Concreters often don’t realise how many concreting jobs are high risk construction work. The driveway crossover next to the road, the pump truck, the earthworks you do yourself, and cutting and grinding all need to be in a SWMS (Safe Work Method Statement) before work starts. Here’s what a concreting SWMS must cover, where concreters most often get caught out, and how to keep your crew safe around the pump.
When does concreting work need a SWMS?
A SWMS is legally required when the job includes high risk construction work. Concreting commonly includes:
- work on or next to a road in use: driveway crossovers, footpaths, kerbs and anything at the front boundary
- working where powered mobile plant is moving, like concrete pump trucks, agitators, bobcats, excavators and mini loaders
- trenches or excavations deeper than 1.5 metres, for footings, piers and site cuts
- work on or near energised electrical services, such as overhead powerlines near the pump boom and underground cables when digging
- a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres, like suspended slabs, upper floors, edges and retaining walls
- tilt-up or precast concrete work
- work likely to involve disturbing asbestos when breaking out old slabs, paths or fibro
It’s also the first document a WHS inspector asks for on site.
Driveway crossovers: the one that gets concreters fined
The crossover, where the driveway meets the road, is work next to a road that’s in use, and that makes it high risk construction work. Many concreters get fined for working next to the road without a SWMS. It’s genuinely dangerous work: traffic, distracted drivers, trucks reversing off the road, and the public walking past on the footpath.
Your SWMS for a crossover should cover:
- Council approval. Most councils need a permit for a new or replaced crossover, and some need a road or footpath occupancy permit.
- Traffic management: a traffic guidance scheme (the plan for signs, cones and barriers), and accredited traffic controllers if traffic needs to be stopped or directed.
- Protecting pedestrians: a safe, signed path around the work, especially for prams, wheelchairs and kids walking to school.
- Trucks reversing to and from the road, with a spotter.
- Hi-vis for everyone, and keeping the work area barricaded until the concrete is safe to walk and drive on.
Concrete pump trucks: keep your crew clear
Workers being injured by concrete pump trucks is one of the most common serious incidents we hear about across the industry. The causes are almost always the same: a boom or hose falling, hose whip when a blockage clears or air gets in the line, and trucks backing in with no spotter.
The most important control is simple: keep your crew away from the pump truck. Leave the pump, the boom and the outriggers to the pump operator.
- Set an exclusion zone around the truck, outriggers and under the boom. Only the operator, and the hose hand where needed, go inside it.
- Use a spotter for every pump truck and agitator reversing on site.
- Check ground conditions for the outriggers (no soft ground, trench edges or services underneath) and use outrigger pads.
- Look up for powerlines before the boom is unfolded, and keep the boom outside the exclusion zone.
- The hose hand should never stand where the hose can whip when the pump starts or a blockage clears. Clearing blockages is the operator’s job, following their procedure.
- Truck-mounted concrete placing booms need an operator with a high risk work licence. Check your pumping company’s licence and their own SWMS, and make sure your SWMS fits with theirs.
Doing your own earthworks? That needs a SWMS too
Lots of concreters do their own site cuts, footings and boxing out with a bobcat or mini excavator, and forget that this is high risk construction work in its own right: powered mobile plant, often excavation, and often digging near underground services. We’ve seen a landscaper dig straight through an underground electrical cable and cut power to an entire subdivision. It could easily have been fatal.
- BYDA (Before You Dig Australia) plans before every dig, remembering that private cables and pipes aren’t on them.
- Locate and pothole services before you dig with the machine.
- Exclusion zones around operating plant, and a spotter when people are nearby.
- Trench and excavation edges supported or benched over 1.5 metres, with spoil and plant kept back from the edge.
- Plant pre-start checks every day, and operators with the right tickets for the machine.
