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• SWMS template · mobile crane lifting operations

Crane and lifting SWMS template Australia

A crane lift is the one job where everyone on site stops to watch, and the one where the SWMS most often just says 'follow the lift plan'. The lift plan is one control. The SWMS has to say how the ground was checked, where the exclusion zone is, who directs, and what happens when the wind picks up. This page shows what a crane and lifting SWMS should contain.

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When a crane and lifting SWMS is the right document

HRCW categories: work in an area with movement of powered mobile plant; risk of a fall greater than 2 m for anyone receiving a load; work on or near energised electrical services when the boom can reach a line; tilt-up or precast concrete; and work on or adjacent to a road when the crane sits on the street. Model WHS regulation 291 and Schedule 3.

  • Mobile slewing cranes and Frannas on construction sites.
  • Crane trucks (vehicle loading cranes) delivering trusses, frames, glass or plant.
  • Tower crane interfaces for trades receiving loads on a deck.
  • Lifts over public footpaths or roads: add a traffic guidance scheme.

The SWMS must describe the actual lift: load weights, radius, ground conditions, the exclusion zone and the sequence. A generic 'crane operations' SWMS with no numbers will not survive an inspector's visit. Full list of categories on the HRCW checklist.

Filled example: roof truss lift onto a two-storey house, Ballarat VIC

Twenty-eight prefabricated trusses, heaviest 380 kg, lifted in bundles with a 25 t slewing crane parked on the street. Top plate at 6.2 m. Overhead service line to the neighbour's house, 8 m from the crane. Victoria, so the document cites the OHS Act 2004 and OHS Regulations 2017 and Energy Safe Victoria's No Go Zone rules. The carpenters receiving trusses are on the carpentry SWMS; this document is the lift.

Job / task
Lift 28 roof trusses in bundles onto a two-storey frame, 25 t slewing crane
Site
New residential build, Ballarat VIC 3350
Document
SWMS · HRCW: mobile plant, fall > 2 m, work near power lines · example only
PPE
Hard hat, hi-vis, steel-caps, gloves, glasses; harness for carpenters on the top plate

Example layout — not a copy-paste legal document. Residual risk while a bundle is suspended stays High. Unloading truss bundles at ground level with a forklift and no crane is a different document.

StepHazardsControls5×5 risk
1. Verify the lift plan, position the crane on the street and set outriggers
Responsible: Crane operator (C2) / lift supervisor
  • Outrigger on a stormwater pit lid or soft nature strip
  • Boom within the No Go Zone of the neighbour's service line
  • Pedestrians and cars on a live suburban street
  • Ground checked; pit located and avoided; outriggers on timber mats; crane levelled and load chart confirmed for 380 kg at 18 m radius
  • Slew limiter set; spotter posted; boom never slews toward the service line; 6.4 m No Go Zone marked with bunting
  • Council permit and traffic guidance scheme in place; footpath closed; two traffic controllers
InitialL3×C5 = 15 High
ResidualL2×C5 = 10 High
2. Sling truss bundles at the delivery truck
Responsible: Dogger (DG)
  • Bundle slipping out of the slings or spreading
  • Crush between bundles on the truck
  • Slings damaged or the wrong rated capacity
  • Slings at the manufacturer's marked lifting points; spreader bar; strap tensioned before the lift
  • Dogger on the ground, not on the truck bed, once the load is on the hook
  • Slings inspected and tagged; WLL confirmed against the bundle weight
InitialL3×C5 = 15 High
ResidualL2×C4 = 8 High
3. Lift bundles over the frame and land on the top plate
Responsible: Dogger / carpenters receiving
  • Load swinging into the carpenters at 6.2 m
  • Fall over 2 m while reaching for the load on the top plate
  • Load passing over the neighbour's yard and the street
  • Taglines on both ends; load lowered to waist height before anyone touches it; one dogger directs by radio
  • Carpenters clipped to the temporary anchor; work platform at the landing point; nobody stands on the top plate
  • Lift path planned over the site only; exclusion zone under the swing; nobody under a suspended load
InitialL4×C5 = 20 Critical
ResidualL2×C5 = 10 High
4. Stow the crane, reopen the street and record the lifts
Responsible: Lift supervisor
  • Wind gusts during the last bundles
  • Outrigger retraction with people close
  • Traffic controllers stood down before the crane is off the road
  • Stop at 38 km/h gusts per the crane's chart; bundles landed and unhooked before packing up
  • Exclusion zone kept while outriggers retract; operator confirms clear
  • Traffic guidance scheme stays in place until the crane has left; lift register signed
InitialL3×C4 = 12 High
ResidualL1×C4 = 4 Medium

Related documents on the same lift

The steel or trusses being received are on the steel erection SWMS and carpentry SWMS pages. A crane parked on a live road needs the traffic control SWMS as well. Generate one document per crew and reference the lift plan in each.

Frequently asked questions

Is a crane lift high-risk construction work?

A mobile crane is powered mobile plant, so work in the area where it moves is HRCW. Slinging or landing loads over 2 m up is a fall risk. A boom within reach of overhead lines is work near energised electrical services. Lifting tilt-up or precast panels is named outright. Almost every construction crane lift needs a SWMS.

Which high-risk work licences apply?

Slewing mobile cranes: C2 (up to 20 t), C6 (up to 60 t), C1 (up to 100 t) or C0 (open). Non-slewing cranes such as a Franna over 3 t: CN. Anyone slinging the load or directing the crane needs a dogging (DG) licence. Complex lifts involving rigging equipment beyond standard slinging need a rigger (RB, RI or RA). Vehicle loading cranes over 10 metre-tonnes: CV. Name them in the SWMS.

Does the crane hire company's SWMS cover my crew?

Their SWMS covers their operator and their crane. Your SWMS covers your people working around it: where they stand, who tags the load, who receives it at height, and how the drop zone is kept clear. Both should reference the same lift plan.

How close can a crane work to power lines?

Each state sets no-go zones and approach distances by voltage and whether a spotter is used. In NSW, for example, plant must stay 3 m from lines up to 132 kV unless the network operator agrees otherwise; Victoria uses its No Go Zone framework with 6.4 m for uninsulated lines without a spotter. The SWMS has to state the distance for this site and this line, and the generator inserts the state rule.

Is a crane 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, and the OHS Act 2004 and OHS Regulations 2017 for Victoria. Licence classes are national.

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