Road Safety Barrier Installation SWMS

Road safety barrier installation covers the installation of road safety barriers — installing guardrail, wire-rope and concrete safety barriers along roads, including driving the posts and fixing the barrier. The defining hazards are the road traffic on the adjacent carriageway, the powered mobile plant and post driver, the manual handling of heavy barrier components, and the post driving. This document is written on the basis that road safety barrier installation is carried out with the traffic, plant, manual-handling and post-driving controls in place.

Road safety barrier installation is carried out as construction work in connection with the plant and traffic requirements, with the road traffic managed, the post driver and plant operated safely, the heavy barrier components handled safely, and the post driving managed. Because the work is on or adjacent to a road and in an area of powered mobile plant movement, it is high risk construction work. The traffic, the plant, the manual handling, and the post driving are the considerations. This document coordinates the traffic, plant, manual-handling and post-driving controls so the road safety barrier installation is carried out safely.

Hazards identified

9 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Engineering: 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.
2. 2Engineering: use the road and civil plant — pavers, rollers, profilers, graders, rigs and trucks — safely to the plant requirements and the manufacturer's instructions, with guarding, pre-operational checks, competent operators and the plant maintained.
3. 3Engineering: 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.
4. 4Engineering: manage the post driving and post driver with a procedure, keeping clear of the driver, and locate and avoid underground and overhead services before driving posts.
5. 5Administrative: 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.
6. 6Engineering: separate pedestrians and powered mobile plant with designated routes, exclusion zones, spotters and a traffic management plan, because pedestrian and plant interaction is a leading cause of serious injury on civil sites.
7. 7Engineering: manage the wire-rope tensioning safely, and manage the lifting and placement of concrete barriers with rated equipment and exclusion.
8. 8Engineering: control the noise from the plant and equipment with hearing protection and, where practicable, lower-noise plant and methods.
9. 9Administrative: because the work is on, in or adjacent to a road or traffic corridor in use by traffic other than pedestrians, prepare a SWMS for the high risk construction work before it commences, with the traffic management implemented.
10. 10Administrative: because the work is carried out in an area in which there is movement of powered mobile plant, prepare a SWMS for the high risk construction work before it commences, with the pedestrian and plant separation implemented.
11. 11Administrative: 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.
12. 12Administrative: 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.
13. 13Administrative: 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.
14. 14PPE: 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.
15. 15Administrative: 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.
16. 16Administrative: 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

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

A barrier crew is engaged to install road safety barriers along a road. The road traffic on the adjacent carriageway is managed with a traffic management plan and accredited traffic controllers. The post driver and plant are operated safely, and pedestrians and the plant separated. The heavy barrier components are handled with mechanical aids and team lifting. The post driving and post driver are managed with a procedure, keeping clear of the driver, and underground and overhead services located and avoided before driving posts. The wire-rope tensioning is managed safely, and the lifting and placement of concrete barriers managed with rated equipment and exclusion. The noise is controlled. Because the work is on a road and in an area of powered mobile plant movement, a SWMS is prepared for the high risk construction work. The safety 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