Structural Steelwork Fabrication SWMS

Structural steelwork fabrication involves cutting, drilling, punching, bending, welding and assembling structural sections — universal beams, columns, hollow sections, plate and cleats — into fabricated components for building and infrastructure projects. Work is performed in fabrication workshops and on-site, and typically combines hot work (oxy-fuel cutting, arc welding, gouging, grinding), heavy lifting with overhead cranes and forklifts, work at height on mezzanines and unfinished steelwork, and exposure to weld fume, ultraviolet radiation, hot metal, high noise and rotating machinery. The combination of energised equipment, suspended loads, hot processes and unstable partially-assembled components creates a persistent risk of crush, fall, burn, electrocution and long-latency respiratory disease.

Under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW), fabrication and erection work that involves a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres, or that occurs in artificial extremes of temperature, is high risk construction work under section 291. Section 299 requires a Safe Work Method Statement be prepared before that work commences, identifying hazards, documenting controls consistent with the hierarchy in section 36, and specifying how controls will be implemented, monitored and reviewed.

Hazards identified

12 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Eliminate work at height where feasible by completing sub-assembly, welding and finishing at ground level in jigs before lifting into final position
2. 2Substitute manual oxy-fuel cutting with CNC plasma or laser profiling within an extracted enclosure to reduce fume, noise and burn exposure
3. 3Engineer fall protection using compliant edge protection, guarded mezzanines, elevating work platforms and, only where higher controls are not reasonably practicable, travel-restraint anchor systems designed to AS/NZS 1891.4
4. 4Provide local exhaust ventilation (on-torch or downdraft) at every welding station and maintain to AS/NZS 60079 general workshop ventilation principles; test and clean filtration on a documented schedule
5. 5Use only inspected and tagged electrical leads and welding plant to AS/NZS 3760 and AS/NZS 3012 for construction wiring; earth workpieces and use residual current devices on all portable equipment
6. 6Implement lifting controls compliant with AS 2550.1 for crane use and AS 4991 for lifting devices — licensed dogger/rigger for load direction, engineered lift plans for tandem lifts, exclusion zones under suspended loads
7. 7Manage hot work by permit: clear 10 m radius of combustibles, provide charged fire extinguisher (CO2 and dry chemical), post fire watch for 60 minutes after cessation, and store cylinders upright, chained and separated per AS 4332
8. 8Control heat stress via scheduled hydration breaks, shaded rest areas, acclimatisation for new workers, and rotation away from preheat operations; monitor WBGT during summer and cease non-critical hot work above threshold
9. 9Provide and enforce PPE to AS/NZS 1337.1 (impact eye/face), AS/NZS 1338.1 (welding filters), AS/NZS 1716 P2 respirators (or PAPR for stainless/galvanised work), AS/NZS 1801 hard hats, AS/NZS 2210.3 safety footwear, AS/NZS 1270 Class 5 hearing protection, and leather welding leathers
10. 10Isolate rotating machinery with fixed guards, emergency stops and lockout/tagout to AS 4024.1 before any adjustment, blade change or clearing of swarf
11. 11Conduct daily pre-start inspections of cranes, slings, welding plant and abrasive wheels; remove damaged equipment from service and tag out until repaired or destroyed
12. 12All workers hold White Card (CPCCWHS1001); welders hold relevant AS/NZS 1554 qualifications; riggers and doggers hold current High Risk Work Licences. This SWMS is consulted on with workers under section 47 of the WHS Act, signed before work starts, and reviewed under section 302 whenever controls change, an incident occurs, or at minimum every 12 months

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

A structural steel fabricator in Ingleburn is contracted to fabricate and erect a mezzanine floor structure inside an existing warehouse in Chullora. Work involves shop cutting of universal beams with a bandsaw, MIG welding of cleats and stiffeners at ground level, transport to site, and erection using a 20 t mobile crane. Erection places two workers at 3.8 m installing beams onto pre-fixed columns. The PCBU identifies section 291 category (fall > 2 m) and category 16 (preheat for thick sections in winter conditions). Controls include ground-level sub-assembly of the deck panels in a jig, use of a scissor lift with edge protection during beam connection, a lift plan signed by a licensed dogger, a hot work permit with 10 m combustible exclusion, on-torch fume extraction, PAPRs when welding galvanised members, and daily pre-start inspection of all rigging. The SWMS is briefed to all workers on the Chullora site each morning and reviewed after a near-miss involving a slipped choker sling.

Related legislation

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)
• Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW)
• Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW)
• Dangerous Goods (Road and Rail Transport) Act 2008 (NSW)
• Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2004 (NSW)

Frequently asked questions