Safe Operation of Vehicle Loading Crane SWMS

For crane truck operators, delivery and building supply businesses and builders who use a truck-mounted loading crane to unload and place materials. It follows the work from the pre-start and site check through stabiliser set-up, slinging and lifting to stowing the crane and securing the load for the road.

A SWMS is legally required when crane truck work is part of high risk construction work, for example where powered mobile plant is moving on a construction site or work is near energised power lines (WHS Regulation s 299); for deliveries and other non-construction work it works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment.

New to SWMS? Read What is a safe work method statement?

What is covered in our safe operation of vehicle loading crane SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Pre-start crane truck and lifting gear check” to “Refuelling, leaks and spills”. The hazards and controls include:

• Crane truck overturning on soft or sloping ground
• Loads slipping, dropped or swung over people
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Overloading beyond the load chart
• Stabilisers extending or hitting people during travel
• Operator struck by the load or caught against a fixed object
• Hands caught in slings, shackles and hooks
• Collisions with pedestrians, vehicles and site plant
• Loads shifting on the truck during transport
• Fuel and hydraulic oil spills
• Wind, lightning and poor light
• Heat, UV and noise

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 vehicle loading crane class (10 metre tonnes or more); it includes load estimation and slinging
• A slewing mobile crane licence covers operating such a crane but not slinging: a dogger or rigger slings the load
• Dogging or rigging licence for anyone who slings or directs the operator, unless their crane licence covers slinging
• Under 10 metre tonnes: no licence, but familiarisation training on the crane; the operator slings only pre-set loads (weight, slings and method set by a licensed dogger, rigger or engineer) after documented training
• Verified competency for the crane model and any remote control
• White card (general construction induction) for construction work; site induction; driver licence for the truck class

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 (section 14, vehicle-loading cranes)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces 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
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008 (work on or next to a road)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones, Schedule 2
• 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) (Heavy Vehicle National Law): mass, loading and chain of responsibility

What you get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (17 pages), laid out on A4 landscape pages. Type your business, client and job details once and they fill in on every page, with a space for your logo
• 11 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; high-visibility long-sleeve clothing; safety gloves when handling slings, chains and hooks; safety glasses
• Emergency arrangements for: crane overturn, structural failure or dropped load, contact with a live power line and hydraulic hose burst or fuel spill
• 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.

Checked against the Queensland laws and codes of practice listed above. Last reviewed October 2026.