Precast Box Culvert Installation SWMS

Suits civil and drainage contractors who excavate for, lift and join precast box culvert units. It follows the work from lift planning, services and excavation through unloading, setting and jointing the units to backfill and pack-up. Crane operation and precast pits need separate SWMS.

Work involving precast concrete and work where powered mobile plant moves are high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 291(m) and (o)), so those items are ticked. Also tick the shaft or trench item (s 291(g)(i)) if the excavation is deeper than 1.5 metres, the road item (s 291(n)) if the work is on or beside a road in use, the water item (s 291(q)) if the work is in or beside water with a risk of drowning, and any other item the job involves, such as energised electrical services, a confined space or the contaminated atmosphere item when cutting or core drilling creates silica dust.

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 Precast Box Culvert Installation SWMS?

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

• Dropped or swinging culvert units
• Crush between a unit and the trench wall
• Trench collapse around the culvert
• Crane or excavator overturning
• Failure of lifting inserts and lifting gear
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Striking underground services
• Falling into the open excavation
• Water and flooding in the excavation
• Traffic and delivery trucks near the works
• Silica dust from cutting and core drilling
• Entering the completed culvert barrel

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

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work
• High risk work licence for the class of crane used (Schedule 3), for example slewing mobile, non-slewing mobile or vehicle loading crane (10 metre tonnes or more); no high risk work licence class applies to operating an excavator
• High risk work licence in the dogging class, or a higher rigging class (Schedule 3), for anyone who slings a unit or directs the operator when the load is out of view (Schedule 19, dogging work)
• Excavator operator trained and assessed as competent on the machine and the lifting attachments used
• Competent person to inspect the excavation and shoring before entry and after rain, flow or ground movement
• Trained operator for the cable and pipe locator
• Spotter briefed on hand signals, the exclusion zone and overhead line clearances
• Working in Proximity to Traffic training where the work is on or beside a road
• Site induction

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 Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024
• Tilt-up and Pre-cast Construction Industry Code of Practice 2003
• Confined Spaces 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
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): exclusion zones for overhead lines (schedule 2) and damage to underground lines (ss 14-15)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines

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.