Orchard Ladder and Picking Platform SWMS

Suits orchardists, fruit growers and farm labour contractors who pick from orchard ladders or picking platforms. It follows the picking day in order: choosing the safest way to reach the fruit, checking the block and spray re-entry, inspecting equipment, setting up on soft ground, climbing and picking, operating the platform, moving between rows, handling bags and bins, and rescue.

Orchard picking is not construction work, so a SWMS is not required by law for it under WHS Regulation s 299 and no high risk construction work item is ticked; the construction ladder rules in ss 306K to 306O do not apply to it, although the general fall duties in ss 78 and 79 do. The document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment; if the job includes high risk construction work, tick the items that apply.

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 Orchard Ladder and Picking Platform SWMS?

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

• Falls from orchard ladders
• Ladders sinking or tipping on soft, wet or uneven ground
• Overreaching and picking with both hands on a ladder
• Picking platform tip-over and overloading
• Falls from the platform and suspension in a harness
• Overhead power lines and handheld picking equipment
• Tractors and platforms colliding with pickers
• Spray re-entry periods and chemical residue
• Heat, sun, stings and snake bites
• Strains from picking bags and heavy bins
• Bins falling from trailers and forks
• Rescue after a fall

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

• Training before anyone uses an orchard ladder or picking platform in how to inspect, set up and use it (Falls Code section 9.1), recorded by the PCBU
• Operator training and verified competency for each picking platform or tractor-mounted platform (Rural Plant Code of Practice 2024, Appendix 9)
• High risk work licence only where Schedule 3 requires one: boom-type elevating work platform with a boom length of 11 m or more (item 21); none for ladders, scissor-type lifts or smaller platforms
• High risk work licence for the forklift truck class where a forklift moves bins
• Information, training and instruction that every picker can understand, including seasonal workers (WHS Regulation s 39)
• Supervisor who checks spray records and re-entry periods before pickers enter a block
• First aid arrangements suited to the orchard, including snake bite and sting first aid (WHS Regulation s 42)
• Site induction covering the block plan, no-go areas, meeting point and emergency plan

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 and 79 (managing the risk of a fall); s 306M and the other ladder rules in ss 306K to 306O apply only to construction work and are used here as good practice
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 39, 41, 42, 43 and 48 (training, facilities, first aid, emergency plans, remote or isolated work)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): plant ss 213, 214 and 215; Schedule 3 item 21 (boom-type elevating work platform, boom length 11 m or more)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Rural Plant Code of Practice 2024 (ladders, tractors and Appendix 9, elevating work platforms)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace 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 Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones (ss 10 to 13 and Schedule 2)
• AS/NZS 1892 (set): Portable ladders, including part 5, Selection, safe use and care (named in the Falls Code)
• AS 1418.1 Cranes, hoists and winches – Part 1: General requirements, AS 1418.10 Cranes, hoists and winches – Part 10: Mobile elevating work platforms, and AS 2550 Cranes, hoists and winches – Safe use set (with AS 2550.10 Safe use – Part 10: Mobile elevating work), as named in the Rural Plant Code of Practice 2024

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (16 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.