Plant and machinery WHS duties on residential sites

What it is

Plant is the legal term for machinery, equipment, appliances, containers, implements and tools used at a workplace. On a residential site it covers excavators, skid steers, telehandlers, scissor lifts, boom lifts, mobile cranes, concrete pumps, compaction plant, powered hand tools, generators and pressure equipment.

Part 4.5 of the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulations sets the duties for managing the risks associated with plant. The model Code of Practice "Managing the risks of plant in the workplace" is the practical reference and applies across AU through each state and territory's WHS framework.

The four roles in the plant chain

The Regulations split duties across four roles, and a small residential builder often holds more than one:

• Designer. Anyone who designs plant or a structure that includes plant. Must eliminate or minimise risks in the design.
• Manufacturer. Must build the plant so the design risk controls remain in place.
• Supplier. Must supply with information about hazards and safe use, and not supply plant the supplier knows to be defective.
• PCBU using the plant. The builder, subcontractor or hire operator who actually puts the plant to work. Must manage risks during use, inspection and maintenance.

When you hire a 5 tonne excavator from a hire yard, you become the PCBU using the plant. The hire yard is the supplier. Both have duties for the same machine.

Pre-start checks and inspection

The PCBU using plant has to manage risks before each shift. For mobile plant on a residential site the daily pre-start check normally covers:

• Tyres, tracks, hoses and structural condition
• Fluid levels (engine oil, hydraulic oil, coolant, fuel)
• Brakes, steering and controls
• Seatbelt, mirrors, horn, reverse alarm and beacon
• Quick hitches and attachments locked correctly
• ROPS, FOPS and operator protective structures intact

Records of these checks are not legally mandated in every jurisdiction but are expected by inspectors and required by most builders' insurers. A pre-start book or app log is standard practice.

Manufacturer service intervals also need to be followed. Hire plant comes with a service history that the supplier has to make available.

Operator competency and high risk work licences

The PCBU has to make sure operators are competent on the specific class of plant. Schedule 3 of the model WHS Regulations lists the classes of plant that require a high risk work licence (HRWL). On a residential site the most common are:

• Boom-type elevating work platform (EWP) where the boom length is 11 metres or more
• Slewing mobile crane (multiple classes by capacity)
• Non-slewing mobile crane above 3 tonnes
• Vehicle loading crane above 10 metre tonnes
• Forklift truck (LF licence)
• Dogging and rigging where loads are moved by crane

A boom lift under 11 metres does not need an HRWL but the operator still has to be competent and trained on the specific machine, normally under the EWPA Yellow Card scheme or equivalent.

Traffic management on a residential site

Plant operates alongside workers, deliveries and often the public on a residential block. The PCBU has to plan separation between mobile plant and pedestrians. Practical controls:

• A site-specific traffic management plan, even on a small block
• Exclusion zones around operating excavators and dump trucks
• Spotters when reversing near boundaries or workers
• Designated drop zones for materials away from active work
• Speed limits across the site, especially through narrow access points

Documentation that needs to be kept

For each piece of plant on a residential job the PCBU using it should keep:

• Plant risk assessment (from the manufacturer or completed for the task)
• Pre-start records for the period of hire or ownership
• Service and maintenance records
• Operator HRWL or training records
• Hire agreement and supplier compliance documents
• Site-specific SWMS for any HRCW the plant is used to do (powered mobile plant excavation is one trigger)

Where residential builders get caught

Three patterns show up:

• Letting an apprentice or junior worker operate plant without checking the specific HRWL or training class. The penalty falls on the PCBU, not the operator.
• Using a quick hitch on an excavator without checking the locking pin is engaged. Quick hitch failures have killed operators across AU and the issue is well documented in safety alerts.
• Skipping pre-start checks on hire plant because "the hire yard checked it". The PCBU using the plant still has the duty, regardless of what the supplier did.

Penalties under the model WHS Act for Category 2 offences reach $1.5 million for a body corporate. A serious plant incident on a residential site routinely triggers a SafeWork investigation and prosecution.