Safe Work Method Statement: Frame Scaffold Erection Above 4 Metres
•PCBU / Company: Redgate Scaffolds Pty Ltd
•Contact Person: Alana Reid
•Principal Contractor / Builder: Harber Constructions Pty Ltd
•Site Address: 41 Copley Lane, Teneriffe QLD 4005
•Project Name: Teneriffe Townhouses Stage 1
•Work Activity Covered by this SWMS: Erection of a three-lift frame scaffold, 8 metres to the top working platform, along the street elevation of the townhouse block, including full decking, edge protection, containment mesh and handover to the builder
•Date Prepared: 18 August 2026
•Review Date: Review and revise this SWMS whenever the work, the identified hazards, or the control measures change, in accordance with reg 302 of the WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld)
1. Work Activity & Scope
Redgate Scaffolds Pty Ltd will erect a three-lift frame scaffold along the street elevation of the townhouse block at 41 Copley Lane, Teneriffe, for principal contractor Harber Constructions Pty Ltd. The top working platform is at 8 metres. The scope covers setting out and foundations, erection of standards, ledgers and transoms lift by lift, full decking of working platforms, guardrails, midrails and toeboards, containment mesh, ladder access bays, tagging, and formal handover to the builder. Dismantling at the end of the project is covered by a separate revision of this SWMS reviewed against site conditions at that time.
The crew is 3 to 4 workers, all holding high risk work licences in the scaffolding classes stated under permits and licences below. Planned duration of the erection is 3 days.
Because a person or object could fall more than 4 metres, this scaffolding work may only be carried out by the holders of the appropriate high risk work licence class under reg 81 of the WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld). Because the work involves a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres, it is high risk construction work under reg 291, and this SWMS was prepared before the work started as required by reg 299. A copy will be given to Harber Constructions before work commences under reg 301, and kept available until the work is complete under reg 303.
2. High Risk Construction Work Categories
The following high risk construction work categories under reg 291 of the WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) apply to this activity:
•Risk of a person falling more than 2 metres: present throughout erection, because edge protection does not exist until the crew builds it. The working-at-the-leading-edge controls in the work method are the core of this document.
•Work in an area with movement of powered mobile plant: scaffold materials are delivered and shifted with a truck-mounted crane and a telehandler operating in the site access lane shared with other trades.
The scaffold runs parallel to the street. The nearest overhead electric line is on the opposite side of Copley Lane. No part of the scaffold, and no tube, plank or tool carried during erection, may come within the exclusion distance for overhead lines set by Queensland's electrical safety legislation; the set-out in step 1 confirms the clearances before any steel arrives.
3. Persons, Roles & Responsibilities
•Scaffold supervisor (Alana Reid): holds an Intermediate scaffolding licence (SI). Plans the erection sequence, briefs this SWMS, checks foundations and ties at each lift, controls the exclusion zone, performs the pre-handover inspection and signs the handover certificate.
•Licensed scaffolders (2): hold Basic scaffolding licences (SB), erect the scaffold under the supervisor's sequence, and stop work if conditions change.
•Crane and telehandler operators: hold the licence class for their plant, follow the agreed delivery and laydown plan, and take direction from the nominated spotter during lifts.
•Harber Constructions (principal contractor): receives this SWMS before work starts, keeps other trades out of the exclusion zone, and does not permit any trade onto the scaffold before the handover certificate is issued.
•All workers: hold a current general construction induction card (white card) under regs 316 and 317, sign on to this SWMS before starting, and report any change in conditions.
4. Plant, Equipment & Materials
•Frame scaffold components to the supplier's specification for a three-lift frame scaffold, inspected on delivery; damaged components quarantined and returned
•Sole boards and adjustable base plates
•Truck-mounted crane for delivery and a telehandler for on-site movement of materials
•Full-body harnesses with twin-tail lanyards for each scaffolder, inspected before use, with anchorage as each lift is erected, used in accordance with AS/NZS 1891
•Podium ladders for the first lift; internal ladder access bays thereafter
•Tool lanyards for all hand tools used at height
•Scaffold tags and signage; barricades and mesh for the ground-level exclusion zone
•First aid kit in the site shed; the crew carries a phone at the workface at all times
All equipment is inspected before use. Defective equipment is tagged out and removed from site.
