Managing Risks of Plant

Plant is a major cause of work-related death and injury. Lifecycle duty: design → manufacture → supply → install → use → maintain → dismantle.

Edition note

Re-baselined against SWA Nov 2024 model edition on 2026-04-28. The Nov 2024 update integrated vehicle roll-away and safe-immobilisation guidance (see §8). Watch state-level amendments — e.g. QLD Work Health and Safety (High Risk Plant) Amendment Regulation 2026 commenced 29 March 2026, moving the "high-risk plant" list from the WHS Act into the Regulation; verify your jurisdiction's adoption.

Quick Take

• Always work down the guarding hierarchy: fixed → interlocked → presence-sensing.
• Lockout-tagout (LOTO) before any cleaning, adjustment, or servicing of moving parts.
• Registrable plant: cranes, tower cranes, hoists, EWPs, pressure vessels, lifts, boilers — design AND item registration.
• HRWL required for forklifts (LF/LO), cranes (CN/CV/CB/CT/CS), dogging (DG), rigging (RB/RI/RA), EWP > 11 m boom (WP), scaffolds (SB/SI/SA), pressure equipment, boilers.
• Plant register + maintenance log are the records a regulator opens first.

1. Definitions

Plant (WHS Reg 5) — any machinery, equipment, appliance, container, implement and tool, plus components and fittings; includes powered and non-powered.

Powered mobile plant — earthmovers, forklifts, cranes, EWPs, telehandlers, skid-steers; specific duties (Reg 215) include FOPS/ROPS, operator restraints, warning devices.

Registrable plant — designs and individual items that must be registered with the regulator before use.

Category	Design registration	Item registration
Tower cranes	✓	✓
Mobile cranes (rated > 10 t)	✓	✓
Hoists with cars/cabs	✓	✓
Boom-type EWP > 11 m	✓	✓
Lifts (incl. building / dumb-waiter)	✓	✓
Pressure vessels (high-hazard cat A/B/C)	✓	✓
Boilers	✓	✓
Concrete-placing booms	✓	✓
Amusement devices	✓	✓

2. Lifecycle duties (WHS Act ss.21–26)

Duty holder	Key obligation
Designer (s.22)	Design without risks across construction, use, maintenance, dismantling. Provide info downstream.
Manufacturer (s.23)	Manufacture per safe design; conduct testing; supply with safe-use info.
Importer (s.24)	Same as manufacturer for imported plant.
Supplier (s.25)	Provide info on safe use, handling, maintenance, disposal.
Installer / commissioner (s.26)	Install / commission such that plant is without risks.
User PCBU (s.19)	Operate, maintain, inspect, train, license.

3. Pre-purchase / pre-use / pre-start

Pre-purchase

• Specify task, environment, capacity, ergonomics, noise/vibration emissions.
• Verify the design is registered (where required); supplier provides design number.
• Get manufacturer manual, SWL/load chart, SDS for any chemicals, manuals in English.
• Check guards/interlocks fitted as standard; arc-flash / FOPS / ROPS specs match exposure.

Pre-use (commissioning)

• Install per manufacturer's instructions; certified competent installer for registrable plant.
• Test all controls, emergency stops, interlocks, brakes, alarms.
• Operator training and competency check before first production use.
• Plant register entry + commissioning record.

Pre-start (each shift)

• Pre-start checklist by competent operator.
• Tyres, brakes, steering, hydraulics, fluid levels, attachments, restraints, alarms, mirrors, lights.
• Sign and date; defects logged + tagged out until repaired.

4. Guarding hierarchy

Always go for the highest level reasonably practicable. A guard that depends on operator behaviour (admin/PPE) is the last layer, not the first.

![[managing_risks_of_plant_img001.jpg|520]] Figure 1 — Fixed barrier guard. The most reliable level: doesn't rely on the operator.

![[managing_risks_of_plant_img002.jpg|520]] Figure 2 — Interlocked guard. Power is cut when the guard is opened. Standard for accessible moving parts that need regular cleaning/loading.

![[managing_risks_of_plant_img003.jpg|520]] Figure 3 — Presence-sensing (light curtain). Last resort when a fixed/interlocked guard isn't possible. Must be commissioned by a competent person and tested regularly.

Levels (top down)

1. Fixed — bolted on; tools required to remove.
2. Interlocked — power cuts when guard opens; restart only with deliberate action.
3. Tool-fastened removable — for infrequent access (maintenance only).
4. Presence-sensing — light curtain, mat, laser scanner. Last resort.

