Microtunnelling & Pipe-Jacking SWMS
Microtunnel boring with remote-control MTBM in shafts. Confined-space jacking pit, bentonite slurry handling, ground settlement on shallow drives. Sewer and stormwater installation.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Microtunnelling installs a pipeline or conduit underground by remotely driving a small-diameter tunnelling machine from a launch shaft to a reception shaft, jacking pipe behind it, without workers entering the bore itself. It is a trenchless method used for utilities, drainage and crossings, and because the bore is remotely operated and often too small to enter, the worker hazards concentrate not in the tunnel but in the launch and reception shafts and at the surface: deep shaft excavation, work in and around the confined shafts, the jacking frame and its very high jacking forces, the handling of pipe and spoil, the slurry or spoil-removal system, and any ground settlement along the drive. This document is written on the basis that the shafts are engineered and controlled as deep excavations and confined spaces, that the jacking system and its forces are managed, and that entry to the bore — if ever required — is treated as a high-consequence confined space entry.
Microtunnelling engages several high risk construction work categories under the model Work Health and Safety Regulations — work in or near a shaft with an excavated depth greater than 1.5 metres, work involving a tunnel, work in or near a confined space (the shafts, and the bore if entered), and movement of powered mobile plant — so a safe work method statement is required before the work commences, kept readily accessible, and given to the principal contractor if one is appointed. Where the ground is silica-bearing, handling the spoil is processing of a crystalline silica substance, and diesel particulate from plant is controlled against its standard. This document coordinates the shaft, jacking-force, confined space, spoil-system and settlement controls so the drive is completed without a shaft or jacking incident.
Hazards identified
9 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Shaft collapse onto workers in or near the shaft
Crush and impact injury from the jacking frame, pipe and stored jacking energy
Oxygen deficiency, contaminated atmosphere and restricted egress in the shafts
Fall injury into the deep shaft from unprotected edges
Inundation and engulfment from an uncontrolled inflow
Release of slurry under pressure and exposure to the spoil system
Silicosis and respiratory disease from sustained underground inhalation
Carcinogenic diesel exhaust exposure compounding the dust burden underground
Surface settlement affecting structures and services along the alignment
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Engineering: design and support the launch and reception shafts as deep excavations to a competent person's design — shoring or shaft lining, edge protection and safe access — with the shafts treated as confined spaces where they meet the definition.
- 2Engineering: a designed jacking system with the jacking frame, thrust wall and pipe rated for the jacking forces, exclusion of workers from the line of the jacking forces, and management of the stored energy in the system.
- 3Administrative: remote operation of the microtunnelling machine so workers do not enter the bore, and where bore entry is unavoidable, a high-consequence confined space entry under permit with atmospheric testing, ventilation, standby and rescue.
- 4Engineering: forced underground ventilation designed to dilute and remove respirable crystalline silica, diesel particulate, dust and other contaminants and maintain a safe atmosphere, with continuous atmospheric monitoring.
- 5Engineering: control respirable crystalline silica at the source — wet drilling and cutting, water suppression and dust capture — supported by ventilation, to keep airborne silica below the exposure standard, monitored against the respirable crystalline silica workplace exposure standard of 0.05 mg/m3 (eight-hour TWA), reframed as a workplace exposure limit from 1 December 2026.
- 6Engineering: low-emission or filtered underground plant and ventilation to control diesel particulate matter, monitored against the diesel particulate matter exposure standard, currently 0.1 mg/m3 (eight-hour TWA, sub-micron elemental carbon), with a Workplace Exposure Limit of 0.01 mg/m3 (respirable elemental carbon) from 1 December 2026.
- 7Engineering: manage the slurry or spoil-removal system — contained handling, inspection of high-pressure lines, and controlled separation and disposal of spoil.
- 8Administrative: monitor ground settlement and heave along the drive line and protect structures and services on the alignment.
- 9Administrative: prepare a SWMS before the work for the tunnel and confined space high risk construction work, apply the confined space entry and atmospheric controls and permits, and where the work is high-risk processing of a crystalline silica substance, a silica risk control plan with air and health monitoring.
- 10Administrative: air monitoring for respirable crystalline silica against the respirable crystalline silica workplace exposure standard of 0.05 mg/m3 (eight-hour TWA), reframed as a workplace exposure limit from 1 December 2026, and for diesel particulate, dust and gases, with health monitoring for workers carrying out high-risk silica work and records retained.