What your concreting SWMS needs to cover
A good concreting SWMS follows the actual steps of the job, what could go wrong at each step, and what you’ll do about it. These are the hazards we’d expect to see:
| Hazard | Controls to include |
|---|---|
| Traffic and the public | Traffic guidance scheme, signs, barriers and cones, accredited traffic controllers where needed, a safe pedestrian path, and hi-vis. |
| Pump trucks and agitators | Exclusion zone, crew kept clear, spotter for reversing, outrigger ground check, powerline clearance, and the hose hand out of the whip zone. |
| Earthworks and plant | BYDA, locating services, exclusion zones, spotters, plant pre-starts and trained operators. |
| Silica dust from cutting, grinding and core drilling | Wet cutting or on-tool dust extraction with an H-class vacuum, then fit-tested respirators. Silica training for the crew. No dry sweeping. |
| Cement burns | Waterproof gloves and boots, with pants worn over the boots, waterproof knee pads, and eye protection. Wash wet concrete off skin straight away, and know the first aid: rinse with plenty of clean water. |
| Formwork and reo | Formwork checked before the pour, caps on reo starter bars to prevent impalement, and controlled placement so forms aren’t overloaded. |
| Manual handling | Mechanical aids for reo mesh and heavy loads, team lifts, rotating screeding and finishing tasks, and knee protection. |
| Vibration and noise | Rotate the crew on power floats, compactors and vibrators, use well-maintained tools, and wear hearing protection. |
| Heat and long pours | Plan pours for cooler hours, water and shade, rest breaks, and watching each other for heat illness. |
| Falls from edges | Edge protection on suspended slabs and retaining walls, and covers over penetrations. |
Silica dust: concreting is right in the firing line
Saw cutting, grinding, scabbling and core drilling concrete create huge amounts of fine silica dust, which causes silicosis and lung cancer. Since 1 September 2024, Queensland, NSW and most other states require dust controls, silica training for workers and the right respirators for high-risk processing, and for construction work your SWMS can cover the silica controls. Victoria has its own silica rules, with a hazard control statement that a SWMS can also cover. Read more in the silica section of our plumbing SWMS guide.
Make your SWMS work on site
- Read it and talk it through with the crew before the pour, especially the pump exclusion zone, then everyone signs. It isn’t a “tick, flick and sign here” exercise.
- Make it site-specific: this crossover, this road, this pump set-up, these services.
- Keep it on site, and review it when the job, the crew or the conditions change.
- Give a copy to the builder before work starts. If there’s a principal contractor, it’s your responsibility to provide your SWMS before the high risk work begins, not just when asked.
How we can help
SWMS Done For You: $240. Tell us about the job, whether it’s a slab, driveway and crossover, footpath, commercial pour or tilt-up, and we write a concreting SWMS that fits your work, including traffic, pump, earthworks and silica controls. It arrives as a Word document within about 2 business days, ready to review, talk through, sign and take to site.
Pouring every week? The Projects One app lets you copy last job’s SWMS, update it for the new site on your phone, get the crew to sign on screen, and send it to the builder. Bobcat and excavator pre-starts are in there too.
Not sure what you need? Talk to a real person
Hi, I’m Wendy. Concreters are some of the busiest people we work with, and a fine for a missing SWMS on a crossover is money you didn’t need to lose. Call me about your jobs and I’ll tell you what you actually need, even if that’s not our app.
Concreting SWMS questions
Do I need a SWMS for a driveway crossover?
Yes. Working on or next to a road that’s in use is high risk construction work, so a crossover needs a SWMS, plus whatever council permits and traffic management the job needs. This is one of the most common reasons concreters get fined.
Does the pump company’s SWMS cover my crew?
No. The pumping company’s SWMS covers their operator and their truck. Your SWMS covers your crew, including how they’ll stay out of the pump exclusion zone and work with the pump operator. The two should fit together.
Do I need a SWMS for my own earthworks?
Yes, if it involves powered mobile plant, excavation deeper than 1.5 metres, or digging near underground services. Most site cuts and footing digs tick at least one of those boxes.
Do I need silica training to cut concrete?
If cutting, grinding or drilling concrete is high-risk processing, workers must be trained in silica risks in Queensland, NSW and most states (since 1 September 2024). Victoria has its own silica rules. Control the dust, train your crew, and include it in your SWMS.
Do I need a SWMS for every pour?
You need one for every job with high risk construction work, and most concreting jobs have at least one: the road, the pump, plant or excavation. You can reuse a SWMS, but you must review it for each site. More on reusing a SWMS.
Does the builder’s SWMS cover my concreting work?
No. The business doing the high risk work prepares the SWMS for that work. As the concreting contractor, you’re responsible for your SWMS, and you must give a copy to the builder (principal contractor) before work starts.
Related guides
- Plumbing SWMS (more on silica dust and asbestos)
- Electrical SWMS (digging near underground cables)
- Roofing SWMS
- Do I need a SWMS for every job?
- SWMS rules in each state: Queensland, NSW, Victoria, WA
General information based on the model Work Health and Safety Regulations used in Queensland, NSW, WA and most states. Victoria uses its own OHS laws, but SWMS rules there are very similar. This isn’t legal advice, so check the detail for your state or ask us.