Driving and Transport Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) Template
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This Driving and Transport Safe Work Method Statement, or Driving and Transport SWMS, is an easy-to-use form that your workers can use to plan and manage driving, vehicle movement, and transport risks before driving or moving materials. 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 driving and transport activities.
Need a complete digital driving and transport SWMS you can fill out and make your own? It comes pre-filled with driving and transport 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 Driving and Transport Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)?
A Driving and Transport Safe Work Method Statement, or Driving and Transport SWMS, is a document used by site teams, supervisors, drivers, and transport workers to plan how driving and transport activities will be carried out safely. This SWMS usually includes details on the vehicle type, journey route, load, road conditions, loading and unloading areas, traffic interaction, PPE, job steps, hazards, risk ratings, and control measures.
Due to the risks that come with driving and transport work, hazards such as vehicle collisions, load shift, fatigue, reversing incidents, poor visibility, traffic interaction, manual handling, and unsafe loading areas have to be planned around to lessen potential accidents. This makes Driving and Transport SWMS documents highly relevant in Australian construction, civil works, logistics, utilities, infrastructure, warehousing, and industrial projects where workers drive vehicles or transport materials between work areas and sites.
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Applicable Standards and Policies for Driving and Transport Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
There are generally no explicit formatting requirements for a Driving and Transport Safe Work Method Statement. However, Australian WHS laws require PCBUs to prepare a SWMS for high-risk construction work where applicable, and to document hazards, risks, and control measures involved in driving, loading, unloading, vehicle movement, transport routes, and interaction with workers or the public. A Driving and Transport SWMS is a good document to support compliance with this.
- Model WHS Regulations require a SWMS for high-risk construction work in Australia
- Safe Work Australia guidance covers vehicles, traffic management, and transport-related work risks
- Safe Work Australia guidance covers hazardous manual tasks during loading and unloading activities
- State and territory WHS laws commonly require risk controls for driving, vehicles, and transport work
- Local site and principal contractor requirements commonly require SWMS documents for driving and transport activities
Staff Members and Parties that use Driving and Transport Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
A Driving and Transport SWMS is primarily used by project teams that manage vehicle movement, delivery routes, loading and unloading, site access, transport logistics, or work near pedestrians and other vehicles. Here are examples of other common parties that use a Driving and Transport SWMS:
- Site supervisors and project managers
- Drivers and transport operators
- Loading and unloading crews
- Traffic controllers and spotters
- Contractors and subcontractors carrying out driving or transport work
Business Risks Reduced by Driving and Transport Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
A Driving and Transport SWMS puts controls in place for the hazards behind most driving and transport incidents, such as vehicle collisions, reversing incidents, pedestrian strikes, load shift, fatigue, poor route planning, and unsafe loading or unloading. Applied consistently, it reduces the following business risks.
- Injuries, fatalities, and driving-related incidents
- Non-compliance with Australian SWMS and vehicle safety requirements
- Legal claims, enforcement action, and incident-related costs
- Project delays from transport incidents, damaged materials, late deliveries, and site shutdowns
Business Opportunities Created by Driving and Transport Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
A well-prepared Driving and Transport SWMS helps businesses improve control over vehicle movement, delivery activities, loading, unloading, and site transport risks. Here are some ways a well-designed Driving and Transport SWMS can help businesses:
- Improve worker confidence before driving or transport activities begin
- Strengthen contractor prequalification and tender competitiveness
- Improve coordination between supervisors, drivers, loading crews, and site teams
- Build trust with clients, regulators, insurers, and project stakeholders
What Should be Included in a Driving and Transport SWMS?
A Driving and Transport SWMS should be prepared before driving and transport activities are carried out as part of high-risk construction work or on sites with higher-risk conditions. 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, travel route, vehicle type, load details, and responsible persons
- Job steps for vehicle checks, loading, securing loads, driving, reversing, unloading, parking, and shutdown
- Hazards such as traffic interaction, fatigue, poor visibility, reversing, unsecured loads, rollovers, weather, and pedestrian contact
- Required controls such as journey planning, speed limits, load restraint, traffic management, spotters, seatbelts, communication methods, and driver competency
- Risk ratings, emergency procedures, worker consultation, sign-off, and review requirements
Why are Driving and Transport SWMS Important?
Driving and Transport SWMS are important because vehicle movement can expose workers, drivers, pedestrians, and the public to serious risks. This is critically important on construction, civil, logistics, infrastructure, and maintenance projects where vehicles may travel through changing site layouts, shared access routes, loading zones, public roads, or areas with mobile plant.
