Kerb Machine Extrusion SWMS

Kerb machine extrusion involves operating a self-propelled slip-form kerb extruder to place continuous concrete kerb, channel, or barrier profiles along roadways, car parks, and subdivisions. The work routinely occurs adjacent to live or partially controlled traffic, involves concrete delivery vehicles reversing in tight corridors, and combines high-torque rotating augers with manual handling of mould components, reinforcement, and finishing tools. Under WHS Regulation 2011 r291 (and equivalent state instruments), this activity is classified as High Risk Construction Work because it involves mobile powered plant, work on or adjacent to a road used by traffic other than pedestrians, and exposure to substances hazardous to health. A documented Safe Work Method Statement is therefore mandatory before work commences, must be developed in consultation with workers, kept on site, and accessible to inspectors. This SWMS addresses the full extrusion cycle from machine set-up and stringline establishment through to clean-down and traffic management dismantling.

Hazards identified

7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Elimination — Where alignment permits, pre-cast kerb units in lieu of in-situ extrusion to remove mobile plant and traffic interface from the live road corridor entirely.
2. 2Elimination — Schedule extrusion runs during full road closures or out-of-hours windows to eliminate the live traffic interface for the duration of the pour.
3. 3Substitution — Replace dry-sweeping of waste concrete with wet methods or HEPA-filtered M-class vacuum to substitute the silica dust generation pathway.
4. 4Engineering — Install Type 2 longitudinal traffic barriers (AS/NZS 3845.1) between work area and live lanes; maintain minimum 1.2 m lateral clearance from machine envelope.
5. 5Engineering — Fit and verify auger guards, emergency-stop pull cords along both sides of the extruder, and audible reversing alarms on all delivery plant before start-up.
6. 6Engineering — Establish one-way agitator truck circulation with a dedicated turnaround pad, removing the need for reversing within 6 metres of any worker on foot.
7. 7Administrative — Implement a Traffic Management Plan (AS 1742.3) with accredited traffic controllers, documented spotter protocols, and exclusion zones marked by witches hats and bunting.
8. 8Administrative — Conduct pre-start toolbox using this SWMS, verify operator HR licence and plant familiarisation, and prohibit any worker entering the 3 m machine exclusion zone while tracks are powered.
9. 9Administrative — Rotate operators every two hours to manage fatigue and vibration exposure; record sign-on, sign-off, and any SWMS amendments in the site daily diary.
10. 10PPE — Class D/N hi-vis garments (AS/NZS 4602.1), impervious nitrile-lined gloves, sealed safety eyewear, P2 respirators when cutting, and steel-capped gumboots rated to AS/NZS 2210.3.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

On a suburban arterial road upgrade in an outer-metropolitan growth corridor, a kerb crew is scheduled to extrude 180 metres of barrier kerb along a partially closed northbound lane. At the 6:30 am pre-start, the leading hand opens this SWMS on a tablet and walks the four-person crew through each hazard line in turn. When discussing the agitator-truck reversing hazard, the operator notes the proposed turnaround pad sits on soft shoulder; the crew amends the SWMS on the spot to relocate the pad onto compacted hardstand 15 metres further south and records the change with initials and time. The traffic controller confirms the AS 1742.3 taper is installed and Type 2 barriers seated against the longitudinal lane line. Each worker signs the SWMS sign-on register acknowledging the 3 m exclusion zone around the extruder tracks and the no-reversing rule within the active work area. Mid-shift, a thunderstorm reduces visibility; the leading hand pauses work, retrieves the SWMS, and adds a wet-weather trigger requiring additional lighting and reduced agitator approach speed. Workers re-sign the amended document before resuming. At pack-up, the SWMS is filed into the site daily records, with the silica-cutting log appended because two kerb returns were saw-cut for a driveway transition, satisfying the Code of Practice record-keeping duty for respirable crystalline silica exposure events.

Related legislation

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

Frequently asked questions