Site Establishment Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) Template
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This Site Establishment Safe Work Method Statement, or Site Establishment SWMS, is an easy-to-use form that your workers can use to plan and manage site set-up risks before construction or project activities begin. Easily select the scope of work, possible hazards, and required PPE from a list of choices, then work through a ready-to-use list of job steps, risk assessments, and method statements for common site establishment activities.
Want a ready-to-use site establishment SWMS your team can complete on any device? It comes pre-filled with site establishment job steps, risk assessments, and method statements you can edit to match how your company works, and your crew can scan to sign on before starting and export the finished SWMS to PDF or CSV.
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What is Site Establishment Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)?
A Site Establishment Safe Work Method Statement, or Site Establishment SWMS, is a document used by project teams, supervisors, and workers to plan how site set-up activities will be carried out safely. This SWMS usually includes details on site access, temporary fencing, signage, amenities, storage areas, delivery zones, temporary services, PPE, job steps, hazards, risk ratings, and control measures.
Due to the risks that come with setting up a new worksite, hazards such as moving plant, deliveries, manual handling, temporary power, uneven ground, public interface, and poor site access have to be planned around to lessen potential accidents. This makes Site Establishment SWMS documents highly relevant in Australian construction, civil works, infrastructure, utilities, demolition, and industrial projects where safe access and controlled site conditions are needed before work begins.
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Applicable Standards and Policies for Site Establishment Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
There are generally no explicit formatting requirements for a Site Establishment Safe Work Method Statement. However, Australian WHS laws require PCBUs to prepare a SWMS for high-risk construction work and to document the hazards, risks, and control measures involved in setting up construction sites, temporary facilities, access routes, plant areas, and site controls. A Site Establishment SWMS is a good document to support compliance to this.
- Model WHS Regulations require a SWMS for high-risk construction work in Australia
- Safe Work Australia’s Construction Work Code of Practice covers SWMS requirements for high-risk construction work
- Safe Work Australia guidance covers site access, traffic management, amenities, and construction site controls
- State and territory WHS laws commonly require SWMS documents before high-risk construction work begins
- Local site and principal contractor requirements commonly require SWMS documents for site establishment activities
Staff Members and Parties that use Site Establishment Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
A Site Establishment SWMS is primarily used by project teams that manage site setup, temporary access, fencing, signage, amenities, laydown areas, temporary power, and initial construction site controls. Here are examples of other common parties that use a Site Establishment SWMS:
- Site supervisors and project managers
- Workers and field crews
- Plant operators and delivery drivers
- Health and safety teams
- Contractors and subcontractors involved in site setup
Business Risks Reduced by Site Establishment Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
A Site Establishment SWMS puts controls in place for the hazards behind most site set-up incidents, such as poor access control, vehicle and pedestrian interaction, manual handling, unstable ground, temporary power, falling objects, and unsafe site layout. Applied consistently, it reduces the following business risks.
- Injuries, fatalities, and site setup-related incidents
- Non-compliance with Australian SWMS and construction site safety requirements
- Legal claims, enforcement action, and incident-related costs
- Project delays from incidents, investigations, and site shutdowns
Business Opportunities Created by Site Establishment Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
A well-prepared Site Establishment SWMS helps businesses improve control over site setup, access, layout, temporary facilities, and early-stage construction risks. Here are some ways a well-designed Site Establishment SWMS can help businesses:
- Improve worker confidence before site activities begin
- Strengthen contractor prequalification and tender-offer competitiveness
- Improve coordination between supervisors, workers, plant operators, and subcontractors
- Build trust with clients, regulators, insurers, and project stakeholders
What Should be Included in a Site Establishment SWMS?
A Site Establishment SWMS should be prepared before site establishment activities are carried out as part of high risk construction work. While exact requirements can vary across Australian states, territories, projects, and principal contractor requirements, there are some core elements that are typically included that you should know about:
- Scope of work, site location, establishment sequence, access points, and responsible persons
- Job steps for site fencing, signage, amenities, temporary services, deliveries, laydown areas, and traffic setup
- Hazards such as moving plant, live traffic, manual handling, underground services, uneven ground, electrical setup, and public access
- Required controls such as exclusion zones, traffic management, service checks, PPE, spotters, barricades, and communication methods
- Risk ratings, emergency procedures, worker consultation, sign-off, and review requirements
Why are Site Establishment SWMS Important?
Site Establishment SWMS are important because the early stages of a project can create serious risks before normal site controls are fully in place. This is critically important on construction, civil, infrastructure, and fit-out projects where workers may be setting up fencing, access routes, amenities, temporary power, storage areas, and traffic controls around active roads, services, or public areas.
