Concrete Driveway & Footpath SWMS

Concrete driveway and footpath construction involves excavation, formwork, reinforcement placement, concrete delivery by agitator truck or line pump, screeding, finishing and curing — frequently within the road reserve or immediately adjacent to trafficked carriageways, driveways and pedestrian thoroughfares. Workers are exposed to moving vehicles, powered mobile plant (skid steers, mini-excavators, plate compactors, concrete pumps), wet cement causing chemical burns and dermatitis, respirable crystalline silica during cutting or grinding, manual handling of formwork and mesh, and struck-by risks from pump hoses and delivery chutes.

This work is High Risk Construction Work under section 291 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) because it is performed adjacent to a traffic corridor in use (s291(n)) and involves the movement of powered mobile plant (s291(o)). Section 299 therefore requires a Safe Work Method Statement to be prepared before work commences, identifying hazards, documenting controls applied through the hierarchy in section 36, and specifying how compliance will be monitored.

Hazards identified

12 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Eliminate live traffic exposure where practicable by full road closure under a Road Occupancy Licence or council permit; where closure is not possible, implement a compliant Traffic Guidance Scheme prepared by a TfNSW-accredited person under AS 1742.3 and the TfNSW Traffic Control at Work Sites Technical Manual.
2. 2Substitute dry cutting with wet-cut saws or on-tool water suppression / H-class HEPA extraction to control respirable crystalline silica below the WES of 0.05 mg/m³ (8-hr TWA); prohibit dry sweeping.
3. 3Engineer separation between workers and powered mobile plant using physical exclusion zones, spotters with two-way radios, reversing alarms and 360° camera systems; enforce a 3 m no-go zone around slewing plant per AS 2601.
4. 4Locate underground services using Before You Dig Australia (BYDA / Dial Before You Dig), pothole with hand tools or non-destructive digging within 500 mm of identified assets, and comply with SafeWork NSW Excavation Work Code of Practice.
5. 5Batter, bench or shore excavations deeper than 1.5 m in accordance with AS 2865; keep spoil and plant back from the crown by at least the excavation depth.
6. 6Concrete pumping operations to comply with AS 2550.15; secure end hose with two personnel where required, purge air from lines before pumping, and maintain 24 m radial exclusion during boom whip risk.
7. 7Provide task lighting, edge protection around excavations, and clear walkways free of reo mesh trip hazards; use timber walk boards over placed reinforcement.
8. 8Implement heat stress management with scheduled hydration breaks, shade, work/rest cycles per the SafeWork NSW Managing the Risks of Working in Heat Guide, and start pours early to avoid peak radiant heat.
9. 9Administrative controls: pre-start briefings referencing this SWMS, daily plant pre-operational checks, Traffic Controller (Blue Card/RIIWHS205) verification, high-visibility Class D/N garments to AS/NZS 4602.1, and licensed concrete pump operator (HRWL where applicable).
10. 10PPE: chemical-resistant gloves and gumboots (AS/NZS 2161.10.1 / AS/NZS 2210.3) for wet concrete contact, P2 respirators fit-tested to AS/NZS 1715 during cutting/grinding, safety eyewear to AS/NZS 1337.1, Class 5 hearing protection to AS/NZS 1270, and SPF50+ sunscreen.
11. 11All workers to hold CPCCWHS1001 (White Card); consult workers and HSRs under section 47 of the WHS Act 2011 (NSW) during SWMS development; review and revise the SWMS under section 302 of the WHS Regulation 2025 whenever controls fail, the work method changes, a notifiable incident occurs, or an HSR requests review.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

A concreting crew in Penrith is engaged to demolish and reinstate a 42 m² residential vehicle crossing on a suburban collector road. Because the work occupies the layback and encroaches on the trafficked lane, the principal contractor obtains a Road Occupancy Licence from Penrith City Council and deploys a TGS designed by an accredited TfNSW TC1 person, including advance signage, tapered lane closure and two Blue Card traffic controllers. Before excavation, BYDA plans are obtained and the crew potholes by hand within 500 mm of a marked Jemena gas main. The skid steer operator works within a physically delineated exclusion zone with a dedicated spotter. Concrete is placed by boom pump; the two-person end-hose rule is enforced and workers wear chemical-resistant gauntlets, P2 respirators during saw-cutting of the existing slab (wet-cut with on-tool water), Class D/N hi-vis and hearing protection. The SWMS is signed on by all workers at the pre-start and reviewed after a near-miss when a vehicle breaches the taper.

Related legislation

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)
• Roads Act 1993 (NSW) — road opening permits and works within the road reserve
• Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW) — Road Occupancy Licences and traffic control
• Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW) — concrete washout and stormwater
• Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) — development consent conditions

Frequently asked questions