Pothole Patching and Road Maintenance SWMS

Suits council, civil and road maintenance crews who patch potholes and seal cracks on roads in use. It follows the job from traffic arrangements and truck positioning through cutting, binder, hot asphalt, compaction and sealing to clean-up and reopening. Traffic control and new road construction are covered by separate SWMS.

Patching a pothole is repair of a roadway, which is construction work unless the repair is of a minor nature (WHS Regulation s 289(3)(d)); the Regulation does not say where that line sits. Both pre-ticked items (road in use by traffic, powered mobile plant) apply if your job is high risk construction work, which needs a SWMS (s 299). If you decide the job is not construction work, untick them and keep this as your 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 Pothole Patching and Road Maintenance SWMS?

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

• Workers struck by passing vehicles
• Reversing trucks and tipping loads
• Truck tray near overhead power lines
• Burns from hot asphalt and binder
• Fumes from bitumen and sealant
• Fire near burners and LPG
• Dust and flying debris when cutting pavement
• Crush and vibration from compaction plant
• Strains from shovelling and lifting
• Heat, sun and fatigue
• Wet, slippery pavement and storms
• Debris left on the 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 on, in or adjacent to a road, railway, shipping lane or other traffic corridor that is in use by traffic other than pedestrians
• 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 on or beside a road
• Working in Proximity to Traffic training for all workers on or next to a road, as the Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008 recommends
• Current driver licence for the class of truck or vehicle driven
• Operator competency for the small plant used (plate compactor, small roller, pavement breaker, hot box or melter), verified by the supervisor
• Only an accredited traffic controller may direct traffic; use a separate SWMS for traffic control (Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Accreditation and Other Provisions) Regulation 2015 ss 51, 54, 55)
• Crystalline silica training where cutting or breaking pavement is part of the job and the dust assessment finds the work high risk
• Site induction and a briefing on the approved traffic guidance scheme

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008
• Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Accreditation and Other Provisions) Regulation 2015 (Qld): traffic controllers, sections 51 to 55
• 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 Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice 2022
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 10 to 13 and sch 2 (overhead power line exclusion zones and unsafe distances)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (guidance)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (13 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.