Swing Stage Operation SWMS

Suits building maintenance, facade, painting, glazing and cleaning contractors, and principal contractors, who work from swing stages on buildings and structures. It follows the work in order, from checking certification and crew authorisation through daily inspection, getting in and out, moving the stage and working from the cradle, to wind, unattended stages and rescue. Erecting and dismantling the stage, and rope access, need their own SWMS.

A SWMS is required under WHS Regulation s 299 when the swing stage work is construction work, such as painting, repair, glazing or cladding of a structure, and a person could fall more than 2 metres (s 291), so that item is ticked; for work that is not construction work, the document works as a written safe work procedure, because the risk of a fall must still be managed (s 78); you can also tick energised electrical installations if power lines are near the stage, powered mobile plant if plant moves around the building, and the contaminated atmosphere item if drilling or cutting masonry creates silica dust, as the Queensland silica code advises.

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 Swing Stage Operation SWMS?

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

• Using a stage that is not certified or handed over
• Hoist, rope or secondary device failure
• Falling from the cradle
• Tools and materials dropped on people below
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Cradle tilting or snagging on the building
• Overloading above the working load limit
• Wind, lightning and rain at height
• Unauthorised use of an unattended stage
• Stranded workers and suspension trauma
• Damage to ropes and hoists from sparks and chemicals
• Silica dust, noise and chemicals while working from the stage

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

• Everyone in the cradle is trained and assessed as competent in the safe use of swing stages; the Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021 says a user should complete a swing stage safe-use course or equivalent (Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation has no high risk work licence class for operating a swing stage)
• Operators authorised in writing by the PCBU to run the scaffold hoists, with a record of instruction on the make and model, its safety devices and its emergency lowering
• Site-specific swing stage induction for each person before first use, recorded by the principal contractor and kept for the duration of the construction work
• Training in the fall arrest harness and lifeline system in use, the rescue plan and the emergency lowering procedure (WHS Regulation ss 80 and 306I); a rescue team trained and equipped for the site rescue plan, and a ground person trained in the exclusion zone, the radio signals and the rescue plan
• Competent person to give the written confirmation that the stage is complete and to inspect the cradle and suspension system at least every 30 days
• Erecting, altering and dismantling the stage have their own SWMS; the Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021 section 5.3 sets out the licence: advanced scaffolding (Schedule 3 item 3(2)(c)) or advanced rigging (item 7(e)) for suspended scaffolds, as the basic and intermediate rigging classes exclude them; trainees work only under a licence holder’s supervision (WHS Regulation s 82)
• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and site induction
• First aid equipment and facilities, and trained first aiders as the work and site need (WHS Regulation s 42)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021 (section 5.3 and appendix 5 cover suspended (swing-stage) scaffolds)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Work Health and Safety Consultation, Co-operation and Co-ordination Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work 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
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones in schedule 2, and electrical equipment used for construction work (s 140)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (distances come from the 2026 Regulation)
• AS/NZS 1576.4 Scaffolding – Suspended scaffolding (named in the Scaffolding Code)
• AS 1418.2 Cranes (including hoists and winches) – Serial hoists and winches (named in the Scaffolding Code for scaffold hoists)
• AS/NZS 1891 Industrial fall-arrest systems and devices (named in the Scaffolding Code)
• AS 2759 Steel wire rope – Use, operation and maintenance (named in the Scaffolding Code)
• AS/NZS 3012 Electrical installations – Construction and demolition sites (named in the Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 for electrical equipment used for construction work)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (18 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.