5. Step-by-Step Work Method: Hazards, Risk Ratings & Controls
Step 1: Set-out, ground assessment and clearance checks
•Hazards: Scaffold founded on soft or uneven ground settling under load; scaffold or materials encroaching on the overhead line exclusion distance; services under the footpath damaged by point loads
•Initial risk: High (L3 x C5)
•Controls: Walk the line of the scaffold with the builder before delivery. Confirm ground conditions and place sole boards and base plates to spread loads; reject any founding on uncompacted fill until the builder rectifies it. Measure and record the distance from the closest scaffold member and the crane's working radius to the overhead line on Copley Lane, and confirm both stay outside the exclusion distance required by Queensland's electrical safety legislation, with the crane's slew limited away from the street. Confirm footpath closure and permits with the builder before occupying the laydown area.
•Residual risk: Low (L1 x C4)
•Responsible: Scaffold supervisor
Step 2: Delivery, unloading and materials handling
•Hazards: Workers struck by the crane load or the telehandler; crushed hands during unloading; manual handling injuries moving steel and planks
•Initial risk: High (L3 x C5)
•Controls: One nominated spotter controls every crane lift; no load travels over any person. The telehandler operates only inside the barricaded laydown area, with a reversing spotter where sight lines are blocked. Materials are landed on dunnage, never stacked against the incomplete scaffold. Two-person lifts for standards and ledgers; planks passed hand to hand, never thrown. High-visibility clothing for every worker in the laydown area.
•Residual risk: Medium (L2 x C3)
•Responsible: Scaffold supervisor, plant operators
Step 3: First lift and working at the leading edge
•Hazards: Falls from the incomplete first lift; components dropped onto passers-by; unstable partially erected bays
•Initial risk: High (L4 x C5)
•Controls: Erect the first lift from the ground and podium ladders wherever the component can be placed without climbing. Establish the ground-level exclusion zone with barricades and signage before the first standard goes up, sized so that no dropped component can land outside it. Fully deck and fit guardrails to each bay before it is used as a platform for the next. From the first moment a scaffolder works where a fall over 2 metres is possible without completed edge protection, they clip on: harness and twin-tail lanyard to the anchorage points identified by the supervisor, in accordance with AS/NZS 1891 and the scaffold association guidance in AS/NZS 4576.
•Residual risk: Medium (L2 x C4)
•Responsible: Scaffold supervisor, licensed scaffolders
Step 4: Subsequent lifts, ties and progressive decking
•Hazards: Falls at the leading edge of each new lift; scaffold instability before ties are installed; dropped tools and components
•Initial risk: High (L4 x C5)
•Controls: Install ties to the structure at the spacing set by the supplier's configuration as each lift rises; no lift proceeds until the previous lift's ties are in. Deck each working platform fully before the next lift starts: no partially planked platforms are left accessible. Guardrails, midrails and toeboards go on with the decking, not after it. Twin-tail lanyards stay clipped at the leading edge so the scaffolder is attached while moving and placing components. Tool lanyards on all hand tools; nothing is carried loose above the first lift. The exclusion zone stays in place for the whole erection.
•Residual risk: Medium (L2 x C4)
•Responsible: Licensed scaffolders
Step 5: Access bays, containment and finishing
•Hazards: Falls at ladder openings; mesh installation at height; gaps and traps left in platforms
•Initial risk: Medium (L3 x C4)
•Controls: Build internal ladder access bays with self-closing gates or offset openings so no platform has an unprotected penetration. Fit containment mesh from completed, protected platforms only. Walk every platform checking for gaps over 50 millimetres, unsecured planks, and missing toeboards before the pre-handover inspection.
•Residual risk: Low (L1 x C3)
•Responsible: Licensed scaffolders
Step 6: Inspection, tagging and handover
•Hazards: Other trades using an unfinished or unchecked scaffold; alterations by non-scaffolders after handover
•Initial risk: High (L3 x C5)
•Controls: The supervisor inspects the completed scaffold against the supplier's configuration and this SWMS before anyone else uses it, and issues a written handover certificate to Harber Constructions. Scafftags go on at every access point: the scaffold carries an "incomplete - do not use" tag from the first standard until the moment the handover certificate is signed. The handover states in writing that only licensed scaffolders may alter the scaffold, including removing a single tie or plank, and that the scaffold must be re-inspected after any alteration, after any event that could affect stability, and at intervals not exceeding 30 days while it stands, in line with the maintenance duties in regs 78 and 79 for managing fall risks and the guidance in AS/NZS 4576.