Essentially, a Driving and Transport SWMS helps confirm that the work steps, vehicle checks, route planning, load restraint, traffic controls, and emergency procedures have been reviewed before the task begins. Additionally, it gives project management teams clear documentation of the due diligence performed, supporting consultation, site coordination, and compliance with Australian WHS requirements where the work forms part of construction or higher-risk transport activity.
How to Create a Driving and Transport Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
Building effective Driving and Transport SWMS forms requires the right structure and information. In this section, we explain how to create your own SWMS forms from scratch.
Before starting your Driving and Transport Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) form, the following pre-requisites should be ready.
- Project or site details are required.
- Driving and transport scope must be listed.
- High-risk construction work details must be covered.
- Hazards, risks, and control measures must be stated.
- Driver competency and vehicle inspection needs must be included.
- Traffic, loading, unloading, and route 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 Driving and Transport 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 driving and transport activities to be completed
- Name of the PCBU, contractor, or subcontractor
- Names and roles of drivers, supervisors, spotters, and workers
Define the Scope of Driving and Transport Activities
Next, you will want to define the scope of work so it is clear what driving and transport activities are covered by the SWMS. For example, you will want to list the following information in your Driving and Transport SWMS:
- Type of vehicle, truck, trailer, or mobile plant being used
- Materials, tools, equipment, or loads being transported
- Travel routes, delivery areas, loading zones, and unloading zones
- Road, site access, parking, and reversing requirements
- Traffic control, pedestrian access, and exclusion zone requirements
Assess Driving and Transport Hazards
It is important that potential hazards are identified before driving and transport work starts so the appropriate safety control measures can be implemented. Common hazards that you should look out for include:
- Interaction between vehicles, mobile plant, pedestrians, and workers
- Reversing, blind spots, tight access routes, or poor visibility
- Unsecured, unstable, overloaded, or unevenly distributed loads
- Fatigue, distraction, speeding, or poor driving conduct
- Slippery roads, uneven ground, poor weather, or changing traffic conditions
Record Safety Control Measures and Work Method
After the hazards are identified, you will want to determine the appropriate safety control measures to reduce risks for your workers, drivers, and nearby site personnel. Be sure to document the following information in your SWMS:
- Driver competency, license, and vehicle pre-start checks
- Load restraint, weight limit, and safe loading requirements
- Designated travel routes, speed limits, and traffic control measures
- Spotters, exclusion zones, and reversing controls, where required
- Work sequence for vehicle inspection, loading, travel, unloading, parking, and shut-down
Complete Review, Approval, and Worker Sign-Off
Complete your Driving and Transport 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 confirmation 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 Driving and Transportation SWMS with General Information
It is important to begin your Driving and Transportation Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) with key project, site, date, reference, and location details so the document can be traced to the correct driving and transport 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 or Automatic Single Day Weather capture
- Multi-line text field for Description of Work
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 driving and transportation work. For simplicity, we recommend using multiple-choice selector fields for this section, with fields such as:
- Multiple-choice selector field for Project Scope
- Multiple-choice selector field for Possible Hazards
- Multiple-choice selector field for PPE Required, including Ear Protection
- 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 the truck, load restraint equipment, communication equipment, and other 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
Create a Table for the Method Statement and Risk Assessment
Next, create the main SWMS table where users can record each driving and transportation 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 Driving and Transportation Work
After the main table is created, add pre-filled rows that reflect the most common driving and transportation 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, route review, and vehicle inspection
- Row for Driving and transporting personnel, equipment or materials
- Row for Reversing and accessing worksites
- Row for Loading, unloading, parking and securing the vehicle
Create a Section for Additional High-Risk or Site-Specific Steps
Some driving and transportation tasks may require extra job steps depending on roadside breakdowns, emergency stops, traffic conditions, poor visibility, unstable shoulders, worksite access, or lone and isolated work. We highly recommend creating an additional method statement table so users can add extra risk assessment rows when needed.
- Columns for Job Step, Potential Hazards, Likelihood, Consequence, Initial Risk Score, Controls, Residual Risk Score, and Person Responsible
- Dropdown fields for Likelihood and Consequence scores
- Risk Score = Likelihood Rating x Consequence Rating
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 table 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 outcome
End your Driving and Transportation SWMS with Worker and Supervisor Sign-offs
Finally, complete the Driving and Transportation 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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