Bollard & Barrier Installation SWMS
Safe Work Method Statement covering the key hazards and control measures for bollard & barrier installation.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Bollard and barrier installation covers the installation of bollards and barriers — installing protective bollards, barriers and posts in car parks, public areas and along roads, including fixing into the pavement. The defining hazards are the manual handling of heavy bollards and barriers, the fixing into the pavement with its silica, any road and pedestrian traffic, and the plant. This document is written on the basis that bollard and barrier installation is carried out with the manual-handling, silica, traffic and plant controls in place.
Bollard and barrier installation is carried out as construction work in connection with the construction requirements, with the heavy bollards and barriers handled safely, the fixing into the pavement and any silica controlled, the road and pedestrian traffic managed, and any plant operated safely. Where the work is on or adjacent to a road or involves powered mobile plant movement, it is high risk construction work. The manual handling, the silica, the traffic, and the plant are the considerations. This document coordinates the manual-handling, silica, traffic and plant controls so the bollard and barrier installation is carried out safely.
Hazards identified
9 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Musculoskeletal and crush injury handling heavy bollards and barriers
Silicosis from respirable crystalline silica drilling and cutting the pavement
Being struck by road traffic and managing pedestrians
Service strike when drilling and fixing into the pavement
Injury from the plant and equipment
Burns and injury from the concrete and fixing
Musculoskeletal injury from awkward postures
Injury to and from pedestrians and the public
Injury from the power tools for fixing
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Engineering: use mechanical aids — excavators, cranes, pipe layers and lifting equipment — and team lifting for the heavy pipes, barriers, panels, rolls and materials, and manage the manual-handling and awkward-posture hazard with the hierarchy of controls for hazardous manual tasks.
- 2Engineering: control the respirable crystalline silica from drilling and cutting the pavement at the source with on-tool extraction or water, never dry-cutting uncontrolled, with respiratory protection, recognising the silica exposure standard reduces on 1 December 2026.
- 3Engineering: manage the road traffic with a traffic management plan and traffic guidance scheme, accredited traffic controllers, signage, barriers and speed reduction, separating the workers and plant from the live traffic, because working on or near a live road is a serious hazard.
- 4Administrative: obtain the essential services information before excavating — through Before You Dig Australia for underground assets and the Look Up and Live information for overhead assets — and locate, identify and avoid or isolate the services, because striking a gas, electrical or water service can cause explosion, electrocution or flooding.
- 5Engineering: use the plant, equipment and power tools for fixing safely, and manage the concrete and fixing.
- 6Administrative: manage the awkward postures, and the pedestrians and the public.
- 7Administrative: where the work is on or adjacent to a road or involves powered mobile plant movement, prepare a SWMS for the high risk construction work before it commences.
- 8Administrative: all workers must hold a valid White Card (General Construction Induction Training, CPCCWHS1001), with the plant tickets, traffic control accreditation, confined space, and other competencies required for the work.
- 9Administrative: conduct a pre-start toolbox talk covering the day's work, identified hazards, the traffic and plant movements, required PPE and emergency procedures, and record attendance in the consultation section.
- 10Administrative: consult workers and any health and safety representatives on the work and its risks, record the consultation, and keep this document available at the workplace.
- 11PPE: high-visibility clothing to AS/NZS 4602.1, eye protection, hearing protection where required, gloves appropriate to the task, and Class I or Class II safety footwear with protective toecap to AS/NZS 2210.3.
- 12Administrative: review and update this SWMS whenever the work scope changes, after any incident or near miss, when a worker or health and safety representative raises a concern, when new hazards are identified, or at minimum every 12 months.
- 13Administrative: confirm the work is completed safely, the excavation, plant and area are left in a safe condition, and the site is secured.
Applicable Codes of Practice
The general construction work duties for the civil road work, including the SWMS and principal contractor duties.
The control of respirable crystalline silica from cutting, profiling and milling asphalt, concrete and rock.
The control of the manual handling and awkward postures of the work, including pipes, barriers and materials.
Obtaining the underground and overhead essential services information before excavating or working near services.
The risk management process and hierarchy of controls applied to the hazards of the work.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
The work is carried out on or adjacent to a road in use by traffic other than pedestrians, which is high risk construction work requiring a SWMS and a traffic management plan before the work commences.
The work is carried out in an area in which there is movement of powered mobile plant, which is high risk construction work requiring a SWMS before the work commences.
