Stage / Truss Load-In (Heavy Touring Events) SWMS

Stage and truss load-in for heavy touring events involves the rapid assembly of overhead grid structures, motor hoists, lighting trusses, video walls, and PA arrays inside stadiums and arenas — typically on compressed schedules of 6 to 12 hours before doors open. The work routinely involves crews working at heights above 2 metres, ground riggers handling shackled loads beneath suspended trusses, and motor operators flying multi-tonne grids with dynamic loading from performers and effects. Under WHS Regulation 2011 r291 and equivalent state instruments, this work meets the threshold for High Risk Construction Work due to the combination of work at height, risk of falling objects, and use of powered mobile plant in occupied venues. A documented Safe Work Method Statement is mandatory before any rigging activity commences, must be developed in consultation with workers, and must remain accessible on site for the duration of the bump-in, show, and strike cycle. This template addresses the touring-specific risk profile where unfamiliar venues, fatigued crews, and unforgiving production schedules amplify standard rigging hazards.

Hazards identified

7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Elimination — Pre-rig trusses at ground level with motors, fixtures, and cabling before flying to trim, eliminating the need for crew on truss at height wherever practicable.
2. 2Elimination — Remove all non-essential personnel from the fly zone during motor lifts using an exclusion barrier and dedicated spotter at each corner.
3. 3Substitution — Use self-climbing tower systems or ground-supported truss for shows where venue grid loading is marginal, substituting flown rigging with mechanically stable alternatives.
4. 4Engineering — Verify all motors carry current WLL tags, secondary safeties (steels) rated to load, and that bridle calculations are signed off by the advancing rigger before lift.
5. 5Engineering — Install hard barricades and laser-marked exclusion zones beneath flown grids during motor movement, with audible motor-up/motor-down calls on radio channel 1.
6. 6Administrative — Conduct documented pre-start toolbox each load-in referencing this SWMS, rigging plot, weight summary, and venue point loads with sign-on by every crew member.
7. 7Administrative — Enforce maximum 14-hour shift caps with 10-hour minimum break between bump-out and next-city bump-in, logged on tour fatigue register per r56.
8. 8Administrative — Restrict motor operation, point loading, and high rigging to ETCP-certified or equivalently competent riggers holding current RB/RI High Risk Work Licences under r85.
9. 9PPE — Mandatory hard hat (AS/NZS 1801), Class 5 hi-vis (AS/NZS 4602.1), steel cap boots (AS/NZS 2210.3), and gloves for all crew on deck during rigging activity.
10. 10PPE — Full body harness (AS/NZS 1891.1) with twin shock-absorbing lanyards, used 100% tied-off above 2m, inspected pre-shift and tagged out if any defect identified.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

At a 14,000-seat regional arena bump-in for a touring rock production, the head rigger opens the pre-start at 06:30 with the full crew of 22 stagehands, 4 riggers, and the production manager gathered on the deck. He projects the rigging plot, weight summary, and this SWMS onto the upstage video wall and walks through the seven identified hazards in sequence. When discussing falling objects, he points to the painted exclusion zone already taped on the deck and confirms the spotter assignments by name. A stagehand raises that the venue floor is still damp from overnight cleaning — the rigger immediately adds a hazard control, delaying forklift movement on the affected quadrant until the floor is squeegeed and signed off by the venue duty manager. Each crew member signs the SWMS attendance sheet on a tablet, with their high-risk work licence numbers captured for the rigging team. Mid-morning, when a chain motor reads an unexpected load discrepancy on the LCD load cell, the head rigger halts the lift, refers back to the engineering control in the SWMS requiring re-verification of bridle calculations, and brings down the truss to re-shackle. The SWMS document is then annotated with the deviation and re-signed by affected crew before the lift resumes, demonstrating the document functioning as a live control instrument rather than a filed compliance artefact.

Related legislation

• WHS Act 2011 (model)
• WHS Regulation 2025
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces CoP

Frequently asked questions