Excavation and Earthmoving SWMS: Services, Trenches, Plant and Rail Corridors

Almost every earthmoving job is high risk construction work. Moving plant, excavations, underground services, overhead powerlines, roads and rail lines are all on the list, and most jobs have several at once. Here’s what an excavation and earthmoving SWMS (Safe Work Method Statement) must cover, whether you’re doing landscaping, residential site works, council jobs, rail work or plant hire with an operator.

When does earthmoving work need a SWMS?

A SWMS is legally required when the job includes high risk construction work. Earthmoving commonly includes:

• working where powered mobile plant is moving: excavators, bobcats, loaders, rollers, trenchers and tippers
• trenches, shafts or excavations deeper than 1.5 metres
• work on or near energised electrical services, both underground cables and overhead powerlines
• work on or near pressurised gas mains or piping, and near water, fuel and chemical lines
• work on or next to a road or railway that’s in use, including council roadworks and rail corridors
• a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres, such as into excavations or off batters and retaining walls
• work likely to involve disturbing asbestos, like old pipes and contaminated fill
• work in or near a confined space, such as pits, tanks and stormwater structures

It’s also the first document a WHS inspector asks for on site.

Underground services: one strike can cut power to a suburb

One of our landscaping clients dug through an underground electrical cable and cut the power to an entire subdivision. He walked away from it, but it could just as easily have been fatal. Service strikes are one of the most common incidents in earthmoving, and most are preventable.

• BYDA (Before You Dig Australia), the free service that used to be Dial Before You Dig, before every dig. Plans can be out of date or inaccurate, and private services (from the meter to a house, shed, pool or another building) aren’t on them.
• Locate the services on site with a qualified service locator, and mark them out.
• Pothole by hand-digging or vacuum excavation to expose services before you dig near them with the machine.
• Treat every service as live until it’s been proved otherwise.
• If you hit something: stop, get everyone clear, and call the network owner and emergency services where needed. Don’t touch a damaged cable, and stay in the cab if a machine is in contact with power, unless it’s on fire.

What your earthmoving SWMS needs to cover

A good earthmoving 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
Underground services	BYDA plans, service locating, potholing, marking out, and treating services as live. Include an emergency plan for a strike.
People struck by plant	Exclusion zones around operating plant and its swing radius, spotters, eye contact with the operator before approaching, reversing alarms and cameras, and hi-vis.
Trench and excavation collapse	Bench, batter or shore excavations over 1.5 metres (or use trench shields). Keep spoil and plant back from the edge, provide safe access in and out, and inspect after rain.
Overhead powerlines	Identify lines before work starts, keep booms and tipper trays outside the exclusion zone, use a spotter, and contact the network operator if you need to work closer.
Plant rollover	ROPS and seatbelts worn, slopes and batters assessed, distance kept from excavation edges, and ground conditions checked after rain.
Quick hitches and attachments	Check the locking pin or safety device is engaged every time an attachment is changed, and keep people out from under buckets and attachments.
Lifting with excavators	Only lift with machines designed and rated for lifting, using rated lifting points, with load charts followed and a competent dogger or spotter.
Traffic and the public	Traffic guidance scheme, signs and barriers, accredited traffic controllers where needed, and a safe path for pedestrians.
Dust, noise and vibration	Water carts or sprays for dust, silica controls when cutting or crushing rock and concrete, hearing protection, and well-maintained seats and controls.
Contaminated ground and asbestos	Stop work if you find suspect material, then have it identified before carrying on.

Rail corridors: extra rules on top of your SWMS

Work on or next to a railway that’s in use is high risk construction work, and the rail network owner’s rules apply on top of WHS law. Before working in or near the rail corridor, your SWMS should line up with the network’s requirements, which usually include:

• Rail Industry Worker (RIW) cards and track safety awareness training for everyone entering the corridor
• An approved protection officer and the right worksite protection, such as a track possession or work-on-track authority
• The network’s safety rules and site induction, plus their approval of your work method and plant
• Plant that’s certified for rail work where required, and clearance zones from the track and overhead wiring

Each network (for example Queensland Rail, Aurizon, ARTC, Sydney Trains or Metro Trains Melbourne) has its own requirements, so check them for every job.

Plant hire with an operator: who does the SWMS?

