Side Loader Waste Truck SWMS

Suits waste contractors, councils and depots that run side loader trucks with the driver working the grabber arm from the cab. It follows the run from planning and pre-start checks through driving, kerbside positioning, arm operation, tipping, hand handling of missed bins, reversing, clearing blockages, tipping at the transfer station and wash-down. Rear loader and front lift trucks need a separate SWMS.

Waste collection is not construction work, so the high risk construction work list in the WHS Regulation (section 291) does not apply, no item is pre-ticked and section 299 does not require a SWMS for it; the document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment for the driver, and an item should be ticked on the form only if the work forms part of construction work.

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 Side Loader Waste Truck SWMS?

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

• Grabber arm striking or crushing people and property
• Bin dropped from the arm
• Hydraulic oil injection from hose leaks
• Arm contact with overhead lines, trees and awnings
• Collisions with traffic and pedestrians at the kerb
• Reversing into people and vehicles
• Fire from batteries and gas cylinders in the load
• Needle-stick and cut injuries from sharps
• Strains from moving bins by hand
• Isolating the truck before clearing blockages
• Hazards at the tip face and wash-down bay
• Driver fatigue, heat and noise

High Risk Construction Work

No high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this work is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick the items that apply to your job, such as a fall risk of more than 2 metres or work where powered mobile plant is moving.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Driver licence of the class that suits the truck
• Training and assessed competency on the truck’s grabber arm, camera and joystick controls, emergency stops and bin-tipping cycle (no high risk work licence class in Schedule 3 covers a waste truck)
• Training in hazardous manual tasks for the bins that cannot be lifted by the arm, and in spotting sharps and unsuitable items
• Competency to isolate and lock out the truck before clearing a blockage or cleaning the body
• Induction to each transfer station, tip site and depot used
• Training in the pedestrian and traffic rules for kerbside work
• Workers trained in first aid, including control of severe bleeding and burns, with first aid provided as s 42 of the WHS Regulation requires

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• 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 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
• Heavy Vehicle National Law (Queensland), applied by the Heavy Vehicle National Law Act 2012 (Qld): s 6 (heavy vehicle means a vehicle with a GVM or ATM of more than 4.5 t), s 26C (primary duty of each party in the chain of responsibility), s 96 (compliance with mass requirements), s 110 (national regulations may prescribe loading requirements), s 111 (compliance with the loading requirements) and s 228 (duty of driver to avoid driving while fatigued or unfit to drive)
• National Load Restraint Guide (National Heavy Vehicle Regulator): guidance, not law
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones in sections 10 to 13 and schedule 2

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (13 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.