Temporary Concrete Barrier Placement SWMS

Suits civil, road and traffic crews who unload, place, connect and remove temporary concrete barriers on or beside a road. It covers lift planning, unloading, setting and connecting barriers, working beside live traffic and removal. Traffic control set-up needs a separate SWMS.

Work involving precast concrete, work on, in or adjacent to a road in use by traffic, and work where powered mobile plant moves are high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 291(m), (n) and (o)), so those items are ticked. Untick the precast item if your barriers are not concrete, for example water-filled plastic barriers. Also tick any other item the job involves, such as energised electrical services, or the shaft or trench item if pins or footings need an excavation deeper than 1.5 metres.

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 Temporary Concrete Barrier Placement SWMS?

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

• Barrier dropped or swinging during the lift
• Crush between barriers or against vehicles
• Failure of lifting points and lifting gear
• Crane or loader overturning
• Vehicles striking workers beside the road
• Delivery trucks and plant reversing
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Striking underground services when pinning
• Pinched hands when fitting connections
• Manual handling of connectors and end parts
• Fatigue, heat and night work on the road
• Gaps or wrong end treatments left after placement

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 tilt-up or precast concrete
• 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
• High risk work licence for the class of crane used (Schedule 3), for example vehicle loading crane (10 metre tonnes or more), non-slewing mobile crane or slewing mobile crane
• High risk work licence in the dogging class, or a higher rigging class (Schedule 3), for anyone who slings a barrier or directs the operator when the load is out of view (Schedule 19, dogging work)
• Operator trained and assessed as competent on the loader, telehandler or barrier handling attachment used (no high risk work licence class applies to these in general)
• Current driver licence for the class of truck driven
• Queensland traffic controller accreditation for anyone who directs traffic; this is covered by a separate SWMS, not this one
• Site induction and a briefing on the approved traffic management plan

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 214 and 215 (powered mobile plant)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 219 (plant that lifts or suspends loads)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 315 (principal contractor: traffic in the vicinity of the workplace)
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008
• Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices Part 3 (MUTCD Part 3)
• AS/NZS 3845 Road safety barrier systems and devices (named in the 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
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024 (where a crane lifts barriers)
• Tilt-up and Pre-cast Construction Industry Code of Practice 2003
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• 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
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (guidance)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 10 to 13 and sch 2 (overhead power line exclusion zones), ss 14 and 15 (underground electric lines)

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.