Tilt Tray Loading and Unloading SWMS

For towing and recovery businesses, car carriers, workshops and equipment hirers that load vehicles and machinery onto tilt trays. It follows the work from the truck and winch check through positioning, tilting, winching, restraining and driving to unloading and pack-up.

Tilt tray work is not construction work by itself; a SWMS is legally required only when it is part of high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299), and otherwise the document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment. If the work is part of construction work, tick any reg 291 item that applies, for example a road in use by traffic or movement of powered mobile plant.

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

What Is Covered In Our Tilt Tray Loading and Unloading SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Pre-start check of the tilt tray, winch and restraint gear” to “Pack up and stow equipment”. The hazards and controls include:

• Winch rope or hook failure and snap-back
• Vehicle rolling off the ramp or tray
• Crush by the moving tray and slide
• Hydraulic hose burst and oil injection
• Struck by passing traffic at the roadside
• Truck rollaway when the tray is tilted
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Electric and hybrid vehicle high-voltage energy
• Straps and chains failing in transit
• Hand crush at hooks and chains
• Manual handling strain with chains and gear

High Risk Construction Work

None of the high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this job is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick any that apply on your site.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Driver licence for the class of vehicle driven
• Training and verified competency on the tilt tray, winch and remote control in use
• A high risk work licence for the vehicle loading crane class (capacity 10 metre tonnes and above) only if a truck-mounted loading crane is used for loading
• Site induction and the yard’s traffic rules
• General construction induction training card (white card) when working on a construction site

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (13 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: safety boots; high-visibility clothing suited to roadside work; gloves for handling rope, chains and hooks; safety glasses when winching or releasing tensioned gear
• Emergency arrangements for: winch rope or chain failure and vehicle rolling off the tray
• 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.