Excavation SWMS for Excavation / Earthmoving Contractors

When you need this document

A builder or principal contractor is asking for a site-specific SWMS before you can get on the job, or your work falls under a high risk construction work category and the law requires one before work starts.

What it covers for excavation / earthmoving work

Typical hazards addressed: trench and excavation collapse, underground service strikes, overhead powerlines, powered mobile plant near workers on foot, traffic on adjacent roads, water ingress. Citations from the Excavation / Earthmoving focus list:

• §reg 306: before excavating a trench at least 1.5 m deep, secure the work area from unauthorised access and support all sides by shoring, benching or battering, unless a geotechnical engineer advises in writing that the sides are safe from collapse. The duty applies to a trench 1.5 m deep or deeper. It sets no inspection frequency, so trench inspection is written as good practice without this citation. Securing the area around a shallower excavation is NOT this duty (see reg 305)
• §reg 291: high risk construction work includes work in or near a shaft or trench with an excavated depth GREATER than 1.5 m, or a tunnel ("deeper than 1.5 m" is correct for this category; the reg 306 support duty applies at 1.5 m)
• §reg 304: the person with management or control of the workplace must take all reasonable steps to obtain current underground essential services information for the excavation area and adjacent areas before directing or allowing the excavation to start, and must give it to any person it engages to carry out the excavation; that person, and any business given the information, must have regard to it. A contractor that does not manage or control the workplace gets the information from the person with management or control of the workplace (normally the principal contractor) before excavating. Checking Before You Dig Australia (formerly Dial Before You Dig) and confirming services by locating and hand potholing are good practice, not part of this duty
• §reg 305: manage the risks of any excavation work under Part 3.1, including a person falling into the excavation, being trapped by its collapse, being struck by a falling thing or exposed to an airborne contaminant, having regard to the nature of the excavation, the work method and the means of entry and exit. Barricading or isolating the area around an excavation shallower than 1.5 m is a control under this duty (with reg 36), never under reg 306
• §reg 166: no person, plant or thing may come within an unsafe distance of an overhead or underground electric line; where that is not reasonably practicable a risk assessment and control measures are required
• §reg 81 and Schedule 3: high risk work licences where cranes or specific plant classes are used
• §reg 44 to reg 47: PPE duties (high-visibility clothing near plant)

What's inside

• ✓ Title block: PCBU, principal contractor, site address, prepared and review dates
• ✓ High risk construction work categories identified for your activity
• ✓ Step-by-step work method with hazards, risk ratings, and controls
• ✓ Controls in hierarchy order: eliminate, substitute, isolate, engineer, administer, PPE
• ✓ Plant, equipment, permits, licences, and training requirements
• ✓ Emergency procedures and review triggers
• ✓ Your state’s legislation cited (WHS Regulation, or OHS Regulations in Victoria)
• ✓ Worker consultation and sign-off block