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Scaffolding · Australia

SWMS for scaffold dismantling

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

Yes. Scaffold dismantling usually includes high risk construction work (risk of a person falling more than 2 metres), 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, scaffold collapse or fall from scaffold, road traffic and falling tools and materials.

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SWMS example: scaffold dismantling

This is a complete SWMS for scaffold dismantling, 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)
Scaffold dismantling · Scaffolding · Example
Document SWMS-001 · Rev 1

High risk construction work covered

Risk of a person falling more than 2 metres

Job steps, hazards and controls

#Job stepHazardsRisk beforeControlsRisk after
1Check the scaffold is clear of other trades and materials
  • Falling tools and materials
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
  • Falling tools and materials: see step 4 for the full controls Administrative
Medium
2Set an exclusion zone below
  • Public entering the work area
  • Falling tools and materials
High
  • 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
  • Use a spotter when moving plant or materials across public paths. Administrative
  • Use catch fans, debris netting or covered walkways where people pass below. Engineering
  • Tether hand tools when working at height. Engineering
  • Falling tools and materials: see step 4 for the full controls Administrative
Medium
3Dismantle top down, removing ties only as each lift comes down
  • Scaffold collapse or fall from scaffold
  • Falling from height
Extreme
  • Scaffold is built, altered and taken down only by a competent scaffolder, on a firm base with sole boards and ties. Engineering
  • Fit guardrails, mid rails and toe boards on every working platform. Engineering
  • Use mobile scaffolds only on firm, level ground with castors locked and outriggers fitted. Never move one with anyone on it. Engineering
  • Scaffold where a person or object could fall more than 4 metres is built by a licensed scaffolder (High Risk Work Licence). Administrative
  • Do not use a scaffold over 4 metres until the scaffolder gives a written handover certificate. Administrative
  • Inspect the scaffold before first use, after any change or bad weather, and at least every 30 days. Record it on the scaffold tag. Administrative
  • Do not overload platforms. Know the duty rating and keep material stacks over the standards. Administrative
  • Never remove ties, braces, guardrails or boards. Only the scaffolder alters the scaffold. Administrative
  • Wear a hard hat and safety boots on and around the scaffold. 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
4Lower components, never drop them
  • Falling tools and materials
  • Lifting and carrying heavy loads
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
  • Lower materials with a hoist, chute or rope. Never throw or drop anything down. Administrative
  • Wear a hard hat anywhere objects could fall. PPE
  • 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
Medium
5Load the truck safely and clean the area
  • Road traffic
  • Poor housekeeping and waste
Extreme
  • Do the work at low-traffic times, or close the road or lane with approval. Eliminate
  • Put solid barriers between the work and traffic where speeds are high, not just cones. Isolate
  • Use a truck-mounted attenuator or buffer vehicle on high speed roads. Engineering
  • Have a Traffic Management Plan. Signs and cones are set out by accredited traffic controllers to your state's rules. Administrative
  • Get a road occupancy or street works permit from the road authority before you start. Administrative
  • Park work vehicles to shield the work zone, with beacons on. Administrative
  • Wear day and night hi-vis clothing (AS/NZS 4602.1). PPE
  • 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
  • Wear gloves when handling waste. PPE
Medium

PPE

Steel cap bootsHard hatSafety harness and lanyardWork glovesHi-vis shirt or vestSafety glasses

Plant and equipment

Fixed scaffold: Scaffolding HRWL (SB, SI or SA) to erect, alter or dismantle where a fall of more than 4 m is possibleTrailerHand tools

Permits and plans

Working 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 scaffold dismantling

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 scaffold dismantling

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

The safe sequence of work

  1. Check the scaffold is clear of other trades and materials
  2. Set an exclusion zone below
  3. Dismantle top down, removing ties only as each lift comes down
  4. Lower components, never drop them
  5. Load the truck safely and clean the area

Hazards to watch on scaffold dismantling

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

Step 5Road trafficPassing cars and trucks hit workers or plant working on or next to a road.
Step 3Scaffold collapse or fall from scaffoldA scaffold that is badly built, overloaded or altered collapses or tips, or a worker falls from an unguarded platform.
Step 3Falling from heightA worker falls more than 2 metres from an edge, platform or opening and is badly hurt or killed.
Step 1, 2, 4Falling tools and materialsTools, materials or debris fall from above and hit someone working or walking below.
Step 2Public entering the work areaMembers of the public, including children, walk into the site and are hit by plant or falling objects, or fall into holes.
Step 4Lifting and carrying heavy loadsLifting, carrying, pushing or twisting with heavy or awkward loads strains the back, shoulders or knees.
Almost certainLikelyPossibleUnlikelyRareHow bad it could be: Insignificant to CatastrophicBA
Highest risk on scaffold dismantling: 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 an EWP (scissor lift or boom lift)?
  • 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

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

  • Fixed scaffold: Scaffolding HRWL (SB, SI or SA) to erect, alter or dismantle where a fall of more than 4 m is possible

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 3.2 (falling objects); WHS Regulation 2011, Part 4.4 Falls, Part 5.1 Plant and r.225 (scaffolds); WHS Regulation 2011, Part 4.4 Falls; WHS Regulation 2011, Part 4.2 Hazardous manual tasks.

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 scaffold dismantling?

Yes. Scaffold dismantling usually includes high risk construction work (risk of a person falling more than 2 metres), 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 scaffold dismantling?

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

More scaffolding SWMS

SWMSScaffold Erection9 stepsSWMSMobile Scaffold5 stepsSWMSScaffold Inspection4 stepsSWMSRoof Edge Protection Installation5 stepsSWMSScaffold Alteration5 steps

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

Sources