If you supply a machine with an operator (wet hire), operating that plant is your business’s high risk construction work, so you need your own SWMS for it, even if the client has one too. Your SWMS should fit with the client’s site rules and their SWMS. Expect to provide:

• Your SWMS for the work, given to the principal contractor before you start
• A plant risk assessment, servicing and maintenance records, and daily pre-starts
• Operator licences, tickets and verification of competency (VOC)
• Certificates of currency for insurance

Working near someone else’s plant? You still need a SWMS

This one catches a lot of people out. High risk construction work includes work in an area where powered mobile plant is moving, and it doesn’t matter whose machine it is. If your crew works on a site where an excavator, bobcat, loader or roller is operating, that’s high risk construction work for your business too. That’s true even if you’re not operating it, and even if you’re a subcontractor working for another subcontractor.

Your SWMS should cover how your crew will work safely around the other company’s plant:

• Exclusion zones around operating plant and its swing radius, and staying out of them unless the operator has stopped and agreed
• Eye contact and a clear signal (or radio contact) with the operator before approaching a machine
• Never walking behind reversing plant or under a raised bucket or attachment
• Agreed walkways and traffic routes separating people from plant, and hi-vis at all times
• Coordinating with the plant operator and the principal contractor: the operator’s SWMS covers the machine, and yours covers your crew, so the two should fit together with the site rules

Council work and landscaping

Council jobs usually come with prequalification, a SWMS for every task, and traffic management for anything on or near the road. Landscaping brings its own hazards on top of plant and services: retaining wall blocks and sleepers, cutting pavers (silica dust), chemicals like herbicides, and small plant like mini loaders, trenchers and post-hole diggers. They all belong in your SWMS.

Make your SWMS work on site

• Read it and talk it through with the crew and operators before work starts, then everyone signs. It isn’t a “tick, flick and sign here” exercise.
• Make it site-specific: these services, this ground, these powerlines, this road or rail corridor.
• Keep it on site, and review it when conditions change, especially after rain or when services are found.
• Give a copy to the builder or principal contractor before work starts. It’s your responsibility to provide it, not just when asked.

How we can help

SWMS Done For You: $240. Tell us about the job, whether it’s landscaping, a residential site, council work, rail or plant hire, and we write an earthmoving SWMS that fits your work, your plant and your crew. It arrives as a Word document within about 2 business days, ready to review, talk through, sign and take to site.

Running plant every day? The Projects One app keeps your SWMS, plant pre-starts, maintenance records and operator tickets in one place, so you can send a full pack to the client in minutes.

Not sure what you need? Talk to a real person

Excavation and earthmoving SWMS questions

Do I need a SWMS for every earthmoving job?

You need one for any job with high risk construction work, and most earthmoving jobs have at least one: moving plant, excavations over 1.5 metres, services, roads or rail. You can reuse a SWMS, but you must review it for each site. More on reusing a SWMS.

Is a BYDA request enough before I dig?

No. BYDA plans show where network services should be, but they can be inaccurate, and private services aren’t on them. Locate the services on site and pothole to expose them before digging with a machine.

I hire out plant with an operator. Do I need my own SWMS?

Yes. Operating the plant is your business’s high risk work, so you need a SWMS for it, and it should fit with the client’s site rules. Give it to the principal contractor before work starts.

The excavator belongs to another subcontractor. Do I still need a SWMS?

Yes. Working in an area where powered mobile plant is moving is high risk construction work for every business with workers in that area, not just the one operating the machine. Your SWMS covers how your crew stays safe around it, and it should fit with the plant operator’s SWMS and the site rules.

What extra do I need for work in a rail corridor?

The rail network’s own requirements, usually RIW cards, track safety awareness training, a protection officer and the right worksite protection, plus their induction and approval of your work method. Your SWMS should match them.

When does a trench need shoring?

Excavations deeper than 1.5 metres are high risk construction work, and they must be supported, benched or battered so they can’t collapse on workers. Ground conditions, water and nearby loads can make shallower trenches dangerous too, so assess every one.

Does the builder’s SWMS cover my earthworks?

No. The business doing the high risk work prepares the SWMS for that work. As the earthmoving contractor, you’re responsible for your SWMS, and you must give a copy to the builder (principal contractor) before work starts.

Related guides

• SWMS by trade: Roofing · Electrical · Plumbing · Concreting · Carpentry and building · Painting · Plastering and rendering · More trades
• Do I need a SWMS for every job?
• SWMS vs Risk Assessment (JSA) vs Take 5
• 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.