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Concreting SWMS template Australia

A slab pour looks routine until you list what is actually on site: agitator trucks reversing, a boom pump under power lines, protruding starter bars, and a crew grinding and cutting cured concrete into silica dust. Most of that sits inside Schedule 3. This page shows what a concreting SWMS should actually say.

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When a concreting SWMS is the right document

Concreting hits Schedule 3 through the plant and the surroundings more than the concrete itself. Agitator trucks and pumps are powered mobile plant. A boom pump within the no-go zone of overhead lines is work near energised electrical services. Tilt-up and precast panels are named outright. Footing trenches over 1.5 m are their own category.

Write the SWMS for the pour you are actually doing. A 400 m² warehouse slab with a boom pump is a different document from a house slab barrowed off the truck. Full list of categories on the high-risk construction work checklist.

Powered mobile plant: agitators, boom and line pumps, skid steers, laser screeds.
Precast and tilt-up panels: erection, bracing, and the exclusion zone until the panels are fixed.
Silica: saw cuts, grinding, coring and polishing of cured concrete.
Alkaline burns, rebar impalement, heat and manual handling: not HRCW categories, still in the SWMS.

Filled example: warehouse slab pour with a boom pump, Dandenong South VIC

In-situ slab for a small warehouse, poured with a 36 m boom pump, three agitators cycling through a shared driveway, and a power line along the front boundary. Victoria, so the document cites the OHS Act 2004 and OHS Regulations 2017 rather than the model WHS Regulations. Different from the footing trench on the excavation SWMS page.

Job / task: Pour and finish 420 m² ground slab, 36 m boom pump, 3 agitators
Site: Industrial subdivision, Dandenong South VIC 3175
Document: SWMS · HRCW: powered mobile plant, work near power lines · example only
PPE: Hard hat, hi-vis, gumboots, long sleeves, glasses, nitrile-lined gloves, P2 for saw cuts

Example layout — not a copy-paste legal document. Residual risk at the hopper and under the boom stays High while the pour runs. Ground-floor formwork stripping under 2 m with no plant on site could be a JSA; this pour is not.

Step	Hazards	Controls	5×5 risk
1. Set up truck route, pump position and exclusion zones before the first agitator arrives Responsible: Site supervisor	Reversing agitators in a shared driveway with other trades Boom slewing into the no-go zone of the front-boundary power line Outrigger punch-through on uncompacted fill	One-way truck route marked with cones; a spotter in hi-vis for every reverse Pump set up so the boom cannot reach the line; spotter watching the boom, no slewing toward the boundary Outriggers fully extended on timber pads over compacted ground; pump operator signs off the set-up	InitialL4×C5 = 20 Critical ResidualL2×C5 = 10 High
2. Prime the line and start the pour Responsible: Pump operator / leading hand	Hose whip at a blockage or when air is in the line Concrete splash in eyes and alkaline burns on skin Crew standing between the hopper and a reversing truck	Only the hose hand within 3 m of the delivery hose; everyone else clear until the line is charged Glasses and gloves on; eyewash bottle at the pump; wet skin rinsed immediately Hopper exclusion zone taped; trucks stop until the spotter waves them in	InitialL4×C4 = 16 Critical ResidualL2×C4 = 8 High
3. Screed, vibrate and float the slab Responsible: Concreter	Trips and falls onto exposed starter bars along the walls Hand-arm vibration from the poker vibrator Heat stress on a 32 °C afternoon pour	Caps on every protruding bar before the pour; kept on until the walls are formed Rotate the vibrator between two people; anti-vibration gloves; log the trigger time Water and shade at the edge; buddy checks; pour started at 6 am to beat the heat	InitialL3×C4 = 12 High ResidualL2×C3 = 6 Medium
4. Saw-cut control joints and wash out the pump next day Responsible: Concreter	Respirable crystalline silica from the joint saw Noise from the saw in an enclosed shed Washout slurry into the stormwater pit	Wet-cut only with water feed running; P2 respirator and hearing protection; no dry cutting on this site Cut early before other trades are in the shed; hearing protection zone signed Washout into a lined bund; pump washout in the designated area, not the driveway	InitialL4×C4 = 16 Critical ResidualL2×C3 = 6 Medium

What the generator changes for concreting

Tell it the pour method (boom pump, line pump, barrow, kibble), whether precast is involved, and the state. It writes the plant interface steps, silica controls that match the 2024 crystalline silica rules, and the right Act and Regulation references. Formwork that goes in before the pour is on the carpentry and formwork SWMS page. Not sure the job is HRCW at all? Read SWMS vs JSA.

Frequently asked questions

Is concreting high-risk construction work?

Often, yes. Model WHS regulation 291 and Schedule 3 list work in an area with movement of powered mobile plant (agitators, pumps, skid steers), tilt-up or precast concrete, work near energised electrical services (a boom near overhead lines), and trenches deeper than 1.5 m for footings. If any of those apply to your pour, you need a SWMS before work starts.

Does a concrete pump need its own SWMS?

The pump operator usually brings their own SWMS for the pump. Your SWMS still has to cover how your crew works around it: the exclusion zone at the hopper, hose whip at a blockage, the boom position relative to power lines, and who is the spotter. Two documents that each assume the other one has it covered is how people get hurt.

What about silica dust from cutting and grinding concrete?

Cutting, grinding, drilling and polishing concrete is processing a crystalline silica substance. Since September 2024 the model WHS Regulations require controls such as water suppression or on-tool extraction, a respirator, and for high-risk processing a written silica risk control plan and air monitoring. Your SWMS should say which of those apply to the saw cuts and grinding on this job.

Is a concreting SWMS valid in NSW, VIC, QLD and WA?

The generator cites the WHS Act and Regulations for NSW, QLD, WA and the other model-WHS states. Victoria uses the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and Regulations 2017, which have their own high-risk construction work list and silica rules. Pick the state when you generate and the references follow.

Do I need a SWMS for a small domestic driveway?

If an agitator truck is moving in the work area, or a line pump is running, the powered mobile plant category can still apply. Housing is not exempt from Schedule 3. A driveway barrowed by hand with no plant on site is closer to a JSA.

Write the concreting SWMS for this pour

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