CivilHigh-risk work

Culvert and tank installation SWMS, drafted for your job

Culvert barrels and tank sections can shift during lifting or jointing, with crews working beside open excavations and incoming water. Tell us the job and the site: your SWMS is drafted around them, and you check it with the crew before work starts.

A$39per job

However many high-risk activities it covers.

However many high-risk activities it covers.
3 for A$99
10 for A$249
Yearly A$129 for 120
Monthly A$60 for 10

You review it on site before work starts.

The draft is a starting point. You check every step against the site, your crew and the builder's rules, then finalise.

Your Business

Safe Work Method Statement

Version 1
Draft

Culvert and tank installation

Site Your site address

Law Your state

High-risk construction work

Work in or near a deep trench, shaft or tunnel
Tilt-up or precast concrete work
Work where powered mobile plant is moving
Work in or near a confined space

Job steps, hazards and controls

1	Locate services and plan placement	Hidden assets and unstable ground	High	Expose services and confirm crane standing areas
2	Excavate and prepare bedding	Excavation wall collapse	Extreme	Install trench protection before workers enter
3	Lift culvert or tank sections	Swinging precast load	Extreme	Clear the landing zone and use designated lifting points
4	Join sections and pipework	Joint pinch and tank entry	High	Use jointing aids and complete connections from outside
5	Backfill around the installation	Plant beside open pit	High	Keep crews clear and place backfill in the planned sequence

Illustrative example

Illustrative first page. Yours carries your business name only.

What you get

What your culvert and tank installation SWMS will contain

An A4 document your crew can read on site, a PDF for the builder and a sign-on register.

Job and site detailsYour business, the site, the principal contractor, the dates.
High-risk construction workThe categories your job involves, ticked.
Step-by-step methodEach step with its hazards, risk rating and controls.
How controls are checkedWho puts each control in place, monitors and reviews it.
PPE, plant and permitsEquipment and training the job needs.
Emergency planAssembly point, first aid, nearest hospital to confirm on site.
Consultation and reviewWho was consulted, when it is reviewed.
Sign-on registerYour crew signs by QR or on paper.

High-risk construction work

Categories this task often involves

You tick the ones your job involves. Each ticked category gets its own steps and controls, in your state's wording.

Work in or near a deep trench, shaft or tunnel
Tilt-up or precast concrete work
Work where powered mobile plant is moving
Work in or near a confined space

All high-risk construction work categories

State notes

Rules depend on your state

Pick your state when you start. Your state's regulator publishes the rules and guidance for this work.

Hazards and controls

What goes wrong on a culvert and tank installation job, and how the SWMS controls it

These rows are written for this task. Your draft adds the ones your site and method need.

Two civil workers inspect finished kerbing from a separated pedestrian path.

1
Collapsing excavation walls around culvert bedding and tank bases
Extreme
- Install the designed excavation support before workers prepare bedding
- Keep cranes, spoil and delivery trucks back from the excavation edge
2
Crushing beneath suspended culvert barrels and tank sections
Extreme
- Keep people out of the lift path and landing area
- Use designated lifting points and guide sections from clear of the load
3
Crushed fingers between culvert sockets and tank joint faces
High
- Use jointing tools and alignment aids instead of hands between sections
- Set each section securely before fitting seals or connections
4
Buried services struck while opening the culvert or tank pit
Extreme
- Locate and expose services before mechanical digging near them
- Mark exposed services and protect them from buckets and lifted sections
5
Poor air and trapped workers inside a newly placed tank
Extreme
- Make connections from outside the tank wherever practicable
- Plan any entry with air checks, isolation, an outside observer and rescue arrangements
6
Flooding through an open culvert during bedding and jointing
High
- Divert incoming water before crews enter the culvert excavation
- Watch weather and upstream flow; leave the excavation if water rises

How the job usually runs

1Locate services and plan placementHidden assets and unstable ground → Expose services and confirm crane standing areas
2Excavate and prepare beddingExcavation wall collapse → Install trench protection before workers enter
3Lift culvert or tank sectionsSwinging precast load → Clear the landing zone and use designated lifting points
4Join sections and pipeworkJoint pinch and tank entry → Use jointing aids and complete connections from outside
5Backfill around the installationPlant beside open pit → Keep crews clear and place backfill in the planned sequence

PPE for this job

Safety boots
High visibility clothing
Handling gloves
Safety glasses
Hearing protection

Your draft lists the PPE your site and method need.

After you finalise

Brief your crew and send it to your builder

Crew signs by QR

Pass your phone around or print the A4 sign-on sheet. Workers read and sign on their own phones, no account.

Send to my builder

One tap emails the PDF and the version to your builder, or upload it to their inbox link.

PDF and register

A clean A4 PDF with your business name, and a register of who signed which version.

Builder sent it back?

Make their changes and re-issue the same job free. Workers re-sign the new version.

What builders check

Questions

Culvert and tank installation SWMS questions

Last reviewed: 21 October 2026
How: Hazard rows checked against the task; no legal line is stated unless it is logged from primary text.
Next review: Every six months, or when the method or rules change

Does the draft cover both culverts and storage tanks?

Yes. Describe the sections, excavation and lifting arrangement. The draft covers bedding, placement, joints and backfilling, with controls tailored to the culvert alignment or tank pit rather than assuming the same lift for both.

Does installing a tank include going inside it?

Entry needs its own planned arrangements. The draft starts with connections from outside and includes isolation, air checks, an observer and rescue planning when entry cannot be avoided.

How much does a culvert and tank installation SWMS cost?

One job uses 1 SWMS when you finalise: A$39 for one, however many high-risk activities it covers. AI drafting needs a SWMS pack or plan. Packs and Yearly cost less per SWMS.

Is this a template?

No. You describe the job and the site, and the SWMS is drafted for them. You edit anything, then finalise it.

Who checks the SWMS?

You do, with your crew, on site before work starts. The draft gives you a strong starting point; the person running the work makes sure it matches the site.

My builder sent it back. What now?

Open it, make the changes they asked for and re-issue it. Corrections to the same job are free.

How does my crew sign it?

Show the QR code on your phone or print the A4 sign-on sheet. Workers read and sign on their own phones without an account.

Does it work in my state?

Yes. You choose the state before drafting, and the document names the law that applies there. Victoria uses its OHS Regulations.

Every civil SWMS

Pit construction SWMSExcavating, installing and backfilling service and stormwater pits.

Excavation near assets SWMSLocating, exposing and protecting existing assets during excavation.