SiteSorted
Scaffolding · Australia

SWMS for mobile scaffold

By SiteSortedBuilt from Safe Work Australia and state regulator guidance · How we write and check theseUpdated

Yes. Mobile scaffold usually includes high risk construction work (risk of a person falling more than 2 metres), so a SWMS is required by law before work starts.

It must list the hazards, the controls and how they will be put in place, monitored and reviewed, and the workers must be consulted and sign before starting. The main hazards are falling from height, scaffold collapse or fall from scaffold, falling tools and materials and lifting and carrying heavy loads.

Make this SWMS nowWord templatePDF

SWMS example: mobile scaffold

This is a complete SWMS for mobile scaffold, with 5 job steps. Open it in the builder to add your site, crew and signatures, change anything, and download a PDF. Or download the free Word template below and fill it in by hand.

Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
Mobile scaffold tower set up and use · Scaffolding · Example
Document SWMS-001 · Rev 1

High risk construction work covered

Risk of a person falling more than 2 metres

Job steps, hazards and controls

#Job stepHazardsRisk beforeControlsRisk after
1Check all parts and the ground, and look up for power lines
  • Contact with overhead power lines
  • Scaffold collapse or fall from scaffold
Extreme
  • Ask the network operator to turn off, move or insulate the lines before work starts. Eliminate
  • Use non-conductive (fibreglass) ladders near any power lines. Substitute
  • Mark the safe distance with flags, tape or goal posts and keep all plant and people outside it. Isolate
  • Keep out of the No Go Zone set by your state and the network operator, or get written approval and a safety observer. In NSW and Qld, untrained people and plant stay at least 3 m from lines on poles up to 132 kV, 6 m up to 330 kV and 8 m above 330 kV. In Victoria the limits differ, and work within 8 m of tower lines needs a spotter and the network operator's permission. Administrative
  • Use a dedicated spotter whenever plant moves or raises anything near lines. Administrative
  • Treat all lines as live. If plant touches a line, stay in the cab and keep everyone well away. Administrative
  • Scaffold is built, altered and taken down only by a competent scaffolder, on a firm base with sole boards and ties. Engineering
  • Fit guardrails, mid rails and toe boards on every working platform. Engineering
  • Scaffold collapse or fall from scaffold: see step 4 for the full controls Administrative
Medium
2Build to the instructions with outriggers and guardrails
  • Scaffold collapse or fall from scaffold
  • Falling from height
Extreme
  • Use mobile scaffolds only on firm, level ground with castors locked and outriggers fitted. Never move one with anyone on it. Engineering
  • Scaffold where a person or object could fall more than 4 metres is built by a licensed scaffolder (High Risk Work Licence). Administrative
  • Scaffold collapse or fall from scaffold: see step 4 for the full controls Administrative
  • Do the work from the ground where you can, for example pre-assemble on the ground or use extension poles. Eliminate
  • Install guardrails or edge protection on all open edges before work starts. Isolate
  • Use a scaffold, mobile work platform or EWP instead of working off a ladder. Engineering
  • Where edge protection is not practical, use a fall restraint or fall arrest system on a rated anchor point. Engineering
  • Everyone working at height holds a White Card and has been briefed on this SWMS before going up. Administrative
  • Have a written emergency and rescue plan, tested before work starts, so a worker hanging in a harness can be brought down within minutes (WHS Regulations r.80). Administrative
  • Wear a full body harness with a shock-absorbing lanyard, clipped on at all times when using fall arrest. PPE
Medium
3Lock the wheels before climbing, climb only on the inside
  • Scaffold collapse or fall from scaffold
  • Falling from height
Extreme
  • Do not use a scaffold over 4 metres until the scaffolder gives a written handover certificate. Administrative
  • Inspect the scaffold before first use, after any change or bad weather, and at least every 30 days. Record it on the scaffold tag. Administrative
  • Scaffold collapse or fall from scaffold: see step 4 for the full controls Administrative
  • Falling from height: see step 2 for the full controls Administrative
Medium
4Never move it with anyone or anything on it
  • Scaffold collapse or fall from scaffold
  • Falling tools and materials
Extreme
  • Scaffold is built, altered and taken down only by a competent scaffolder, on a firm base with sole boards and ties. Engineering
  • Fit guardrails, mid rails and toe boards on every working platform. Engineering
  • Use mobile scaffolds only on firm, level ground with castors locked and outriggers fitted. Never move one with anyone on it. Engineering
  • Scaffold where a person or object could fall more than 4 metres is built by a licensed scaffolder (High Risk Work Licence). Administrative
  • Do not use a scaffold over 4 metres until the scaffolder gives a written handover certificate. Administrative
  • Inspect the scaffold before first use, after any change or bad weather, and at least every 30 days. Record it on the scaffold tag. Administrative
  • Do not overload platforms. Know the duty rating and keep material stacks over the standards. Administrative
  • Never remove ties, braces, guardrails or boards. Only the scaffolder alters the scaffold. Administrative
  • Wear a hard hat and safety boots on and around the scaffold. PPE
  • Barricade and sign the drop zone under overhead work so nobody walks beneath. Isolate
  • Fit toe boards, kick plates and mesh screens on scaffolds and edges. Engineering
  • Use catch fans, debris netting or covered walkways where people pass below. Engineering
  • Tether hand tools when working at height. Engineering
  • Keep platforms tidy. Do not stack materials near edges or above toe board height. Administrative
  • Lower materials with a hoist, chute or rope. Never throw or drop anything down. Administrative
  • Wear a hard hat anywhere objects could fall. PPE
Medium
5Dismantle in reverse order and store parts
  • Lifting and carrying heavy loads
High
  • Plan to avoid carrying: have materials delivered, and old items picked up, as close as possible to where they are used. Eliminate
  • Use lighter or smaller loads: order smaller bags and shorter lengths, and drain or break down old items before moving them. Substitute
  • Use trolleys, pallet jacks, hoists, vacuum lifters or plant instead of carrying by hand. Engineering
  • Use a two-person lift for anything heavy, long or awkward. Plan the route first and clear it. Administrative
  • Keep the load close, back straight and no twisting. Turn with your feet. Administrative
  • Rotate tasks and take breaks on long lifting jobs. Administrative
  • Wear gloves for grip and safety boots to protect your feet. PPE
Medium

