Pre-Nailed Wall Frame Erection and Bracing SWMS

Suits builders, framing carpenters and steel framers who unload, stand, plumb and brace pre-nailed wall frames on slabs and upper floors. It covers planning, edge and void protection, fixing to the slab, standing and bracing, nail guns, wind, permanent bracing and handover. Edit the controls to match the frame manufacturer’s bracing details and your site.

A SWMS is legally required for this work when it involves high risk construction work, such as a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres (WHS Regulation sections 291 and 299); otherwise it works as a written safe work procedure.

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 Pre-Nailed Wall Frame Erection and Bracing 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 slab edges and upper floors
• Falling through stair voids and openings
• Wall frames toppling or collapsing
• Frames blown over in wind
• Crush injuries when standing frames
• Strains from lifting heavy frames
• Dropped frames during crane or forklift lifts
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Nail gun injuries and ricochet
• Silica dust from drilling slab anchors
• Drilling into reinforcement or post-tensioning cables
• Noise from nail guns and hammer drills
• Cuts from sharp steel frames

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

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work
• Site induction, and competency in standing and bracing wall frames to the frame manufacturer’s or engineer’s temporary bracing details; new workers work under the supervision of an experienced framer
• High risk work licence for the class of any forklift truck or crane used to move or lift frames (for example the forklift truck class, or the vehicle loading crane class for a crane of 10 metre tonnes or more)
• High risk work licence in the dogging class, or a higher rigging class (Schedule 3), for anyone who slings a frame or directs a plant operator in the movement of a load when the load is out of the operator’s view (Schedule 19, dogging work); a vehicle loading crane licence for 10 metre tonnes or more also covers slinging by its operator
• High risk work licence for a boom-type elevating work platform where the boom length is 11 m or more; trained operators for scissor lifts and smaller elevating work platforms
• Nail gun training for every operator, covering the gun’s operation, its manual and PPE
• A nominated competent person on the crew to check the frames and bracing and to oversee the fall protection at slab and floor edges
• Training in the fall arrest system and the rescue procedure for workers who use a harness system or may take part in a rescue
• Crystalline silica training (a VET accredited course or training approved by the regulator) for workers who may do, or be exposed to, drilling or cutting that the written assessment finds high risk (WHS Regulation s 529CD)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024 (where a crane lifts frames)
• Steel Construction Advisory Standard 2004 (steel frames: building stability and bracing)
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• 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: Managing the risk of falls in housing construction (guidance)
• AS/NZS 1716:2012 (Respiratory protective devices) and AS/NZS 1715:2009 (Selection, use and maintenance of respiratory protective equipment), as named in WHS Regulation s 529B

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (18 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.