Kerb and Channel Construction SWMS

Suits civil, roadworks and concreting contractors who form and pour kerb and channel with a kerb extrusion machine or formwork. It covers services and overhead lines, traffic control, forms and set-out, the machine, concrete delivery, hand finishing, joints and curing, stripping, backfill and wash-out.

This SWMS ticks two high risk construction work items from s 291 of the WHS Regulation: work on or beside a road in use by traffic (s 291(n)) and movement of powered mobile plant (s 291(o)); a SWMS is required before such work starts (s 299). Untick the road item for a new road closed to all traffic other than pedestrians. Tick the contaminated atmosphere item (s 291(l)) where saw-cutting creates silica dust, as the approved silica code advises, and energised services (s 291(k)) where overhead or underground lines are near.

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

What Is Covered In Our Kerb and Channel Construction SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the work, locate services and check overhead lines” to “Wash out, clean up and pack up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Passing traffic and the public near the work zone
• Concrete trucks and plant striking workers
• Crush and entanglement in the kerb machine
• Striking underground services when trimming the kerb line
• Chutes and plant near overhead power lines
• Concrete burns, dermatitis and eye splashes
• Manual handling of forms, pegs and tools
• Silica dust and noise from saw-cutting joints
• Solvent vapour from curing compounds
• Heat illness during long pours
• Alkaline wash-out water and slurry

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 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
• Kerb machine operator trained and assessed as competent on the machine make, model and mould (no high risk work licence class applies to a kerb extrusion machine)
• Road driver licence for the class of agitator truck or tipper
• Accredited traffic controllers where traffic control is needed on or beside a road
• Spotter briefed on hand signals, blind spots and the machine’s travel area
• Silica training for workers where the written assessment finds saw-cutting high risk
• Competent person to locate services and set out the work
• Site induction and daily pre-start meeting

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008
• 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
• 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
• Excavation Work 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): overhead and underground electric lines, exclusion zones in schedule 2
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines
• Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Accreditation and Other Provisions) Regulation 2015 (Qld): traffic controller accreditation

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (13 A4 landscape pages). Type your business, client and job details once and they fill in on every page, with a space for your logo
• 10 job steps for this work, each with its hazards, controls, initial and residual risk scores and the person responsible
• PPE listed for this job: safety boots, with gumboots for wet concrete; high-visibility long-sleeve shirt and long trousers; safety glasses or goggles
• Emergency arrangements for: wet concrete in the eyes, worker caught in or struck by the machine and vehicle enters the work zone
• 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 October 2026.