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Landscaping · Australia

SWMS for paving

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

Yes. Paving usually includes high risk construction work (work in an area with movement of powered mobile plant), 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 silica dust from concrete, brick, stone and tiles, hitting underground services, being hit by mobile plant and loud noise.

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SWMS example: paving

This is a complete SWMS for paving, with 5 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)
Paving installation · Landscaping · Example
Document SWMS-001 · Rev 1

High risk construction work covered

Work in an area with movement of powered mobile plant

Job steps, hazards and controls

#Job stepHazardsRisk beforeControlsRisk after
1Get BYDA plans and excavate the base
  • Hitting underground services
  • Being hit by mobile plant
Extreme
  • Keep machine buckets well clear of marked services and use a spotter. Isolate
  • Scan the area with a cable locator before digging and mark services on the ground. Engineering
  • Hand dig or vacuum excavate to expose services before using a machine near them. Engineering
  • Lodge a free BYDA (Before You Dig Australia) request and get the plans before any digging. Administrative
  • Keep plans or locate tickets on site and check them again if the work area grows. Administrative
  • If you hit a service, stop, get everyone clear, and call the owner and emergency services. Administrative
  • Wear safety boots, gloves and hi-vis when digging. PPE
  • Separate people and plant with barriers, exclusion zones and marked walkways. Isolate
  • Use plant with working reversing alarms, cameras and lights. Engineering
  • Have a traffic management plan showing plant routes, loading areas and pedestrian paths. Administrative
  • Use a spotter when reversing or working near people. Administrative
  • Make eye contact with the operator before going near. Stay out of the swing radius. Administrative
  • Operators hold a High Risk Work Licence where needed (for example forklift) and are trained and assessed on other plant. Administrative
  • Do a pre-start check on each machine every day and record it. Administrative
  • Wear hi-vis clothing and a hard hat. PPE
Medium
2Compact road base, rotating operators
  • Hand-arm and whole-body vibration
  • Loud noise
High
  • Use low-vibration tools and methods, such as a breaker on an excavator instead of a hand jackhammer. Substitute
  • Keep tools sharp and well maintained, and use anti-vibration handles and seats. Engineering
  • Limit trigger time on high-vibration tools and rotate workers. Administrative
  • Keep hands warm and dry, and take regular breaks. Administrative
  • Report tingling, numbness or white fingers early. Administrative
  • Wear gloves to keep hands warm and dry. PPE
  • Use quieter tools and methods, such as cut-to-size materials, low-noise machines and battery tools. Substitute
  • Keep noisy plant away from work areas, and use screens or distance between the noise and people. Isolate
  • Keep tools maintained and use mufflers on compressors and generators. Engineering
  • Limit time on noisy tools and rotate workers. Administrative
  • If you have to shout to be heard 1 metre away, wear hearing protection. Administrative
  • Keep exposure below 85 dB(A) over 8 hours. Give hearing tests to workers who often need hearing protection. Administrative
  • Wear earplugs or earmuffs rated for the noise. PPE
Medium
3Lay pavers, using a lifter or two people for big ones
  • Lifting and carrying heavy loads
  • Repetitive work and awkward postures
High
  • Plan to avoid carrying: have materials delivered, and old items picked up, as close as possible to where they are used. Eliminate
  • Use lighter or smaller loads: order smaller bags and shorter lengths, and drain or break down old items before moving them. Substitute
  • Use trolleys, pallet jacks, hoists, vacuum lifters or plant instead of carrying by hand. Engineering
  • Use a two-person lift for anything heavy, long or awkward. Plan the route first and clear it. Administrative
  • Keep the load close, back straight and no twisting. Turn with your feet. Administrative
  • Rotate tasks and take breaks on long lifting jobs. Administrative
  • Wear gloves for grip and safety boots to protect your feet. PPE
  • Use tools that cut the effort: powered screwdrivers, long-handled tools and extension poles for overhead work. Substitute
  • Set work up at waist height on benches or trestles where you can. Engineering
  • Use light tools with good grips, and keep blades and bits sharp. Engineering
  • Rotate tasks and take short breaks every hour on repetitive work. Administrative
  • Warm up before heavy physical work and report aches and pains early. Administrative
  • Wear knee pads for kneeling work and gloves for grip. PPE
Medium
4Cut pavers wet, never dry
  • Silica dust from concrete, brick, stone and tiles
  • Saw cuts and kickback
  • Loud noise
Extreme
  • If the job involves engineered stone: do not supply, fabricate or install engineered stone benchtops, panels or slabs (banned since 1 July 2024). Removing, repairing or making minor changes to existing engineered stone is only allowed with water suppression or on-tool extraction, a fitted respirator, and written notice to the regulator before the work starts. Eliminate
  • Order materials cut to size, or use low-dust methods such as score and snap or a block splitter. Substitute
  • Cut outdoors or in a separate area, with other people well away and upwind. Isolate
  • Use water on the blade or on-tool dust extraction connected to an H-class vacuum. Engineering
  • Clean up with a vacuum or wet methods. Never dry sweep or use compressed air. Administrative
  • If the cutting, grinding or drilling is high risk, prepare a silica risk control plan (or include the r.529CA assessment in this SWMS), train workers in silica risks and give them the plan before work starts. Administrative
  • Wear a fit-tested P2 (or better) respirator. PPE
  • Keep blade guards fitted and working, and use the riving knife on table saws. Engineering
  • Use push sticks and clamps, and support long pieces so they do not pinch the blade. Engineering
  • Use a sharp, undamaged blade made for the material. Administrative
  • Stand to one side of the blade line, out of the kickback path. Administrative
  • Let the blade stop fully before reaching in or putting the saw down. Administrative
  • Loud noise: see step 2 for the full controls Administrative
Medium
5Sand, compact and clean up
  • Sun exposure (UV)
  • Heat stress
  • Poor housekeeping and waste
High
  • Plan outdoor work for early morning or late afternoon when UV is lower. Eliminate
  • Put shade covers over fixed work areas. Engineering
  • Check the UV index each day. Use sun protection when it is 3 or higher. Administrative
  • Check your skin regularly and see a doctor about any new or changing spots. Administrative
  • Wear a broad-brim hat or hard hat brim, long sleeves, sunglasses and SPF 50+ sunscreen, reapplied every 2 hours. PPE
  • Schedule heavy work for the cooler part of the day. Eliminate
  • Provide shade over work and rest areas, and fans or cooling in roof spaces. Engineering
  • Supply cool drinking water close by and drink a cup every 15 to 20 minutes. Administrative
  • Take regular rest breaks in the shade, more often as it gets hotter. Administrative
  • Let new and returning workers build up to full work in the heat over about a week. Administrative
  • Order materials to size and send packaging back where you can. Eliminate
  • Put skip bins and waste chutes close to the work. Engineering
  • Clean as you go, and do a full clean up at the end of each day. Administrative
  • Keep exits, stairs and walkways clear at all times. Administrative
  • Stack materials neatly on level ground, away from edges. Administrative
Medium

