Curtain Wall Installation SWMS

For glazing, facade and curtain wall contractors working on multi-storey buildings. It follows the work in order, from lift planning and falling object controls to slab-edge anchors, crane lifts of unitised panels, stick system installation, sealing and handover. Shopfront glazing uses the Glazing SWMS.

Two items are pre-ticked: a fall of more than 2 metres (open slab edges and facade platforms) and movement of powered mobile plant (cranes, hoists and delivery vehicles). If your job has neither, untick it. Tick any other item that applies, such as energised electrical services or work next to a road.

New to SWMS? Read What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?

What Is Covered In Our Curtain Wall Installation SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the installation, lifts and falling object controls” to “Clean up, remove temporary controls and hand over”. The hazards and controls include:

• Falls at open slab edges
• Dropped or swinging panels during crane lifts
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Objects falling on people and adjoining areas
• Anchor and bracket failure
• Silica dust from drilling concrete
• Heavy glass and extrusion handling
• Work from elevating work platforms, scaffolds and hoists
• Crush injuries when positioning panels
• Sealant and solvent exposure
• Wind loading on panels
• Heat, sun and fatigue at height

High Risk Construction Work

These high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are already ticked because they are part of this work. Tick any others that apply to your job:

• Involves a risk of a person falling more than 2m
• Is carried out in an area at a workplace in which there is any movement of powered mobile plant

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and site induction
• Glazing, curtain wall or facade installation experience or training; new installers work under an experienced installer
• High risk work licence for the class of crane used to lift panels (the tower crane, mobile crane or vehicle loading crane (10 metre tonnes or more) class that matches the crane, Schedule 3)
• High risk work licence in the dogging class, or a higher rigging class (Schedule 3), for anyone who slings a panel or directs a crane or hoist operator when the load is out of the operator’s view (Schedule 19, dogging work)
• High risk work licence for the materials hoist or personnel and materials hoist class for hoist operators (Schedule 3 items 19 and 20), where a hoist is used
• High risk work licence in the scaffolding class that matches the scaffold, for whoever erects, alters or dismantles it where a person or object could fall more than 4 m
• High risk work licence for the boom-type elevating work platform class where the boom length is 11 m or more; trained and familiarised operators for scissor lifts and smaller platforms
• Training and competency in vacuum lifters, glazing manipulators and panel handling gear, with the working load limit known
• Training in the fall arrest or travel restraint system and in the rescue plan for anyone who uses a harness system
• A competent person in charge of each lift, and a competent person to inspect edge protection, anchorage points and lifting gear
• First aid equipment and trained first aiders as the first aid assessment shows the site needs (WHS Regulation s 42)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 78 to 80 and 306C to 306J (managing fall risk, rescue, 2 m threshold for non-housing construction work, edge protection, covers and safety nets)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 54 and 55, 315E to 315M (falling objects, hoardings, gantries, catch platforms and lifting loads over an adjoining area)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 219 and 225 (plant that lifts, scaffolds) and Schedule 3 (licence classes)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024 (where a mobile crane lifts panels)
• Tower Crane Code of Practice 2017 (where a tower crane lifts panels)
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones in schedule 2
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (distances come from the 2026 Regulation)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Elevating work platforms (guidance)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (14 A4 landscape pages). Type your business, client and job details once and they fill in on every page, with a space for your logo
• 9 job steps for this work, each with its hazards, controls, initial and residual risk scores and the person responsible
• PPE listed for this job: hard hat; safety boots with slip-resistant soles; cut-resistant gloves (glass-handling gloves) and sleeves for handling glass and aluminium extrusions; safety glasses
• Emergency arrangements for: fall from the slab edge or platform, dropped or swinging panel and contact with a power line
• Plus the parts every Work Safety QLD SWMS shares, from the s 291 checklist to the worker sign-on sheet (see the layout in our free SWMS template)

Adjust it for your site, plant and crew, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.

Checked against the Queensland laws and codes of practice listed above. Last reviewed November 2026.