- 11Administrative: a documented underground emergency response and rescue capability — refuge, self-rescuers where required, communication and rescue arrangements — briefed to all workers.
- 12Administrative: all workers must hold a valid White Card (General Construction Induction Training, CPCCWHS1001) before entering any construction workplace, with underground, confined space and tunnelling competencies verified as applicable.
- 13Administrative: conduct a pre-shift toolbox talk covering the day's work, ground and atmospheric conditions, the controls, plant movements, required PPE and emergency and rescue procedures, and record attendance in the consultation section.
- 14Administrative: consult workers and health and safety representatives on the work and its risks, record the consultation, and keep this document available at the workplace.
- 15PPE: underground high-visibility clothing, head protection, eye protection to AS/NZS 1337.1, hearing protection matched to the measured noise, gloves, and Class I or Class II safety footwear with protective toecap to AS/NZS 2210.3.
- 16Administrative: review and update this SWMS whenever the work, the ground or atmospheric conditions, the plant or the controls change, after any incident or near miss, when a worker or health and safety representative raises a concern, or at minimum every 12 months.
Applicable Codes of Practice
The national model code for tunnelling work, covering ground control, atmosphere, ventilation, emergency and the management of underground hazards.
Excavation, shaft and ground-support controls for the excavated openings and access shafts of the tunnelling work.
Atmospheric testing, ventilation, entry permit and rescue controls for the confined underground workings, shafts and chambers.
The risk assessment, silica risk control plan, air monitoring and health monitoring duties where the work generates respirable crystalline silica.
Selection, fit testing and use of P2, powered and supplied-air respiratory protection for the silica, dust, diesel particulate and atmospheric hazards of the underground work.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
The launch and reception shafts are deep excavations exceeding 1.5 metres, so the work is high risk construction work requiring a SWMS before the work commences.
Microtunnelling installs a bore underground and is work involving a tunnel, which is high risk construction work on that count.
The launch and reception shafts, and the bore if ever entered, are confined spaces that may be oxygen-affected or have a contaminated atmosphere, bringing the work within this category and its controls.
This is tunnelling work, which engages the high risk construction work categories above under the model WHS Regulations, so a SWMS must be prepared before the work commences, kept readily accessible, reviewed as necessary, and given to the principal contractor if one is appointed. Tunnelling is carried out to the model Tunnelling work Code of Practice and a rigorous regime of ground control, ventilation and emergency preparedness, and the confined space, excavation and, where relevant, explosives controls apply. Where the work generates respirable crystalline silica, the silica risk control plan, air monitoring and health monitoring duties apply, with the exposure standard reframed as a workplace exposure limit from 1 December 2026. An incident in a tunnel can trap and kill workers with limited means of escape, and breaches of the primary duty of care under the model WHS Act are actively enforced, with offence categories running from failure-to-comply through to reckless conduct, and the most serious breaches carrying imprisonment for individuals. Body-corporate maxima are substantial and indexed; the current maximum follows the prevailing schedule of the responsible regulator.
Who this is for
- →Microtunnelling and pipe-jacking crews installing underground pipelines and conduits.
- →Shaft excavation and shoring crews building the launch and reception shafts.
- →Microtunnelling machine operators running the remote drive.
- →Trenchless and geotechnical engineers designing the shafts, jacking and alignment.
- →Project managers and supervisors overseeing the microtunnelling SWMS and the shaft controls.
What you receive
- ✓Editable Microsoft Word document (.docx) fully compatible with Microsoft Word 2016 and newer, Google Docs, and LibreOffice Writer.
- ✓Title page with editable fields for PCBU name, ABN, site address, project name, principal contractor details, and document revision date.
- ✓Hazard register with the microtunnelling hazards — each with a documented consequence, inherent risk rating on a 5x5 likelihood-consequence matrix, hierarchy-of-control measures, and residual risk rating.
- ✓Launch and reception shaft excavation and shoring prompts, a jacking-frame and jacking-force control section, a confined space and bore-entry procedure, and ground-settlement monitoring and spoil-system control fields.
- ✓Confined space entry, atmospheric-monitoring and underground emergency and rescue prompts, and a silica risk control plan aligned to the model crystalline silica Code of Practice referencing the 0.05 mg/m3 exposure standard.
