragile roofing?
  • Will you use a scaffold or mobile tower?
  • Was the building built before 2004?

Licences and legal requirements in Australia

This task can involve these high risk construction work categories under the WHS Regulations:

  • Risk of a person falling more than 2 metres
  • Work involving tilt-up or precast concrete elements
  • Work in an area with movement of powered mobile plant

Equipment on this job that needs a licence, ticket or training:

  • Crane (Franna or mobile): HRWL for the crane class (e.g. C2, CN, C6), plus Dogging licence (DG) where slinging needs judgement or the load is out of the operator's view
  • Boom lift (EWP): HRWL WP for boom-type EWPs with a boom of 11 m or more. Under 11 m: trained and assessed (e.g. EWPA Yellow Card)

A SWMS must be prepared before any high risk construction work starts. It must list the high risk work, the hazards and risks, the control measures, and how those controls will be put in place, monitored and reviewed. It must be easy for the workers to read and understand.

Rules that apply: WHS Regulation 2011, Part 4.5 High risk work and Part 5.1 Plant; WHS Regulation 2011, Part 3.2 (falling objects); WHS Regulation 2011, Part 4.5 High risk work; WHS Regulation 2011, Part 4.4 Falls.

Each state has its own regulator and some extra rules: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Australian Capital Territory.

Why SWMS get rejected

Principal contractors send documents back for these reasons. This example avoids them, but check yours too.

  • It is generic: another site address, tasks that are not on this job, or no sign it was reviewed for this site. WorkSafe WA says a generic SWMS may not meet the regulations unless it is reviewed and amended for the workplace.
  • The HRCW boxes are not ticked, or the ticks do not match the tasks (for example a roof job with no falls box ticked).
  • Falls are controlled only by "be careful", training or a harness, with no edge protection or scaffold and no reason why higher controls are not reasonably practicable.
  • Workers will clip on to a harness but there is no rescue plan for someone left hanging.
  • The "how controls are implemented, monitored and reviewed" part is missing, or it says the same thing on every row.
  • No worker sign-on, no person responsible for compliance, or a date given to the principal contractor that is before they actually received it.
  • Licence or White Card details are missing for workers operating plant or doing licensed high risk work.

Questions

Do I need a SWMS for tilt-up panel installation?

Yes. Tilt-up panel installation usually includes high risk construction work (risk of a person falling more than 2 metres; work involving tilt-up or precast concrete elements), so a SWMS is required by law before work starts.

Who signs the SWMS?

The person conducting the business (PCBU) or their supervisor prepares it with the workers, and every worker doing the high risk work signs to show they were consulted and understand it. Give a copy to the principal contractor before work starts.

How long do I keep it?

Keep this SWMS, and every revised version, until the high risk construction work is finished, where workers and inspectors can see it on site. If a notifiable incident happens during the work, keep it for at least 2 years after the incident.

What PPE is needed for tilt-up panel installation?

Usually Steel cap boots, Hard hat, Hi-vis shirt or vest, Safety harness and lanyard, Work gloves, Safety glasses. The site rules may add more, so check with the principal contractor.

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Blank SWMS template: free SWMS templates. Also for other countries: United Kingdom (RAMS) · United States (JHA) · Canada (FLHA)

Sources