Essentially, a Site Establishment SWMS helps confirm that the setup sequence, site hazards, access controls, and emergency arrangements have been reviewed before establishment work begins. Additionally, it gives project management teams clear documentation of the due diligence performed, supporting consultation, site coordination, and compliance with Australian WHS requirements for high risk construction work.
How to Create a Safe Work Method Statement for Setting Out a Building Site or Site Establishment
Creating your own Site Establishment SWMS forms doesn’t have to be complicated. In this section, we break down the process step by step.
Before starting your Site Establishment Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) form, the following pre-requisites should be ready.
- Project or site details are required.
- Site establishment scope and work areas must be listed.
- High-risk construction work details must be covered.
- Hazards, risks, and control measures must be stated.
- Site access, fencing, signage, and amenities must be included.
- Plant, traffic, services, and delivery controls must be noted.
- Worker sign-off and SWMS review requirements must be recorded.
Start with Project and SWMS Information
First, you need to place high-level general information at the beginning of your Site Establishment Safe Work Method Statement to help establish context for the work to be done. Here are some examples of core elements that you can use:
- Project name and site location
- SWMS title and document reference number
- Description of site establishment works to be completed
- Name of the PCBU, contractor, or subcontractor
- Names and roles of workers, supervisors, and site establishment personnel
Define the Scope of Site Establishment Works
Next, you will want to define the scope of work so it is clear what site establishment activities are covered by the SWMS. For example, you will want to list the following information in your Site Establishment SWMS:
- Site access, fencing, signage, and temporary facilities to be installed
- Delivery, unloading, and storage areas
- Temporary power, water, lighting, and amenities requirements
- Plant, tools, and equipment required for the task
- Traffic control, pedestrian access, and exclusion zone requirements
Assess Site Establishment Hazards
It is important that potential hazards are identified before site establishment starts so the appropriate safety control measures can be implemented. Common hazards that you should look out for include:
- Interaction between workers, pedestrians, vehicles, and mobile plant
- Manual handling during unloading, fencing, signage, or site set-up
- Underground or overhead services
- Unstable ground, uneven surfaces, or poor access routes
- Public access, entry without approval, or nearby occupied areas
Record Safety Control Measures
After the hazards are identified, you will want to determine the appropriate safety control measures to reduce risks for your workers and nearby site personnel. Be sure to document the following information in your SWMS:
- Site fencing, barricades, signs, and access control measures
- Traffic management, delivery routes, and pedestrian separation
- Service location checks before installing posts, pegs, or temporary services
- Plant pre-start checks and operator competency requirements
- PPE requirements such as head protection, high visibility clothing, gloves, and safety footwear
Set Out the Work Method and Monitoring Requirements
Next, you will want to outline the work method so workers understand the safe sequence for completing site establishment activities. This section should also explain how the work will be checked while it is underway.
- Site inspection before establishment work begins
- Set-up sequence for fencing, access points, amenities, laydown areas, and temporary services
- Communication method between workers, supervisors, delivery drivers, and plant operators
- Inspection points for access routes, fencing, signage, and temporary facilities
- Stop work triggers for service clashes, unsafe traffic conditions, unstable ground, or access without approval
Complete Review, Approval, and Worker Sign-Off
Complete your Site Establishment SWMS with review, approval, and worker sign-off to confirm that the work method and safety control measures have been communicated before work starts. Here are some examples of fields you can include:
- Names and roles of reviewers and approvers
- Date of review and approval
- Worker acknowledgement that the SWMS has been read and understood
- Supervisor or person in charge sign-off
- Revision number and next review trigger
Frequently asked questions
How to create SWMS process in an App or Software System
A well-designed SWMS process ensures workers clearly understand the hazards, risks, and required control measures to perform high-risk work, while enabling your team to easily document, review, and share safe work procedures before work begins.
40 minutes
Medium difficulty
Start your Site Establishment SWMS with General Information
It is important to begin your Site Establishment Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) with key project, site, date, reference, and location details so the document can be traced to the correct site setup activity. This section should use simple text and date fields for fields such as:
- Text field or Automatic Form Counter for SWMS Reference Number
- Date selector field for Date
- Text fields for Project Name and Address
- Text field for Single Day Weather
- Multi-line text field for Description of Works
Create a Section for Scope of Work, Hazards, and PPE
Next, create a section where users can select the project scope, possible hazards, and required PPE for the site establishment works. For simplicity, we recommend using multiple-choice selector fields for this section, with fields such as:
- Multiple-choice selector field for Project Scope, including Civil & Structural, Electrical, Environmental, and Mechanical
- Multiple-choice selector field for Possible Hazards, including Communications, Dust, Electricity, Falling Objects, Fire & Explosion, Hazardous Substances, Manual Handling, Moving Plant / Machinery, Site Housekeeping, Slips / Trips / Falls, Traffic, Underground / Overhead Services, and Weather Conditions
- Multiple-choice selector field for PPE Required, including Ear Protection, Eye Protection, Hand Protection, Hard Hat, Illuminating Safety Vest, and Safety Footwear
- Conditional text field for other hazards or PPE not listed in the pre-filled choices
Create a Table for Material and Equipment Information
Users will next need to list down the site sheds, fencing, lifting equipment, and other materials or equipment required for the task. We highly recommend using a table for this section so each item can be recorded with its make, asset details, and required training information.
