Softfall and Rubber Surfacing Installation SWMS

For playground and landscape contractors who install wet-pour, loose-fill and tile rubber surfacing. It covers binder, primer and adhesive hazards (including isocyanates), fire and hot work, heavy roll handling, kneeling, curing and handover. It leaves play equipment installation to a separate SWMS.

Softfall installation is construction work only when it is connected with the construction, fit-out or landscaping of a structure or site. A SWMS is required by law (s 299) only for high risk construction work (s 291), and no item is inherent to softfall installation, so none is pre-ticked. If the job is construction work, tick the items that apply: powered mobile plant movement in the work area, a contaminated or flammable atmosphere, or a road in use. Otherwise this works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment.

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 Softfall and Rubber Surfacing Installation SWMS?

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

• Isocyanate and solvent fume exposure
• Skin contact with binders and adhesives
• Fire from solvent vapour and ignition sources
• Burns from heat guns and torches
• Strains from heavy rubber rolls and bags
• Kneeling and repetitive injuries
• Cuts from knives
• Silica dust from preparing bases
• Heat illness on dark surfaces
• Slips on wet primer and granules
• Children entering uncured surfacing
• Noise and vibration from plant

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

• General construction induction training card (white card) where the work is construction work, such as work on a play area connected with a building or a new site
• Workers trained in the label and SDS for the binders, primers, adhesives and solvents, and in the PPE and respirators they use
• Respirator fit test for any worker wearing a tight-fitting respirator
• Licensed forklift operator (forklift licence class in Schedule 3) where a forklift is used
• Trained operator for any plate compactor, grinder or mixer used (no high risk work licence class applies to these)
• First aider or access to one, including for chemical splashes and heat illness
• Site induction and the client’s rules for work in a playground

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Preparation of Safety Data Sheets for Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• 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 (outdoor work, UV and heat)
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Excavation Work Code of Practice 2021 (underground services)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 10 to 15 and schedule 2 (overhead and underground lines) and s 139 (safety switches)

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.