Articulated Dump Truck (ADT) Operations SWMS

Articulated Dump Truck (ADT) operations involve the haulage of bulk spoil, overburden, ore and construction material across civil earthworks, quarries and surface mines using high-capacity articulated machines, typically in the 25–60 tonne payload class. The work routinely involves loaded travel on temporary haul roads, tipping at edge protection, reversing into load and dump points, and operating in close proximity to excavators, dozers and ground crew. Under WHS Regulation 2011 r291, operating powered mobile plant of this scale is classified as High Risk Construction Work, and the PCBU must prepare a Safe Work Method Statement before work commences. The combination of large blind spots, articulation roll-over geometry, variable haul road condition and interaction with other plant means a generic plant SWMS is inadequate — a task-specific document covering load, haul, dump and return cycles is mandatory. This SWMS provides the structured hazard identification, hierarchy-of-control treatment, and sign-on framework required to discharge that duty.

Hazards identified

7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.

1. 1Elimination — Where geometry permits, design haul road and dump sequence so tipping occurs on flat consolidated pads with no requirement to reverse to an unprotected edge.
2. 2Elimination — Prohibit any person on foot within the ADT operating envelope during load, haul, tip and return cycles by enforcing exclusion zones.
3. 3Substitution — Replace edge tipping with paddock dumping followed by dozer push where tip-head stability cannot be guaranteed by geotechnical assessment.
4. 4Engineering — Fit and verify operation of reversing camera, 360-degree surround vision, audible reversing alarm and proximity detection system before each shift.
5. 5Engineering — Construct compacted windrows at tip heads to a minimum half-wheel height of the largest ADT operating, inspected daily by supervisor.
6. 6Engineering — Maintain haul road geometry to maximum 1:10 sustained grade, crowned for drainage, with passing bays and signed speed limits per site traffic management plan.
7. 7Administrative — Conduct pre-start inspection using manufacturer checklist, lock articulation joint before any inter-machine work, and isolate per AS 4024.1 prior to maintenance.
8. 8Administrative — Implement positive communication protocol on dedicated UHF channel between ADT operator, loader operator and spotter before reversing into load or dump position.
9. 9Administrative — Apply fatigue management plan limiting consecutive shifts, mandating rest breaks and prohibiting solo operation during low-light hours without supervisor check-in.
10. 10PPE — Operators and ground personnel to wear high-visibility long-sleeve shirt to AS/NZS 4602.1, safety helmet to AS/NZS 1801, steel-cap boots, and P2 respirator when exiting cabin in dusty areas.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

On a regional highway bulk earthworks project, a production supervisor runs the pre-start brief at the laydown area for two ADT operators and a loader operator commencing a 14,000 cubic metre cut-to-fill shift. The supervisor walks the crew through this SWMS on a tablet, starting with the tip-head roll-over hazard. The crew confirms the geotechnical sign-off for the southern fill platform from the previous evening and identifies that windrow height was measured at 1.4 metres against an ADT wheel radius of 1.1 metres — control satisfied. They review the reversing collision hazard and agree the UHF channel, with the loader operator nominated as primary spotter at the load point and a dedicated ground spotter at the tip head. Each operator signs the SWMS on the tablet. Mid-shift, light rain begins and the haul road descent develops surface rutting. The supervisor pauses operations, returns the crew to the SWMS, and applies the documented engineering control by directing the grader to re-sheet and crown the descent before haulage resumes. The SWMS is amended in the field with a dated note recording the weather-triggered control change, re-signed by both operators, and the original retained with the project safety file for the statutory two-year minimum, or longer where a notifiable incident occurs.

Related legislation

• WHS Act 2011 (model)
• WHS Regulation 2025
• AS 2550 — Cranes, hoists and winches; AS 1418 series

Frequently asked questions