Steel Stairway Installation SWMS

Steel stairway installation involves the rigging, lifting and fixing of prefabricated steel stair flights, landings, stringers and balustrades into structural openings, often between suspended floors or against structural steel frames. The work typically combines crane or telehandler lifts, working from leading edges, hot works such as bolt-up, welding and grinding, and temporary bracing until final connections are made. Workers are exposed to falls from height, falling stair components during landing, crush and pinch injuries at connection points, and hot work hazards including sparks, fume and fire.

Under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW), section 291 defines high risk construction work (HRCW) — including any construction work with a risk of a fall of more than 2 metres — and section 299 requires that a Safe Work Method Statement be prepared before that work commences. Controls must follow the hierarchy in section 36, be documented, communicated to workers, and reviewed under section 302 whenever conditions change or an incident occurs.

Hazards identified

12 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Eliminate at-height work where possible by pre-assembling stair flights with balustrades and mesh infill at ground level before lifting into position.
2. 2Substitute manual grinding of connections with pre-drilled, pre-punched or bolted connections designed by the structural engineer to remove hot work at height.
3. 3Engineer fall prevention by installing perimeter edge protection and stair void protection compliant with AS/NZS 4994.1 before the stair flight is landed, and maintain until permanent balustrades are fixed.
4. 4Engineer the lift using a documented lift study and rigging plan; use certified lifting lugs, tag lines and a licensed dogger/rigger under the High Risk Work Licensing framework, in accordance with AS 2550.1 and AS 4991.
5. 5Provide temporary bracing, propping and minimum bolt-up (typically 2 bolts per connection) before releasing crane hooks, per the fabricator's erection procedure and engineer's certification.
6. 6Where fall prevention is not reasonably practicable, use a fall-arrest system with anchor points rated and installed to AS/NZS 5532, harnesses and lanyards to AS/NZS 1891.1, and a documented rescue plan.
7. 7Establish exclusion zones beneath the lift and installation area with hard barricades and spotters; tether tools and use kick boards to prevent dropped objects.
8. 8Control hot work with a permit system, fire watch, extinguisher, welding screens, LEV or on-tool extraction, and welding PPE compliant with AS/NZS 1338.1 and AS/NZS 1337.1; test atmospheres where enclosed.
9. 9Control silica dust from any concrete cutting/grinding with water suppression or on-tool extraction (M/H-class) and RPE selected to AS/NZS 1715/1716; maintain the WES of 0.05 mg/m³ 8-hour TWA.
10. 10Test and tag electrical leads and tools to AS/NZS 3012, protect via RCDs, and inspect welding equipment before each shift.
11. 11Consult SWMS-holders and JSA the daily lift; monitor wind speed and stop lifts above manufacturer/rigging plan limits (commonly 10 m/s for stair flights).
12. 12All workers to hold CPCCWHS1001 (White Card); consult workers on the SWMS under section 47 of the WHS Act, sign on before work, and review the SWMS under section 302 of the WHS Regulation 2025 (NSW) whenever the method, plant, personnel or site conditions change, or after any incident or near miss.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

A steel erection subcontractor is installing 14 prefabricated steel stair flights between levels of a new mixed-use building in Rhodes, Sydney. Flights are delivered pre-fitted with temporary handrails and lifted by a 55 t mobile crane. Before mobilisation, the site supervisor prepares this SWMS, identifies HRCW under section 291(a) (falls >2 m), and consults the two-person installation crew and the licensed dogger. Void protection is installed at each landing, and installers use twin-tail lanyards anchored to certified points on the primary steel while making initial bolt-up (2 bolts per connection minimum) before the crane is released. An exclusion zone with hard barricades is set below each lift, a spotter is posted, and grinding of any concrete nib is water-suppressed to control silica. On day three, wind gusts exceed 10 m/s and lifts are suspended; the SWMS is reviewed under section 302 and re-signed before resuming.

Related legislation

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) — sections 19, 31, 32, 47
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — sections 36, 78–80 (falls), 291, 299–302
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Chapter 6 (High risk work licensing) — dogging and rigging
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — sections 49–51 (airborne contaminants and monitoring)
• Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) — construction certificate and site obligations
• Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW) — noise, dust and waste management on site

Frequently asked questions