Boat Ramp Construction SWMS

Suits civil and marine contractors who build or repair boat ramps with precast panels, concrete and plant at the water’s edge. It follows the work in order, from planning around the tide and closing the ramp to drowning prevention and rescue, excavation, formwork, panel lifts, concrete, scour protection and handover. Jetties and seawalls need their own SWMS.

Items 12 (tilt-up or precast concrete), 14 (powered mobile plant) and 16 (work in or near water with a risk of drowning) of WHS Regulation s 291 are ticked, because a ramp built with precast panels in the tidal zone involves all three. Tick any other item that applies, such as a trench or shaft deeper than 1.5 m (item 6), a fall of more than 2 m (item 0) or work near energised overhead lines (item 10).

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

What Is Covered In Our Boat Ramp Construction SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the job and check the site, tide and services” to “Complete the work, hand over and demobilise”. The hazards and controls include:

• Falling into water and drowning
• Tide, swell and weather catching crews and plant
• Plant bogging or overturning at the water’s edge
• Excavation collapse and water inrush
• Precast panel falling or swinging during a lift
• Crane and lifting plant overturning on soft ground
• Trucks and plant reversing near workers and the public
• Wet concrete burns and pump line whip
• Silica dust from cutting and drilling concrete
• Noise and hand-arm vibration
• Contact with overhead power lines and buried services
• Heat, sun and marine stings

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 in an area at a workplace in which there is any movement of powered mobile plant
• Is carried out in or near water or other liquid that involves a risk of drowning

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and a site induction covering the tide and weather plan, public closure, exclusion zones and the rescue plan
• Dogging high risk work licence (Schedule 3) for anyone who slings precast panels or directs a crane operator when the load is out of the operator’s view; a rigging class where Schedule 3 sets one for the rigging work (basic rigging covers rigging of precast concrete members of a structure)
• High risk work licence for the class of any crane, vehicle loading crane (10 metre tonnes or more), forklift truck, concrete placing boom (Schedule 3 item 22, for a boom pump) or boom-type elevating work platform (boom length 11 m or more) used; excavators, loaders, rollers and trucks have no Schedule 3 class, so operators are verified competent
• Competent person, such as a coastal or civil engineer, for the design, temporary works, lift plan inputs and ground bearing
• Rescue crew trained and drilled in the rescue plan; first aid equipment, facilities and trained first aiders as the work needs (WHS Regulation s 42)
• Licensed electrical worker for any work on lighting, power outlets or shore power (Electrical Safety Act 2002, s 55)
• Training in the silica controls, tools and respirators used, with a fit test for tight-fitting respirators

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Excavation Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Tilt-up and Pre-cast Construction Industry Code of Practice 2003 (lifting and placing precast elements)
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024 (lift planning and cranes)
• Concrete Pumping Code of Practice 2019
• Formwork Code of Practice 2016
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks 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 Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace 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 line exclusion zones in sections 10 to 13 and schedule 2, and construction site electrical equipment (s 140)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Construction work (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)

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
• 11 job steps for this work, each with its hazards, controls, initial and residual risk scores and the person responsible
• PPE listed for this job: lifejacket (personal flotation device) that suits the work, fits the wearer and is checked before each shift; non-slip safety boots, waterproof where concrete is placed; hard hat
• Emergency arrangements for: person in the water and plant contacts an overhead line
• 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.