This is civil construction work that, in the circumstances described, is high risk construction work — involving on, in or adjacent to a road, railway, shipping lane or other traffic corridor in use by traffic other than pedestrians; in an area at a workplace in which there is movement of powered mobile plant — so a SWMS must be prepared before the work commences, kept readily accessible, reviewed as necessary, and given to the principal contractor if one is appointed. The work is carried out in connection with the relevant construction, excavation, traffic, plant and other requirements, with the controls for the specific hazards applied. A failure in this work can cause a fatal trench collapse, traffic, plant, fall, gas or other serious injury, and breaches of the relevant legislation and the primary duty of care under the model WHS Act are actively enforced, with offence categories running from failure-to-comply through to reckless conduct, and the most serious breaches carrying imprisonment for individuals. Body-corporate maxima are substantial and indexed; the current maximum follows the prevailing schedule of the responsible regulator.
Who this is for
- →Crews installing bollards and barriers.
- →Civil, road furniture and construction contractors.
- →Civil and road services businesses.
- →Councils, property owners and PCBUs requiring bollards and barriers.
- →PCBU safety managers and supervisors coordinating the manual-handling, silica and traffic controls.
What you receive
- ✓Editable Microsoft Word document (.docx) fully compatible with Microsoft Word 2016 and newer, Google Docs, and LibreOffice Writer.
- ✓Title page with editable fields for PCBU name, ABN, site or project address, work description, principal contractor details, and document revision date.
- ✓Hazard register with the bollard and barrier installation hazards — each with a documented consequence, inherent risk rating on a 5x5 likelihood-consequence matrix, hierarchy-of-control measures, and residual risk rating.
- ✓Bollard and barrier prompts referencing the construction and silica Codes of Practice, a manual-handling section, a silica and fixing section, and a traffic and services record.
- ✓Licensing and competency prompts for the plant, traffic control, confined space and other work, and a plant pre-operational and inspection checklist where relevant.
- ✓Worker consultation record per the model WHS Act consultation duty and a worker sign-on register (blank, expandable).
- ✓Applicable legislation and Codes of Practice schedule pre-populated for the model WHS jurisdiction with a state-variance reference table covering the harmonised states, plus Victoria.
- ✓Emergency procedure template and a revision log.
Worked example
A crew is engaged to install bollards and barriers in a car park and along a road. The heavy bollards and barriers are handled with mechanical aids and team lifting. The respirable crystalline silica from drilling and cutting the pavement is controlled at the source with on-tool extraction or water, never dry-cutting uncontrolled, with respiratory protection, recognising the silica exposure standard reduces on 1 December 2026. The road and pedestrian traffic are managed with a traffic management plan and traffic control, and pedestrians managed. The underground services are located before drilling and fixing. The plant, equipment and power tools are used safely, and the concrete and fixing managed. The awkward postures, and the pedestrians and public, are managed. Where the work is on or adjacent to a road or involves powered mobile plant movement, a SWMS is prepared for the high risk construction work. The bollards and barriers are installed, the area secured, and the records retained.
Related legislation
- Model Work Health and Safety Act — primary duty of care; the duty to consult workers; the reckless-conduct offence; and notifiable-incident provisions, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
- Model Work Health and Safety Regulations — the construction work, excavation, plant, traffic, confined spaces and falls provisions, and the Section 291 high risk construction work and SWMS duties, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
- The construction work, excavation work, confined spaces and falls Codes of Practice, the traffic management guidance, and the relevant standards such as AS 5100 for bridges and AS 4678 for retaining structures, are called up by the relevant safety legislation for the civil road work.
- Essential services information is obtained through Before You Dig Australia for underground assets and the Look Up and Live information for overhead assets before excavating; plant operation, traffic control and confined space work require the relevant licences, accreditations and competencies.
- Victoria operates under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017, with the construction, excavation, plant and high risk construction work provisions applying in place of the model instruments.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main hazard installing bollards and barriers?
The hazards are the manual handling of heavy bollards and barriers, the silica from fixing into the pavement, the road and pedestrian traffic, and the underground services. These are managed with the manual-handling, silica, traffic and services controls.
Is bollard and barrier installation high risk construction work?
Where the work is on or adjacent to a road or involves powered mobile plant movement, it is high risk construction work requiring a SWMS before the work commences. Bollard and barrier installation triggers the traffic-corridor and powered-mobile-plant high risk construction work categories where those conditions apply.
Is there a silica hazard?
Yes — drilling and cutting the pavement to fix the bollards and barriers releases respirable crystalline silica, which causes silicosis, so it is controlled at the source with on-tool extraction or water, never dry-cutting uncontrolled, recognising the silica exposure standard reduces on 1 December 2026. The silica from fixing into the pavement is controlled in bollard and barrier installation.
How are services protected when fixing?
The underground services are located before drilling and fixing into the pavement, because drilling into a service can cause electrocution, explosion or flooding. Locating the underground services before fixing prevents a service strike.
Who installs bollards and barriers?
Bollard and barrier installation is carried out by competent crews in connection with the construction requirements, with the manual-handling, silica, traffic and plant controls, and a SWMS for the high risk construction work where it applies. The bollards and barriers are installed with the manual handling, silica and traffic managed.