PPE

Steel cap bootsHard hatWork glovesHi-vis shirt or vestSafety glasses

Plant and equipment

Mobile scaffold: Scaffolding HRWL (SB or higher) to erect, alter or dismantle where a person or object could fall more than 4 mHand tools

Permits and plans

Working at heights permit

Emergency

Call 000. Add the nearest hospital, the assembly point and the first aider for your site.

Sign-off

Supervisor and every worker sign to confirm they have read and understood this SWMS.

Free SWMS template for mobile scaffold

Word (.docx) and PDF, A4 landscape, no email needed. Fill in your site details, then print or send it.

Word template (.docx)PDF template

Make yours in 2 minutes

Same document, filled in for your job. Answer a few yes or no questions, the crew signs on the phone, and you send the PDF.

Start this SWMS

Pre-start checklist for mobile scaffold

Tick these off before work starts. They come from the hazards, permits and equipment in this job.

The safe sequence of work

  1. Check all parts and the ground, and look up for power lines
  2. Build to the instructions with outriggers and guardrails
  3. Lock the wheels before climbing, climb only on the inside
  4. Never move it with anyone or anything on it
  5. Dismantle in reverse order and store parts

Hazards to watch on mobile scaffold

The hazards most specific to this job, and the step where each one comes up.

Step 1, 2, 3, 4Scaffold collapse or fall from scaffoldA scaffold that is badly built, overloaded or altered collapses or tips, or a worker falls from an unguarded platform.
Step 1Contact with overhead power linesA ladder, EWP, crane, tipper or long length of material touches or gets close to an overhead line and electrocutes people.
Step 2, 3Falling from heightA worker falls more than 2 metres from an edge, platform or opening and is badly hurt or killed.
Step 4Falling tools and materialsTools, materials or debris fall from above and hit someone working or walking below.
Step 5Lifting and carrying heavy loadsLifting, carrying, pushing or twisting with heavy or awkward loads strains the back, shoulders or knees.
Almost certainLikelyPossibleUnlikelyRareHow bad it could be: Insignificant to CatastrophicBA
Highest risk on mobile scaffold: Extreme before controls (B), down to Medium after controls (A), on the Australia 5 by 5 risk matrix (likely and catastrophic becomes unlikely and major).

