Engine and Gearbox Removal and Installation SWMS

For mechanics, engine reconditioners and workshop owners who lift engines and gearboxes in and out of vehicles with engine hoists, transmission jacks and stands. It follows the work from the lift plan and gear check through making the vehicle safe, disconnecting, lifting and refitting, to the test run and clean-up. Vehicle hoists themselves are covered by a separate SWMS.

Engine and gearbox work in a workshop is not construction work (a vehicle is plant, and the construction chapter of the WHS Regulation does not apply to plant unless s 290(2) says so), and a SWMS is legally required only for high risk construction work (s 299). No high risk construction work items are pre-ticked; if the work forms part of construction work, tick any item that applies to it. Otherwise this works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment.

Learn More: What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?
Have you ever been asked to provide a SWMS on a project in Queensland? Read our guide to what a Safe Work Method Statement is and when you need one.

What Is Covered In Our Engine and Gearbox Removal and Installation SWMS?

The job steps run in the order the work is done, from pre-start checks to finishing up. The hazards and controls include:

• Engine or gearbox dropping from the lifting gear
• Swinging load striking a worker
• Engine hoist tipping or overloaded at the boom
• Vehicle falling from stands or a hoist
• Crush injuries to hands during alignment
• Fuel and oil fires at start-up
• Burns from hot exhausts and engine parts
• Pressurised fuel and refrigerant release
• High-voltage shock on hybrid and electric vehicles
• Fluid spills and skin contact
• Carbon monoxide and noise during the test run
• Strains from heavy parts and awkward positions

High Risk Construction Work

No high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this work is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick the items that apply to your job, such as a fall risk of more than 2 metres or work where powered mobile plant is moving.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Trade qualification or supervised training in automotive mechanical work
• Worker trained and instructed in the engine hoist, transmission jack and engine stand used, including their rated capacity and the load at each boom position
• Schedule 3 has no licence class for a workshop engine hoist or a transmission jack; a dogging licence (Schedule 3) applies if loads are slung for a crane, so use a separate SWMS for crane lifts
• Trained person for hybrid and electric vehicle high-voltage systems before any high-voltage component is touched; if the maker’s isolation procedure is not available, stop and get an electrically qualified person
• Any licence or authorisation that the law requires for recovering air-conditioning refrigerant, held by the person who does that task (outside this SWMS; check the current requirements)
• Training in the hazardous chemicals handled (SDS read)
• Site or workshop induction

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 205 to 213 (plant controls, guarding, operator controls, maintenance and inspection)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 52, 53 and 355 (ignition sources, flammable stock, fire and explosion)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Preparation of Safety Data Sheets for Hazardous Chemicals 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

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (13 pages), laid out on A4 landscape pages
• Business, client, job and document details typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• The high risk construction work checklist, worded as WHS Regulation s 291, and the construction project question (s 292)
• A worker and health and safety representative consultation record
• Qualifications, plant, PPE, hazardous chemicals, safety equipment, permits, references and emergency arrangements filled in for this work
• A 5 x 5 risk matrix, and job steps with initial and residual risk scores and the people responsible
• Implementing, monitoring and review requirements, an additional controls log, revision history and a worker sign-on sheet

Review and adjust it for your site, your plant and the way your crew does the job, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. If you have any trouble downloading this SWMS, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.