- First column for Material or Equipment Name
- Second column for Make or Model
- Third column for Registration or Asset ID, if any
- Fourth column for Required License or Training, if any
- Rows for portable site sheds and storage containers, temporary fencing and pedestrian gates, mobile cranes, lifting accessories, and other site establishment equipment
Create a Table for the Method Statement and Risk Assessment
Next, create the main SWMS table where users can record each site establishment job step, hazards, risk scores, controls, and responsible persons. We highly recommend using a table for this section, with the following formatting for the columns:
- First column for Job Step
- Second column for Potential Hazards
- Third column for Initial Risk Score
- Fourth column for Controls
- Fifth column for Residual Risk Score
- Sixth column for Person Responsible
Add Pre-filled Method Statement Rows for Site Establishment Work
After the main table is created, add pre-filled rows that reflect the most common site establishment job steps in the attached SWMS. These rows help users complete the form faster while still allowing the SWMS to be adjusted for the actual site task.
- Row for Pre-start planning, site review and establishment preparation
- Row for Delivering and unloading site sheds, containers and materials
- Row for Installing site fencing, hoarding and gates
- Row for Positioning and setting up site sheds and amenities
- Row for Installing temporary power, lighting and water services
- Row for Establishing vehicle, plant and pedestrian access
- Row for Installing signage, emergency equipment and final site controls
Create a Section for Additional High-Risk or Site-Specific Steps
Some site establishment activities may require extra job steps depending on drainage, sediment controls, environmental plans, ground conditions, service locations, or mobile plant activity. We highly recommend creating an additional method statement table so users can add extra risk assessment rows when needed.
- Additional row for Installing temporary drainage and sediment controls
- Columns for Job Step, Potential Hazards, Likelihood, Consequence, Initial Risk Score, Controls, Residual Risk Score, and Person Responsible
- Text fields for controls covering sediment fencing, inlet protection, temporary drainage controls, underground service checks, exclusion zones, spotter use, team lifting, access route checks, rainfall inspections, and repair of damaged controls
- Dropdown fields for Likelihood and Consequence scores
Create a Section for Risk Matrix Guidance
Next, add a risk matrix section as a guide for users to assess initial and residual risk scores for any additional job steps they may add. We highly recommend using the following fields and features to help guide users:
- Pre-filled or photo of the Risk Matrix table showing Likelihood, Consequence, and Risk Score levels
- Pre-filled text field for Consequence ratings from 1 to 5
- Pre-filled text field for Likelihood ratings from 1 to 5
- Pre-filled guide for residual risk actions, including Low, Moderate, High, and Catastrophic risk outcomes
End your Site Establishment SWMS with Worker and Supervisor Sign-offs
Finally, complete the Site Establishment Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) with worker confirmation and sign-off fields for the responsible parties. If your app or software allows, use scan-to-sign and automatic e-signature fields to keep the sign-off process digital.
- A scan to sign-on table for workers sign-off
- E-signature field for Supervisor Sign-off
- E-signature field for Project Manager Sign-off
- Automatic date and time stamp fields for each sign-off
About the author
Ron Gadugdug
Engineering Content Writer
Education:
Cebu Institute of Technology - University - Civil Engineering
Bio:
Ron is a Civil Engineer with 6 years of experience in the construction industry, primarily focused on quantity surveying, cost estimation, project management, quality control, contract administration, and property & engineering insurance. At Sitemate, he writes about practical applications of evolving technologies and digital solutions that support construction professionals in improving efficiency, compliance, and project delivery across the built world.
Project Details:
Quantity Surveying & Cost Engineering
Performed quantity take-offs of several high-rise and horizontal structures using sheets and applications like Revit and Bluebeam Revu, and spearheaded trials with Building Information Modeling (BIM) software.
Project Management & Consultancy
Coordinated with project management teams during the construction of local projects such as a 4-tower hotel & resort, a 22 storey condominium project, and a school dormitory project.
Contract Administration
Assisted during contract biddings and negotiations with general contractors and sub-contractors, and oversaw progress reporting, billings, and payment.
Property & Engineering Insurance
Dedicated non-life claims handler, overseeing property and contractor all-risk insurance claims, risk management, and bonds.
Version History:
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