Signage Installation at Height SWMS

Suits sign writers, signage installers and building contractors fixing wall, fascia, awning and frame signs from EWPs and ladders. It follows the job in order, from checking the structure and services through the public exclusion zone, power lines, EWP and ladder use, drilling and fixing, lifting the sign, electrical connection, weather and handover. EWP operation and pylon signs need their own SWMS.

Installing a sign on a building or frame is construction work (installation in connection with the alteration or fitting-out of a structure, WHS Regulation s 289(1) and (2)(a)). The fall item (WHS Regulation s 291(a)) is pre-ticked because sign fixing points are commonly higher than 2 metres; a SWMS is then required before the work starts (s 299). If no person could fall 2 metres, the job is not high risk construction work by itself, and this document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment. Tick the other items the job involves: powered mobile plant when an EWP moves in the work area (s 291(o)), a road in use by traffic (s 291(n)), energised electrical installations or services (s 291(k)), and the contaminated atmosphere item (s 291(l)) when drilling creates silica dust, as the approved silica code advises.

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

What Is Covered In Our Signage Installation at Height SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the job and check the structure, services and access” to “Final check, clean up and hand over”. The hazards and controls include:

• Falls from EWPs, ladders and platforms
• EWP tip-over and platform overload
• Signs falling on the public or workers
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Shock when wiring and energising the sign
• Heavy signs slipping, swinging in wind or pinching hands
• Strikes on hidden cables, pipes and asbestos
• Silica dust from drilling masonry
• Dropped tools and fixings
• Vehicles and pedestrians near the work area
• Wind, lightning and heat
• Strains from lifting and holding signs

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 a risk of a person falling more than 2m

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and site induction
• High risk work licence for the boom-type elevating work platform class where a boom length of 11 m or more is used; no licence class applies to scissor lifts or shorter booms, but operators must be trained and verified as competent on the model
• Ground person trained to use the EWP ground controls and emergency lowering
• Training in using and inspecting ladders and fall arrest harnesses, and in platform rescue
• Licensed electrician (electrical work licence) for connecting, testing and energising the sign supply (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55)
• Competent person to confirm the structure and fixings can carry the sign
• Spotter briefed on exclusion zones and hand signals
• Accredited traffic controllers where traffic must be stopped or directed
• Crystalline silica training (VET accredited course or training approved by the regulator) where the dust assessment finds drilling high risk (s 529CD)
• An adequate number of workers trained in first aid (WHS Regulation s 42)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• 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 respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos 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
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008 (work on or beside a road)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 10 to 13 and schedule 2 (exclusion zones), ss 139 and 140, ss 199 and 200
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (distances come from the 2026 Regulation)
• AS 2550.10 Cranes, hoists and winches – Safe use – Part 10: Mobile elevating work platforms (as named in the Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Elevating work platforms (guidance)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (14 A4 landscape pages). Type your business, client and job details once and they fill in on every page, with a space for your logo
• 10 job steps for this work, each with its hazards, controls, initial and residual risk scores and the person responsible
• PPE listed for this job: fall arrest harness and short lanyard for boom-type EWP work; hard hat with a chin strap; safety glasses; work gloves with cut resistance
• Emergency arrangements for: fall, or a worker stuck or suspended on an EWP, EWP, sign or ladder touches a power line and electric shock from sign wiring
• 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 October 2026.