- ✓Competency, ticket and induction verification fields, and a respiratory protection selection and fit-test record per AS/NZS 1715.
- ✓Worker consultation record per the model WHS Act consultation duty and a worker sign-on register (blank, expandable).
- ✓Applicable legislation and Codes of Practice schedule pre-populated for the model WHS jurisdiction with a state-variance reference table covering the harmonised states, plus Victoria.
- ✓Emergency procedure template and a revision log.
Worked example
A crew is installing a drainage pipeline by microtunnelling, remotely driving a small-diameter machine from a launch shaft to a reception shaft and jacking pipe behind it. Because the work involves deep shafts, a tunnel bore, confined spaces and mobile plant, a SWMS is prepared. The launch and reception shafts are designed and supported as deep excavations by a competent person, with shoring or shaft lining, edge protection and safe access, and are treated as confined spaces where they meet the definition. The jacking system — frame, thrust wall and pipe — is rated for the jacking forces, workers are excluded from the line of the jacking forces, and the stored energy is managed. The machine is operated remotely so workers do not enter the bore, and bore entry, if ever unavoidable, would be a high-consequence confined space entry under permit with atmospheric testing, ventilation, standby and rescue. Forced ventilation serves the shafts, the slurry and spoil-removal system is contained with high-pressure lines inspected, and where the ground is silica-bearing the spoil handling is controlled for silica with air monitoring. Ground settlement along the drive is monitored and structures and services protected. The SWMS and records are retained.
Related legislation
- Model Work Health and Safety Act — primary duty of care; the duty to consult workers; the reckless-conduct offence; and notifiable-incident provisions, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
- Model Work Health and Safety Regulations — Section 291 high risk construction work and the SWMS preparation and review duties, the confined space provisions, and where relevant the crystalline silica high-risk processing, silica risk control plan, air monitoring and health monitoring provisions, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
- Model Codes of Practice — Tunnelling work; Excavation work; Confined spaces; and Managing risks of respirable crystalline silica in the workplace (2025).
- Where blasting is used, the explosives legislation governs the licensing and authorisation of shotfirers and the storage, transport and security of explosives; and the diesel particulate matter exposure standard, currently 0.1 mg/m3 (sub-micron elemental carbon) with a Workplace Exposure Limit of 0.01 mg/m3 (respirable elemental carbon) from 1 December 2026, applies underground.
- Victoria operates under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017, with the high risk construction work, tunnelling and confined space provisions applying in place of the model instruments.
Frequently asked questions
What is microtunnelling and where are the hazards?
Microtunnelling installs a pipeline or conduit underground by remotely driving a small-diameter tunnelling machine from a launch shaft to a reception shaft, without workers entering the bore. Because the bore is remotely operated and often too small to enter, the worker hazards concentrate in the launch and reception shafts and at the surface — deep shaft excavation, the confined shafts, the jacking frame and its high forces, pipe and spoil handling, and ground settlement.
Why are the jacking forces a hazard?
The pipe-jacking frame exerts very high forces to push the pipe string and machine through the ground, and that stored energy, together with the frame and pipe, can cause crush and impact injury. Workers are excluded from the line of the jacking forces, the frame, thrust wall and pipe are rated for the forces, and the stored energy is managed, because a failure under the jacking load can be sudden and severe.
Do workers enter the microtunnel bore?
Generally no — the microtunnelling machine is operated remotely so workers do not enter the bore, which is often too small to enter. Where bore entry is ever unavoidable, it is treated as a high-consequence confined space entry under permit with atmospheric testing, ventilation, a standby person and rescue arrangements, because the bore is a confined space with restricted egress.
What shaft hazards apply to microtunnelling?
The launch and reception shafts are deep excavations exceeding 1.5 metres, so they are designed and supported to a competent person's design with shoring or shaft lining, edge protection and safe access, and are treated as confined spaces where they meet the definition. The shafts are where most of the worker activity occurs, so the deep-excavation and confined space controls are central.
What categories apply to microtunnelling?
Microtunnelling engages the shaft-or-trench-over-1.5-metres, tunnel, confined space and powered-mobile-plant high risk construction work categories, so a SWMS is required before the work begins, with the shaft excavation, jacking-force and confined space controls central to the safe method, and ground-settlement monitoring along the drive.