Mini Crawler Crane Operation SWMS

Suits glazing, steel, services and building-materials contractors who lift with mini or spider crawler cranes on building sites. It covers lift planning, getting the crane into position, set-up, indoor work, slinging, lifting and placing, travelling with a load, refuelling and pack-up.

Lifting with a crane in connection with building work is construction work (WHS Regulation s 289), and the powered mobile plant item is pre-ticked because the crane moves around the work area. Tick the fall of more than 2 metres item where loads are placed at an open edge or a person works from height, and the energised electrical item where the crane works near live installations.

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

What Is Covered In Our Mini Crawler Crane Operation SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the lift and assess the site” to “Pack up and remove the crane”. The hazards and controls include:

• Crane overturning on soft or unknown ground
• Floor and slab loading indoors
• Engine exhaust in enclosed areas
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Striking buried or in-slab services
• Dropped loads from poor slinging
• Glass and panel handling
• Crush injuries at doors and tight spaces
• Wind on large, light loads
• Travelling with a suspended load
• Outrigger and track set-up
• Fuel and battery fire

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

• High risk work licence for the class of slewing mobile crane with a capacity up to 20 t (Schedule 3 item 15) for a slewing mini or spider crawler crane of any size, as item 15 has no lower capacity limit; a higher slewing class (items 16 to 18) also covers it
• A non-slewing mobile crane with a capacity of more than 3 t needs the non-slewing mobile crane class (item 14) or a slewing class; one of 3 t or less needs no crane operator licence
• Dogging or rigging high risk work licence for slinging and for directing the operator when the load is out of view (Schedule 3 items 4 to 7)
• Operator trained in the make and model, including the remote control and load chart
• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work
• Site induction
• First aid certificate for the person appointed as the job’s first aider

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024
• 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
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones

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
• 9 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; hard hat; high-visibility clothing; safety glasses
• Emergency arrangements for: crane tipping or load falling and power line contact
• 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.