Site Shed and Amenities Placement SWMS

For builders, site managers, hire companies and transport contractors who deliver and place site sheds, containers, toilets and crib rooms on construction sites. It follows the job from planning the lift and preparing the ground through delivery, rigging, lifting and setting down to connecting services and removal, and points to a separate SWMS for the crane operation itself.

Ticked for you: work in an area where powered mobile plant moves (reg 291(o)), because a crane or truck is on site for every placement. Also tick, where they apply to your job: a fall of more than 2 m if anyone works on top of the unit (reg 291(a)), work near energised overhead lines or electrical services (reg 291(k)), a trench or shaft deeper than 1.5 m if you dig for a footing (reg 291(g)(i)), and work on, in or beside a road in use by traffic (reg 291(n)).

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 Site Shed and Amenities Placement SWMS?

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

• Crane overturn and overloaded lifts
• Dropped unit from failed rigging
• Load swinging or travelling over people
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Soft or unstable ground under outriggers
• Striking underground services
• Truck and crane movements near pedestrians
• Falls when slinging from the unit roof
• Crushed hands and feet when packing and levelling
• Electric shock from temporary power
• Wind moving a placed unit
• Manual handling of packers, mats and steps

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
• High risk work licence for the class of crane used to lift the unit: the mobile crane class that matches the crane, or the vehicle loading crane class for a capacity of 10 metre tonnes or more (Schedule 3)
• Dogging licence (Schedule 3 item 4) or a higher rigging class for anyone who slings the unit or directs the crane operator when the load is out of the operator’s view (Schedule 19, dogging work)
• Vehicle loading crane under 10 metre tonnes: operator trained on the make and model, with any slinging that needs judgement done by a licensed dogger or rigger
• Driver licence for the truck class, with training in the tilt tray, stabilisers and load restraint
• Licensed electrical worker for connecting temporary power to the unit (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55)
• Licensed plumber or drainer for water and sewer connections to amenity units (Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 s 56)
• Engineer’s or geotechnical advice on ground bearing where the ground is soft, filled, sloping or close to an excavation
• Trained first aider on site

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
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• Excavation Work Code of Practice 2021 (where a pad or footing is dug)
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones in schedule 2
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (distances come from the 2026 Regulation)

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.