Dump Truck SWMS

Suits civil, earthworks, landscaping and construction businesses that run tippers, dump trucks, truck-and-dogs and articulated dump trucks. It follows the job in order, from planning the haul and tipping points and checking the truck through loading, hauling, entering public roads, working near overhead lines, reversing and tipping, to weather, dust and fatigue, and parking. Work near overhead power lines in general has its own SWMS.

Using a tipper or dump truck on construction work is high risk construction work because powered mobile plant moves in the work area (WHS Regulation ss 289 and 291(o)), so that item is ticked and a SWMS is required before it starts (s 299); away from construction work this document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment. You can also tick energised electrical installations or services if overhead lines are near the haul or tipping areas, a road in use, a trench deeper than 1.5 metres, or the contaminated atmosphere item if loading or tipping creates silica dust, as the Queensland silica code advises.

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 Dump Truck SWMS?

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

• Trucks striking or crushing people on foot
• Reversing into people and plant
• Raised tray contacting an overhead power line
• Truck overturning when tipping on soft or sloping ground
• Load hanging up or the tray dropping
• Driving off with the tray raised
• Loss of braking on steep descents
• Falls from the cab, steps or tray
• Struck by the bucket or falling material during loading
• Overloaded and uncovered loads on public roads
• Silica dust, noise and whole-body vibration
• Fatigue on long haul cycles
• Bogged trucks and wet-weather rollovers

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 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 a site induction that covers the traffic management plan, haul and tipping routes, signals and exclusion zones
• Current driver licence for the class of the truck and any trailer driven (Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation has no high risk work licence class for tipper or dump trucks)
• Drivers trained and assessed as competent on the truck type and its tray hoist, tailgate and controls (rigid, truck-and-dog or articulated), and briefed on its rated payload, mass limits and the manufacturer’s slope and tipping limits
• Spotters trained in the site’s hand signals or radio calls, the truck’s blind spots and the power line exclusion zones
• Safety observer trained for the role (watching the plant and warning the driver when it is likely to enter an exclusion zone) where a truck works near overhead power lines
• Geotechnical engineer or other competent person to set limits for haul ramps, tipping ground and any ground support near edges
• Traffic controllers (accredited persons) where traffic control is needed on or beside a road
• 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)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Excavation Work Code of Practice 2021 (powered mobile plant, tip trucks and the zone of influence of excavations)
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008 (site entries and roads)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021 (access to plant)
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021 (whole-body vibration and manual tasks)
• 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
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 10 to 13 and schedule 2 (exclusion zones; a tip truck tipping a load is operating plant)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (distances come from the 2026 Regulation)
• Heavy Vehicle National Law Act 2012 (Qld), which applies the Heavy Vehicle National Law in Queensland: chain of responsibility (s 26C), mass (s 96), loading (s 111) and fatigue (s 228) for heavy vehicles on public roads
• Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Accreditation and Other Provisions) Regulation 2015 (Qld): traffic controllers (ss 54 and 55)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (guidance)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (19 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.