PPE

Steel cap bootsKnee padsSafety glassesP2 dust maskHearing protection (earmuffs or plugs)Sun protection (brim hat, long sleeves, SPF 50+)Hi-vis shirt or vestHard hatWork glovesHalf-face respirator (P2 or P3 filters)

Plant and equipment

Skid steer (Bobcat): Verification of competency (VOC) for the machineWacker plateConcrete sawWet tile sawHand tools

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 paving

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 paving

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

The safe sequence of work

  1. Get BYDA plans and excavate the base
  2. Compact road base, rotating operators
  3. Lay pavers, using a lifter or two people for big ones
  4. Cut pavers wet, never dry
  5. Sand, compact and clean up

Hazards to watch on paving

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

Step 5Sun exposure (UV)Long hours in the sun cause sunburn, eye damage and skin cancer.
Step 5Heat stressHard work in hot weather or hot roof spaces causes heat exhaustion or heat stroke, which can kill.
Step 2Hand-arm and whole-body vibrationLong periods on jackhammers, grinders, compactors or riding plant cause white finger, numbness and back damage.
Step 1Hitting underground servicesDigging, drilling or driving pegs hits a buried power cable, gas pipe or water main, causing electrocution, explosion or flooding.
Step 1Being hit by mobile plantExcavators, loaders, telehandlers and trucks run over or crush workers, especially when reversing or slewing.
Step 4Saw cuts and kickbackCircular saws, drop saws and table saws cut fingers and hands or throw material back at the user.
Almost certainLikelyPossibleUnlikelyRareHow bad it could be: Insignificant to CatastrophicBA
Highest risk on paving: 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 work more than 2 metres off the ground?
  • 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?

Licences and legal requirements in Australia

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

  • Work in an area with movement of powered mobile plant

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

  • Skid steer (Bobcat): Verification of competency (VOC) for the machine

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 5.1 Plant; WHS Regulation 2011, Part 4.1 Noise; WHS Regulation 2011, Part 4.2 Hazardous manual tasks; WHS Regulations, Chapter 8A (Crystalline silica substances and engineered stone).

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 paving?

Yes. Paving usually includes high risk construction work (work in an area with movement of powered mobile plant), 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 paving?

Usually Steel cap boots, Knee pads, Safety glasses, P2 dust mask, Hearing protection (earmuffs or plugs), Sun protection (brim hat, long sleeves, SPF 50+), Hi-vis shirt or vest, Hard hat, Work gloves, Half-face respirator (P2 or P3 filters). The site rules may add more, so check with the principal contractor.

More landscaping SWMS

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Related jobs in other trades

ConcretingConcrete Slab PourAlso involves being hit by mobile plantConcretingConcrete Cutting and Core DrillingAlso involves hitting underground servicesRoofingRoof Tile ReplacementAlso involves silica dust from concrete, brick, stone and tilesExcavation and earthworksTrenchingAlso involves hitting underground servicesConcretingFormworkAlso involves being hit by mobile plantDemolitionInternal Strip OutAlso involves loud noise

Toolbox talks for this job

Toolbox talkSilica DustToolbox talkHearing Protection and NoiseToolbox talkHand-Arm VibrationToolbox talkHeat Stress

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

Sources