Hydraulic Jack and Cribbing SWMS

Suits workshops, plant and machinery crews, riggers and trades who lift and support heavy loads with hydraulic jacks and cribbing. It covers the pre-start check, lift planning, base preparation, staged lifting, building cribbing stacks, working near a supported load, lowering, and hydraulic leaks. Vehicle hoists, crane lifting and slinging each use a separate SWMS.

Using hydraulic jacks and cribbing is not high risk construction work by itself, so no item is pre-ticked and a SWMS is required by law only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299); this document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment that you tailor to your site. If the work is part of construction work, tick the reg 291 items that apply, for example structural alterations or repairs that require temporary support to prevent collapse (reg 291(e)), or movement of powered mobile plant.

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 Hydraulic Jack and Cribbing SWMS?

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

• Load shift or tip during a lift
• Jack or hydraulic seal failure
• Cribbing stack collapse
• Working under a raised load
• Unstable or soft ground under the jack
• Stored energy released when parts are removed
• Hydraulic fluid injection injury
• Crush injury to hands and feet
• Overloading a jack
• Manual handling of jacks and cribbing
• Slips on spilt hydraulic oil
• Plant rolling while it is jacked

High Risk Construction Work

No high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this work is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick the items that apply to your job, such as a fall risk of more than 2 metres or work where powered mobile plant is moving.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Training and verification of competency in the hydraulic jacks, pump and cribbing used, and in planning a lift, recorded by the PCBU (WHS Regulation s 39)
• No Schedule 3 high risk work licence class covers hydraulic jacks or cribbing (WHS Regulation Sch 3)
• Engineer’s design or advice for lifts of structures, bridges, panels or other fixed loads, and for temporary support during structural alterations
• Dogging licence only if the lift also involves slinging a load or directing a crane; use a separate SWMS for that work
• First aid training; at least access to a first aider (WHS Regulation s 42)
• General construction induction training card (white card) when working on a construction site
• Site induction

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 206, 207 and 213: proper use of plant, plant not in use and maintenance and inspection
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 219: plant that lifts or suspends loads
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 52 and 357: ignition sources and spills
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 39, 42, 60 and 78: training, first aid, hazardous manual tasks and falls
• 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
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021

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.