Telecommunication Tower Climbing SWMS

Suits tower crews, telecommunications contractors and maintenance teams who climb lattice towers, monopoles and masts. It follows the work from tower checks, RF isolation and equipment inspection through climbing, positioning, hoisting, weather and rescue.

A SWMS is legally required only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299). The reg 291 items for work on a telecommunication tower (1) and a risk of a fall of more than 2 metres (0) are ticked. Tick any other item that applies, such as work near energised installations (item 10) or a road in use (item 13).

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 Telecommunication Tower Climbing SWMS?

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

• Falls while climbing and positioning
• Fall arrest and suspension trauma
• Rescue from height
• Radio frequency exposure near antennas
• Dropped tools and equipment
• Electric shock at the compound
• Weak anchorage or damaged structure
• Lightning, wind and heat
• Hoisting heavy antennas
• Remote site communication
• Fatigue and medical episodes at height

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
• Is carried out on a telecommunication tower

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and the tower owner’s site induction
• Tower climbers trained and assessed as competent in climbing the tower type, using the climbing system, work positioning and fall arrest equipment, and rescue (no high risk work licence class covers tower climbing)
• Written authority from the tower owner to climb, and from each equipment owner to work near its antennas
• Rescue-trained team: workers never use a harness alone, and the crew can carry out a rescue from height with the right equipment, trained and practised (Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021, sections 10.1 and 10.2)
• Competent person to inspect the tower, approve anchorage points and check climbing equipment
• Training in radio frequency safety to the tower owner’s or carrier’s procedure, including how to use any personal RF monitor
• High risk work licence for the class of any crane, boom-type elevating work platform (boom 11 m or more) or advanced rigging used to lift equipment, and dogging licence for anyone who slings a load (WHS Regulation Schedule 3 items 4, 7, 8 to 18 and 21)
• Licensed electrical worker for any work on power supply, earthing or lightning protection (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55)
• CPR and first aid training for the whole crew, including suspension trauma

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 78 to 80 (management of risk of fall, specific requirements, emergency and rescue procedures)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 306C to 306J (falls in construction work)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 48 (remote or isolated work)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 54 and ss 315C to 315E (falling objects, civil construction work includes a telecommunications structure)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 42 (first aid) and s 43 (emergency plan)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks 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
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024 (where a crane is used)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld): s 55 (electrical work licence)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 10 to 13 and schedule 2 (exclusion zones), ss 193 to 204 (energised electrical work) and s 292 (serious electrical incidents and dangerous electrical events)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (14 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.