•Residual risk: Low (L1 x C4)
•Responsible: Scaffold supervisor
6. Personal Protective Equipment
PPE supplements the engineered controls above and is used in line with the duties in regs 44 to 47 of the WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld):
•Hard hat and steel-capped boots: at all times on site
•High-visibility clothing: at all times, and mandatory in the laydown and plant operating areas
•Full-body harness with twin-tail lanyard: whenever working where a fall over 2 metres is possible without completed edge protection, per AS/NZS 1891
•Gloves: handling steel and planks
•Sun protection: the street elevation faces north and the work is outdoors
All PPE and every harness is inspected before use and withdrawn if damaged.
7. Permits, Licences & Training Requirements
•High risk work licences under reg 81 and Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld): the supervisor holds an Intermediate scaffolding licence (SI); both scaffolders hold Basic scaffolding licences (SB). These classes are required because a person or object could fall more than 4 metres. Licence cards are sighted and copied by Harber Constructions at induction, and validity can be confirmed with WorkSafe Queensland on 1300 362 128.
•Crane and telehandler operators hold the licence class required for their plant.
•Every worker holds a current general construction induction card (white card), regs 316 and 317.
•Site induction with Harber Constructions is completed before starting, and the footpath occupation approval is confirmed by the builder before set-out.
8. Emergency Procedures
•The site address for emergency services is 41 Copley Lane, Teneriffe QLD 4005. The assembly point and first aid arrangements are confirmed at the builder's induction and repeated at this crew's pre-start briefing.
•Fall arrest event: if a scaffolder falls onto the harness, call 000 immediately. The crew implements the rescue sequence briefed at pre-start, reaching the suspended worker from the nearest completed platform or by ladder within minutes; no worker is left suspended awaiting the ambulance. Any deployed harness and lanyard is withdrawn from service.
•Struck-by or crush injury during lifting: stop all plant, make the area safe, call 000, and provide first aid without moving the injured person unless they are in danger.
•Scaffold instability discovered at any stage: clear the scaffold and the exclusion zone, prevent access, and do not resume until the supervisor has assessed and rectified the cause.
•Contact or near-contact with the overhead line: stop work, keep everyone clear, and call the electricity distributor's emergency line and 000 before anything else moves.
•All incidents and near misses are reported to the supervisor and Harber Constructions. Notifiable incidents are reported to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland and the scene preserved.
9. Monitoring, Review & Consultation
•The supervisor confirms compliance with this SWMS at each day's pre-start and stops work if it is not being followed; under reg 300 of the WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) the work must not continue except in accordance with this statement.
•This SWMS is reviewed and revised under reg 302 whenever the configuration, the ground conditions, the plant, or the weather limits change, and before dismantling begins.
•The crew was consulted in preparing this SWMS at the pre-contract planning meeting and signs on below; any scaffolder can stop the job to raise a concern.
•A copy of this SWMS is kept in the site shed and available for inspection until the scaffolding work on this project is complete, under reg 303.
10. Applicable Legislation & Standards
•Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
•Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): reg 291 (high risk construction work), reg 299 (SWMS required), reg 300 (comply), reg 301 (copy to principal contractor), reg 302 (review), reg 303 (keep), reg 81 and Schedule 3 (high risk work licences), regs 78 and 79 (managing the risk of falls), regs 44 to 47 (PPE), regs 316 and 317 (general construction induction)
•AS/NZS 4576 (guidelines for scaffolding)
•AS/NZS 1891 (industrial fall-arrest systems and devices)
•Queensland electrical safety legislation for overhead line exclusion distances (administered separately from the WHS Regulation)
11. Worker Sign-Off & Acknowledgement
Each person below confirms they have read and understood this SWMS, had the opportunity to ask questions, and agree to carry out the work in accordance with it.
Scaffold supervisor - Alana Reid, Redgate Scaffolds Pty Ltd (SI)
Signature: ________________________ Date: ____________________
Scaffolder 1 (SB)
Signature: ________________________ Date: ____________________
Scaffolder 2 (SB)
Signature: ________________________ Date: ____________________