Precast Concrete Panel Erection SWMS

Suits builders and panel erectors who lift precast concrete wall panels and elements into place with a mobile crane and prop them until they are fixed to the structure. It follows the work from lift planning and unloading trucks to rigging, setting, propping at height, working at slab edges and removing props. Tilt-up panels cast on site and crane operation in general are covered by separate SWMS.

Falls of more than 2 metres, work involving tilt-up or precast concrete and work in an area where powered mobile plant moves are high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 291(a), (m) and (o)), so those items are ticked. Tick the others the job involves, such as energised electrical installations or services near the panels, or the contaminated atmosphere item when drilling concrete creates silica dust.

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 Precast Concrete Panel Erection SWMS?

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

• Panel falling or swinging during the lift
• Lifting insert, clutch or sling failure
• Crane overturning on slopes or soft ground
• Panels falling from delivery trailers
• Workers inside the fall zone of a panel
• Lifting panels over workers
• Props or braces failing or struck by plant
• Falls from slab edges, openings and platforms
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Wind loading on unpropped panels
• Premature removal of temporary props
• Silica dust from drilling concrete

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
• Involves tilt-up or precast concrete
• 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
• Crane operator: high risk work licence for the class of crane used, which for mobile cranes is non-slewing mobile crane (more than 3 t) or the slewing mobile crane class for the capacity (up to 20 t, 60 t, 100 t or over 100 t) (Schedule 3 items 14 to 18)
• Riggers who rig precast concrete members: high risk work licence in the basic rigging class (Schedule 3 item 5(2)(c)); dual lifts with two cranes need the intermediate rigging class (item 6(f))
• Anyone who slings loads or directs the crane operator when the load is out of the operator’s view holds a dogging licence or a higher rigging class (Schedule 19, dogging work)
• Boom-type elevating work platform of 11 m boom length or more: high risk work licence (Schedule 3 item 21)
• Engineer (professional engineer with suitable experience) to certify the panel design, lifting points, temporary bracing and any back-up lifting system, and a competent person to verify the work on site
• Delivery truck driver trained and experienced in carrying concrete elements
• Spotter or safety observer briefed on hand signals, the exclusion zone and the power line distances
• 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)
• Tilt-up and Pre-cast Construction Industry Code of Practice 2003 (delivery, storage, crane, exclusion zone and precast lifting sections)
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024 (documented lifting procedures, section 7.5; multiple crane lifts, section 11.3)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Safe Design of Structures Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• 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
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace 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 (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.