Traffic Signal Installation SWMS

Traffic signal installation involves erecting mast arms and signal heads, terminating high-voltage supply and low-voltage detector cabling into roadside controllers, and commissioning phasing on active carriageways. Crews work from elevating work platforms above live traffic lanes, excavate for footings and conduit near buried services, handle energised 240/415 V mains from the Level 1 ASP connection, and expose themselves to moving plant, sustained noise, ultraviolet radiation and the ergonomic loads of lifting cast-iron pit lids and signal poles. The confluence of live electrical work, roadside exposure and mobile plant means a single lapse in isolation, spotting or traffic control can be fatal.

Under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW), this task is high risk construction work under section 291(k) — work on or near energised electrical installations or services — and section 291(n) — work on, in or adjacent to a road or other traffic corridor in use. Section 299 therefore requires a SWMS prepared before work commences, with controls applied through the hierarchy in section 36: eliminate exposure to live conductors and live traffic where reasonably practicable, then substitute, engineer, administer and finally rely on PPE.

Hazards identified

12 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Eliminate live work: de-energise the controller supply at the Level 1 ASP point of attachment, apply personal danger locks and tags, and verify dead with a two-pole tester tested-before-and-after in accordance with AS/NZS 4836 before terminating.
2. 2Substitute daytime lane closures with full intersection shutdowns during low-volume windows agreed with Transport for NSW, so signal heads and mast arms are installed without live traffic beneath the EWP.
3. 3Engineer a compliant Traffic Guidance Scheme prepared by an accredited TfNSW TGS designer to AS 1742.3, deploying Type 1 barriers or water-filled barriers to physically separate workers from traffic wherever the buffer allows.
4. 4Engineer excavation safety by obtaining Before You Dig Australia (BYDA) plans, hand-proving all services within 500 mm using non-conductive tools, and locating with an EMI locator and GPR in accordance with AS 5488 before mechanical excavation.
5. 5Engineer fall protection: use an EWP rated for the reach envelope with operators holding HRWL WP licence, harness and lanyard anchored to the manufacturer's designated point per AS/NZS 1891.4, and maintain 6.4 m exclusion from overhead conductors under the SafeWork NSW Code of Practice: Work near overhead power lines.
6. 6Engineer dust controls for concrete cutting — on-tool water suppression or H-class HEPA extraction to AS/NZS 60335.2.69 — with air monitoring against the 0.05 mg/m³ workplace exposure standard for RCS.
7. 7Administer an asbestos register review and, where ACM is suspected in pit lids or duct mastic, engage a licensed removalist under the SafeWork NSW Code of Practice: How to safely remove asbestos before disturbance.
8. 8Administer roadside high-visibility requirements: Class D/N garments to AS/NZS 4602.1, dedicated spotter with radio for every EWP movement, and stop/slow bat operators trained under the TfNSW Traffic Controller accreditation scheme.
9. 9Administer electrical testing and commissioning by a licensed NSW electrician; issue a Certificate of Compliance Electrical Work (CCEW) under the Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2004 (NSW) and lodge with the DNSP before re-energisation.
10. 10Provide PPE: arc-rated Category 2 clothing for controller work, insulated gloves tested to AS 2225, safety footwear to AS/NZS 2210.3, hearing protection to AS/NZS 1270, P2 respirators to AS/NZS 1716, and UV-rated eyewear.
11. 11Establish emergency response: rescue plan for EWP recovery, low-voltage rescue kit and CPR-trained worker on site per AS 3760, and pre-briefed contact with the nearest hospital.
12. 12All workers hold White Card (CPCCWHS1001); the SWMS is developed in consultation with workers under section 47 of the WHS Act 2011 (NSW), signed on before commencement, and reviewed under section 302 of the WHS Regulation 2025 (NSW) whenever controls change, an incident occurs, or the TGS is amended.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

A Level 2 ASP electrical contractor is engaged by a Tier 1 civil principal to install six new signal poles, mast arms and a Type P controller at the intersection of Parramatta Road and Church Street, Parramatta. The scope includes trenching across two lanes, coring a controller pad, erecting 8 m poles with a truck-mounted crane, and terminating the 415 V supply from a new Ausgrid pillar. Because works occur on an active arterial and involve energised connection, the contractor prepares this SWMS citing sections 291(k) and 291(n), designs a night-shift TGS to AS 1742.3 with concrete barriers on the buffer, isolates the supply at the pillar and applies personal locks before termination, uses BYDA plans and hand-proving to clear Jemena gas and Telstra assets, and lodges a CCEW with Ausgrid prior to energisation. The SWMS is signed on by all six workers at pre-start and reviewed under section 302 when the TGS is amended to accommodate a bus route diversion.

Related legislation

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)
• Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2004 (NSW)
• Electricity Supply (Safety and Network Management) Regulation 2024 (NSW)
• Roads Act 1993 (NSW)
• Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW)

Frequently asked questions