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Scaffolding · Australia

SWMS for scaffold inspection

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

Yes. Scaffold inspection 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, strong wind and storms and falling tools and materials.

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SWMS example: scaffold inspection

This is a complete SWMS for scaffold inspection, with 4 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)
Scaffold inspection and handover · 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
1Inspect after erection, weekly, and after storms or changes
  • Scaffold collapse or fall from scaffold
  • Strong wind and storms
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
  • Scaffold collapse or fall from scaffold: see step 2 for the full controls Administrative
  • Check the forecast each morning and plan work at height and lifting around the weather. Eliminate
  • Tie down or weigh down loose sheets, panels, boards and rubbish at the end of each shift. Engineering
  • Set wind limits for roof work, platforms and cranes, using the manufacturer's limits, and stop when they are reached. Administrative
  • Stop work and get down in lightning. Wait 30 minutes after the last thunder before going back up. Administrative
  • Check scaffold, fencing and edge protection after strong wind before anyone uses them. Administrative
  • Do not carry large sheets on roofs in wind. Administrative
  • Wear a hard hat with a chin strap at height in windy conditions. PPE
Medium
2Check base, ties, bracing, planks, guardrails and toe boards
  • 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
3Check access, ladder gates and loading limits
  • Falling from height
  • Falling from a ladder
Extreme
  • 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
  • Use a platform ladder, mobile scaffold or EWP for longer jobs instead of a straight ladder. Substitute
  • Use industrial-rated ladders (AS/NZS 1892, 120 kg or more) in good condition. Remove any damaged ladder from site. Engineering
  • Set extension ladders at a 4 to 1 angle on firm, level ground, tied or footed, and reaching 1 metre above the landing. Engineering
  • Use ladders only for short, light work. Do not carry heavy or awkward loads up a ladder. Administrative
  • Keep three points of contact and your belt buckle between the stiles. Do not overreach. Administrative
  • Do not stand on the top three rungs of an extension ladder or the top step of a stepladder. Administrative
  • Check the ladder before each use: feet, rungs, stiles and locks. Administrative
  • Wear non-slip safety boots with clean soles. PPE
Medium
4Tag the scaffold safe or not safe and record it
  • Scaffold collapse or fall from scaffold
Extreme
  • Scaffold collapse or fall from scaffold: see step 2 for the full controls Administrative
Medium

PPE

Steel cap bootsHard hatHi-vis shirt or vestSafety glasses

Plant and equipment

Fixed scaffold: Scaffolding HRWL (SB, SI or SA) to erect, alter or dismantle where a fall of more than 4 m is possibleMobile scaffold: Scaffolding HRWL (SB or higher) to erect, alter or dismantle where a person or object could fall more than 4 m

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 scaffold inspection

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 scaffold inspection

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

The safe sequence of work

  1. Inspect after erection, weekly, and after storms or changes
  2. Check base, ties, bracing, planks, guardrails and toe boards
  3. Check access, ladder gates and loading limits
  4. Tag the scaffold safe or not safe and record it

Hazards to watch on scaffold inspection

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

Step 1, 2, 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 1Strong wind and stormsWind blows sheets, panels and people off roofs and scaffolds, and storms and lightning make work at height and lifting unsafe.
Step 3Falling from a ladderThe ladder slips or tips, or the worker overreaches, and they fall onto a hard surface.
Step 3Falling from heightA worker falls more than 2 metres from an edge, platform or opening and is badly hurt or killed.
Step 2Falling tools and materialsTools, materials or debris fall from above and hit someone working or walking below.
Almost certainLikelyPossibleUnlikelyRareHow bad it could be: Insignificant to CatastrophicBA
Highest risk on scaffold inspection: 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 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?
  • Will you sand, scrape, cut or heat paint on a building built before 1997?

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:

  • Fixed scaffold: Scaffolding HRWL (SB, SI or SA) to erect, alter or dismantle where a fall of more than 4 m is possible
  • 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 3.2 (falling objects); WHS Regulation 2011, Part 4.4 Falls.

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 scaffold inspection?

Yes. Scaffold inspection 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 scaffold inspection?

Usually Steel cap boots, Hard hat, 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 stepsSWMSMobile Scaffold5 stepsSWMSRoof Edge Protection Installation5 stepsSWMSScaffold Alteration5 steps

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

Sources