Plant Rigging & Hoisting SWMS

Plant rigging and hoisting involves the attachment, lifting, movement and positioning of heavy plant items — pumps, generators, HVAC units, tanks, motors, structural steel and modular components — using cranes, chain blocks, gantries, forklifts and telehandlers. The work concentrates multiple high-consequence hazards into a single evolution: suspended loads, rigging failure, dogging errors, crush points between load and structure, unstable ground bearing, and personnel working at height on temporary platforms to attach and release slings. A single dropped or swinging load can be fatal, and near-miss data consistently shows rigging incidents are driven by inadequate load calculation, uncertified gear and poor lift planning rather than equipment failure alone.

Under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW), this work is high risk construction work under section 291 — specifically where there is a risk of a fall greater than 2 metres and where powered mobile plant is in operation. Section 299 requires a Safe Work Method Statement to be prepared before the work commences, and section 302 requires it to be reviewed if controls are revised or an incident occurs. Controls follow the hierarchy: eliminate the lift where possible, substitute mechanical aids, engineer exclusion zones and certified rigging, then apply administrative controls and PPE.

Hazards identified

12 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Eliminate the lift where feasible by specifying modular delivery to final position, use of mechanical roller systems, or prefabricated skid-mounted plant delivered by hiab direct to plinth.
2. 2Substitute traditional multi-point rigging with engineered lifting frames or spreader beams supplied with a current design certificate, reducing sling angle risk and load instability.
3. 3Prepare a documented lift study for any non-routine or critical lift: load weight verified from manufacturer data, centre of gravity, rigging configuration, crane capacity chart at working radius, ground bearing pressure and exclusion zones — signed by a competent lift supervisor.
4. 4Confirm ground conditions and outrigger loads against a geotechnical or structural assessment; use engineered crane mats or steel plates sized to the calculated bearing pressure; barricade outrigger footprints.
5. 5Establish and physically barricade a load exclusion zone beneath and around the load path; only the dogman and required riggers inside; no personnel under a suspended load at any time, consistent with AS 2550.1 crane safe use.
6. 6Use only tagged, in-date and certified lifting gear compliant with AS 3775 (chain slings), AS 1353 (flat synthetic-webbing slings), AS 4497 (round slings) and AS 2317 (shackles); pre-use inspection recorded and any damaged gear removed from service and destroyed.
7. 7Control fall risk during sling attachment and release using an elevating work platform, fixed edge protection or a fall-arrest system anchored to a certified anchor point per AS/NZS 1891 series; a work-positioning system is not a substitute for edge protection.
8. 8Maintain minimum approach distances from overhead powerlines in accordance with the SafeWork NSW Code of Practice — Work near overhead and underground electric lines; where distances cannot be maintained, obtain a network operator permit and use a trained safety observer.
9. 9Manage powered mobile plant movement with a spotter, traffic management plan and physical segregation of pedestrians; reversing alarms and 360° visibility; keys removed and plant isolated during rigging attachment.
10. 10Control silica dust using on-tool water suppression or H-class LEV during any concrete cutting/drilling; conduct an asbestos register review before disturbing pre-2004 plant rooms, and engage a licensed asbestos removalist for any ACM per the SafeWork NSW Code of Practice — How to safely remove asbestos.
11. 11High-risk work licences verified before work commences: dogging (DG), rigging (RB/RI/RA) and the relevant crane class per Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation 2025; competencies logged on the site register.
12. 12All workers hold CPCCWHS1001 (White Card); the SWMS is developed in consultation with workers under section 47 of the WHS Act 2011 (NSW), signed on by every worker before the lift, and reviewed under section 302 whenever controls change, a near-miss occurs or the lift plan is revised.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

A mechanical contractor is installing three 2.8-tonne rooftop packaged air-conditioning units on a commercial building in Parramatta. The units are to be lifted by a 55-tonne mobile crane set up in the loading dock, over the parapet and onto steel dunnage on the roof deck 14 metres above ground. The lift plan identifies section 291(a) fall risk (riggers on the roof edge releasing slings) and section 291(o) mobile plant risk (forklift shuttling units to the crane pick point and crane movement in the dock). The SWMS documents a lift study signed by the lift supervisor, engineered crane mats over the basement slab (verified against the structural engineer's point load), a 1.8 m temporary edge-protection rail installed on the roof before the lift, a certified spreader beam with four-leg chain sling per AS 3775, dogging licences sighted, a 15 m exclusion zone barricaded in the dock with a spotter, and a pre-lift toolbox with sign-on. A near-miss during the second unit — wind gust causing load rotation — triggered a section 302 review, addition of a second tag line and a wind-speed hold point at 36 km/h before the third lift proceeded.

Related legislation

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Part 4.5 (Plant) and Part 6.3 (High risk construction work)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Schedule 3 (High risk work licences)
• SafeWork NSW Code of Practice — Managing the risks of plant in the workplace
• SafeWork NSW Code of Practice — Managing the risk of falls at workplaces
• SafeWork NSW Code of Practice — How to manage work health and safety risks

Frequently asked questions