5. Isolation — lockout-tagout (LOTO)

![[managing_risks_of_plant_img004.jpg|520]] Figure 4 — Lockout-tagout: hasp + multiple personal locks. Each worker applies their own; the last person off removes theirs. The supply cannot be re-energised while any lock remains.

LOTO sequence

1. Notify — affected workers / supervisor.
2. Shutdown — proper shutdown sequence per the manual.
3. Identify — every energy source (electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, thermal, gravity, stored kinetic, chemical).
4. Isolate — open & secure isolators / valves; rack out breakers; physical disconnection where possible.
5. Lock & tag — personal lock + danger tag at every isolation point. Tag identifies who, what, why, date.
6. Dissipate — bleed pressure, lower elevated parts, dissipate stored energy.
7. Test — try to start; verify dead. Re-test if work pauses or worker leaves.

Tags warn; locks isolate. Don't rely on tags alone.

6. High-Risk Work Licences (HRWL)

For construction-relevant plant operation:

Class	What
LF	Forklift truck
LO	Order-picking forklift
CN	Non-slewing mobile crane > 3 t
CV	Vehicle-loading crane (≥ 10 t·m)
CB	Slewing mobile crane ≤ 20 t
CT	Slewing mobile crane ≤ 60 t
CS	Slewing mobile crane ≤ 100 t
C2 / C6 / C0	Tower cranes by capacity / scope
DG	Dogging
RB / RI / RA	Rigging — basic / intermediate / advanced
WP	Boom-type EWP > 11 m
SB / SI / SA	Scaffolding — basic / intermediate / advanced
HR / HM / HL	Pressure equipment / boiler operation classes

Verify the licence card before mobilisation — licence numbers are checkable with the regulator.

7. Maintenance, inspection, testing

• Per manufacturer's specs at minimum.
• Competent person for inspections; written record.
• Annual competent-person inspection at minimum for most plant; more frequent for high-use / high-risk.
• Major inspection at intervals specified by manufacturer (10 years typical for cranes).
• Hydraulic / pneumatic systems — pressure-test seals, hoses, rams.
• Lifting gear (slings, hooks, shackles) — visual every use; thorough inspection ≥ every 6 months by competent person; AS 4991 / AS 1418 standards.

8. Construction-site specific

• Site induction must cover plant zones, exclusion zones, communications, site speed limits.
• Spotter for plant operating near workers, near excavation edges (see [[excavation_work]]), near services.
• Vehicle roll-away controls (engine off + park brake + steering wheels turned to the kerb on slopes + chock + isolation; park on level surface where possible) — integrated in the SWA Nov 2024 edition; see also SWA fact sheet Preventing vehicle roll-aways and safe immobilisation.
• Refuelling: spark/ignition controls, spill containment, no smoking.

9. Records

• Plant register — type, design number, item number, location, capacity, install date.
• Maintenance log — every service, inspection, test, repair; competent-person sign-off.
• Pre-start checklists — daily; retained for the life of the plant.
• Operator competency / HRWL records — copies on file before mobilisation.
• Incident / defect register — tag-outs, fault findings, close-outs.
• For registered plant: certificate, design / item registration numbers — kept until plant disposed.

10. Common pitfalls / quick wins

Do

• Verify HRWL before anyone climbs into the cab.
• Walk-around pre-start every shift; sign the book.
• LOTO every time the guard goes off; never "just for a minute".
• Keep guards in service — log every removal/reinstatement.
• Tag-out defects immediately; don't wait for the rounds.
• Replace lost manuals — manufacturer or industry-association copies.

Don't

• Operate without a manual on site.
• Assume a generic competency = HRWL. Verify the class.
• Re-energise on someone else's lock. Last person off = last lock off.
• Accept "the supplier will fix it next week" for a defective control. Out of service.
• Run a cleaning cycle without isolating moving parts.

11. Cross-references

• See also: [[managing_electrical_risks]] (LOTO of electrical isolation), [[excavation_work]] (plant near edges), [[falls_in_housing_construction]] / [[managing_risk_of_falls]] (EWPs)
• Foundations: [[risk_management_process]]
• Glossary (HRWL, LOTO, registrable plant): [[glossary_and_key_concepts]]

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Source: model_code_of_practice-managing_the_risks_of_plant_in_the_workplace-nov24.pdf (Safe Work Australia, model Code of Practice, CC-BY-NC 4.0). Source edition: November 2024. Last verified against SWA: 2026-04-28. State-level: QLD High Risk Plant Amendment Regulation 2026 commenced 29 March 2026.