Excavator Lifting Operations SWMS

Suits civil, drainage, plumbing and landscaping contractors who use an excavator in crane mode to lift pipes, kerbs, trench shields and small pits. It covers deciding whether the excavator is suitable, checking the load chart, lifting points, burst protection and quick hitch, rigging, lifting and placing, and exclusion zones. General excavator operation and crane lifts are covered by separate SWMS.

Using an excavator to lift loads is high risk construction work when powered mobile plant moves in the work area (WHS Regulation s 291(o)), so that item is ticked. Tick the other items the job involves, such as a trench deeper than 1.5 metres, energised electrical services or overhead lines, a road in use, gas or fuel lines, or falls over 2 metres.

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

What Is Covered In Our Excavator Lifting Operations SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the lift: is the excavator the right plant?” to “Shut down, park and pack up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Excavator tipping because the load is too heavy at that reach
• Dropped loads from poor rigging or failed lifting points
• Workers struck or crushed by a swinging or lowered load
• Loads lifted or swung over people
• Quick hitch and attachment falling off
• Hydraulic hose failure with a load suspended
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Striking underground services
• Trench collapse while guiding loads into place
• Machine overturning near excavation edges
• Misunderstood signals between operator and slinger
• Traffic hazards on or beside a road

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:

• 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
• Excavator operator trained and assessed as competent on the machine, with documented training on its quick hitch and on lifting in crane mode (no high risk work licence class covers operating an excavator)
• High risk work licence in the dogging class, or a higher rigging class, for anyone who slings the load (including choosing and inspecting the gear) or directs the operator while the load is out of the operator’s view (Schedule 3 items 4 to 7; Schedule 19, dogging work); an intermediate rigging licence (Schedule 3 item 6) for rigging work that goes beyond slinging, because item 6(c) lists rigging work involving excavators
• Spotter or safety observer briefed on hand signals, the exclusion zone and the power line distances
• Competent person to prepare the lift plan and read the load chart
• Trained traffic controllers where traffic control is needed on or beside a road
• First aid equipment, facilities and trained first aiders (or access to them) as the work 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)
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024 (earthmoving plant used as a mobile crane, section 13)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Excavation Work 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
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead and underground electric lines, exclusion zones in schedule 2
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (15 A4 landscape pages). Type your business, client and job details once and they fill in on every page, with a space for your logo
• 10 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 long-sleeve shirt and trousers; hard hat when outside the cab on a construction site; safety glasses
• Emergency arrangements for: power line contact, load dropped or person struck or crushed and trench collapse or person trapped
• 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.