Floor Framing — Suspended Slab (Above 2m) SWMS

Floor framing on suspended slabs at heights above 2 metres is a high-risk construction activity routinely undertaken during multi-storey residential and light commercial builds. The work involves installing bearers, joists, blocking and floor sheeting along an unprotected leading edge, often while perimeter handrails are still being staged or relocated. Workers operate at fall heights frequently exceeding 2.4 metres above the slab below, carrying long timber or LVL members, using nail guns and circular saws, and traversing partially decked areas. Under WHS Regulation 2025 section 291, any construction work where a person could fall more than 2 metres is classified as High Risk Construction Work, which makes preparation, sign-on and on-site availability of a Safe Work Method Statement a non-negotiable PCBU duty before work commences. This SWMS documents the leading-edge controls, sequencing, plant and PPE required to discharge that duty and to evidence worker consultation under s47–48.

Hazards identified

7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Elimination — prefabricate floor cassettes at ground level and crane into position fully decked, removing the need to walk an open joist matrix above 2m.
2. 2Elimination — sequence works so perimeter scaffold with handrail and mid-rail is installed and signed off by competent person before any framing crew accesses the slab.
3. 3Substitution — replace timber I-joists with steel-framed cassette systems where design allows, reducing manual handling load and trip hazards from variable joist depths.
4. 4Engineering — install perimeter edge protection compliant with AS/NZS 4994.1 (top rail 900–1100mm, mid-rail, toeboard) along all open edges before framing begins.
5. 5Engineering — deploy soft-fall catch platforms or safety mesh under joist zone per AS/NZS 4994.3 to arrest falls during the joist-to-sheeting trAS/NZStion window.
6. 6Engineering — establish designated material landing zones with kickboards and tool tethers; barricade lower-level exclusion zones beneath active framing work.
7. 7Administrative — conduct documented pre-start brief against this SWMS, sequence joist install in bays, and prohibit lone work on the open frame; competent supervisor present at all times.
8. 8Administrative — implement permit-to-work for any temporary removal of edge protection, with reinstatement verified and signed before crew redeploys to that bay.
9. 9PPE — full-body harness rated to AS/NZS 1891.1 anchored to engineered point per AS/NZS 1891.4 whenever edge protection is incomplete or removed for sheet loading.
10. 10PPE — Class 1 hi-vis (AS/NZS 4602.1), AS/NZS 2210.3 safety footwear with penetration-resistant midsole, cut-5 gloves, AS/NZS 1337.1 eye protection and hearing protection during powered cutting.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

On a four-unit townhouse project, the framing leading hand opens this SWMS at the 6:45am pre-start huddle on the deck of Unit 3, where the first-floor suspended slab sits 2.7m above the ground slab. He walks the three-person crew through the hazard register on page one, pointing to the open eastern edge where the perimeter scaffold handrail terminates and the catch platform finishes. The crew identifies that the planned joist run will require two workers within 2m of the unprotected edge for approximately 40 minutes until the first row of structural ply is fixed. Referring to the controls section, they elect to install a temporary guardrail extension before starting, and tether to the engineered anchor bolted into the blockwork return as a backup. Each worker signs the SWMS sign-on register, recording harness serial numbers and last inspection dates. Mid-morning, wind picks up to a gusty 38 km/h and a sheet of yellow-tongue lifts during placement. The leading hand pauses work, retrieves the SWMS, and applies the documented weather trigger — sheet handling suspended above 35 km/h sustained — recording the stop, the reason and the resumption time in the site diary attached to the SWMS, then redirecting the crew to ground-level cutting until conditions ease.

Related legislation

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

Frequently asked questions