What changes on your site

This example covers the job itself. Your site may add more. Add controls for any of these that apply (the builder asks you these as yes or no questions):

  • Will anyone use a ladder or stepladder?
  • Will anyone work on a roof?
  • Is there a skylight, clear sheet, fibro or other fragile roofing?
  • Will you use an EWP (scissor lift or boom lift)?
  • Was the building built before 2004?

Licences and legal requirements in Australia

This task can involve these high risk construction work categories under the WHS Regulations:

  • Risk of a person falling more than 2 metres

Equipment on this job that needs a licence, ticket or training:

  • Mobile scaffold: Scaffolding HRWL (SB or higher) to erect, alter or dismantle where a person or object could fall more than 4 m

A SWMS must be prepared before any high risk construction work starts. It must list the high risk work, the hazards and risks, the control measures, and how those controls will be put in place, monitored and reviewed. It must be easy for the workers to read and understand.

Rules that apply: WHS Regulation 2011, Part 4.4 Falls, Part 5.1 Plant and r.225 (scaffolds); WHS Regulation 2011, Part 4.4 Falls; WHS Regulation 2011, Part 3.2 (falling objects); WHS Regulation 2011, Part 4.2 Hazardous manual tasks.

Each state has its own regulator and some extra rules: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Australian Capital Territory.

Why SWMS get rejected

Principal contractors send documents back for these reasons. This example avoids them, but check yours too.

  • It is generic: another site address, tasks that are not on this job, or no sign it was reviewed for this site. WorkSafe WA says a generic SWMS may not meet the regulations unless it is reviewed and amended for the workplace.
  • The HRCW boxes are not ticked, or the ticks do not match the tasks (for example a roof job with no falls box ticked).
  • Falls are controlled only by "be careful", training or a harness, with no edge protection or scaffold and no reason why higher controls are not reasonably practicable.
  • Workers will clip on to a harness but there is no rescue plan for someone left hanging.
  • The "how controls are implemented, monitored and reviewed" part is missing, or it says the same thing on every row.
  • No worker sign-on, no person responsible for compliance, or a date given to the principal contractor that is before they actually received it.
  • Licence or White Card details are missing for workers operating plant or doing licensed high risk work.

Questions

Do I need a SWMS for mobile scaffold?

Yes. Mobile scaffold usually includes high risk construction work (risk of a person falling more than 2 metres), so a SWMS is required by law before work starts.

Who signs the SWMS?

The person conducting the business (PCBU) or their supervisor prepares it with the workers, and every worker doing the high risk work signs to show they were consulted and understand it. Give a copy to the principal contractor before work starts.

How long do I keep it?

Keep this SWMS, and every revised version, until the high risk construction work is finished, where workers and inspectors can see it on site. If a notifiable incident happens during the work, keep it for at least 2 years after the incident.

What PPE is needed for mobile scaffold?

Usually Steel cap boots, Hard hat, Work gloves, Hi-vis shirt or vest, Safety glasses. The site rules may add more, so check with the principal contractor.

More scaffolding SWMS

SWMSScaffold Erection9 stepsSWMSScaffold Dismantling5 stepsSWMSScaffold Inspection4 stepsSWMSRoof Edge Protection Installation5 stepsSWMSScaffold Alteration5 steps

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Toolbox talks for this job

Toolbox talkScaffold SafetyToolbox talkOverhead Power LinesToolbox talkExtension Leads and Power ToolsToolbox talkCrane and Lifting Safety

Blank SWMS template: free SWMS templates. Also for other countries: United Kingdom (RAMS) · United States (JHA) · Canada (FLHA)

Sources