Scraper SWMS

For earthworks, civil and mining-support contractors who run self-propelled scrapers on cut-and-fill jobs. It follows the job from haul route planning and pre-start checks through loading, hauling, dumping and spreading to refuelling, servicing and shut-down.

Powered mobile plant moving in the work area is high risk construction work, so item 14 is ticked. No high risk work licence applies to operating a scraper. Tick other items that apply, such as a road in use (item 13) or energised services (item 10). Earthworks planning is covered by the Bulk Earthworks SWMS.

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 Scraper SWMS?

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

• Collision with workers in blind spots
• Rollover on grades and soft ground
• Tyre or wheel failure
• Loss of braking on downhill hauls
• Shared haul roads and intersections
• Push-loading with a dozer
• Hydraulic hose failure on the bowl
• Crush at the articulation joint
• Dust, noise and vibration
• Overhead lines and buried services
• Heat and fatigue
• Fire when refuelling

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

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and site induction
• Operator trained and assessed as competent for the make, model and attachments of the scraper (the WHS Regulation Schedule 3 has no scraper class, so no high risk work licence applies; the Excavation Work Code of Practice 2021 says the same for earthmoving machinery used for its design purpose)
• Dozer operator competent in push-loading, where a push loader is used
• Spotters trained in the communication system and the blind spots of the plant
• Traffic controller qualification where work is on or beside a road open to traffic
• Training in silica dust awareness where soil dust is a risk
• First aid equipment, facilities and trained first aiders (or access to them) as the work needs (WHS Regulation s 42)

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
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008
• 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
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead exclusion zones (ss 10 to 13, Sch 2) and underground lines (ss 14 and 15)

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.