Product Overview

Summary: This Job Planning Standard Operating Procedure provides a clear, repeatable method for scoping, scheduling and resourcing work across Australian workplaces. It helps teams turn high-level requirements into well-defined, costed and risk-assessed tasks, improving delivery certainty while supporting WHS and operational compliance.

The Job Planning Standard Operating Procedure sets out a structured approach for planning work before it reaches the delivery stage. From clarifying scope and objectives through to estimating time, labour and materials, this SOP ensures that every job is thoroughly thought through, documented and communicated. It is designed for Australian organisations that need a consistent way to plan work across multiple sites, teams or contractors, whether in construction, maintenance, facilities, manufacturing, or service-based operations.

Poorly planned jobs create a cascade of issues: cost overruns, rework, rushed tasks, safety shortcuts, and frustrated clients. This SOP addresses those pain points by establishing a standard method for job requests, site assessment, risk and constraint identification, sequencing of tasks, resource allocation, and sign-off. It embeds alignment with WHS obligations and common industry standards, so that planning decisions consider safety, quality and environmental impacts from the outset. With this procedure in place, businesses can lift productivity, reduce downtime and provide a defensible audit trail for how work was planned and approved.

Key Benefits

• Standardise how jobs are scoped, costed and scheduled across all teams and sites.
• Reduce delays, rework and cost overruns caused by unclear or incomplete job planning.
• Improve coordination between operations, WHS, procurement and field teams through clear planning checkpoints.
• Ensure job planning consistently considers WHS risks, access constraints and client requirements before work starts.
• Provide a clear audit trail of planning decisions to support compliance, claims management and continuous improvement.

Who is this for?

• Operations Managers
• Project Managers
• Site Supervisors
• Maintenance Planners
• Construction Managers
• Team Leaders
• Service Coordinators
• WHS Advisors
• Business Owners
• Facilities Managers

Included Sections

• 1.0 Purpose and Scope
• 2.0 Definitions and Terminology
• 3.0 Roles and Responsibilities
• 4.0 Job Request and Initiation Process
• 5.0 Information Gathering and Site Assessment
• 6.0 Scope Definition and Acceptance Criteria
• 7.0 Task Breakdown and Sequencing
• 8.0 Resource Planning (Labour, Plant, Materials, Subcontractors)
• 9.0 Time Estimating and Scheduling
• 10.0 Cost Estimating and Budget Alignment
• 11.0 Risk Identification and WHS Considerations in Planning
• 12.0 Stakeholder Communication and Approvals
• 13.0 Documentation, Job Packs and Work Instructions
• 14.0 Change Management and Replanning
• 15.0 Recordkeeping and Version Control
• 16.0 Monitoring, Review and Continuous Improvement

Legislation & References

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) and mirror state and territory WHS Acts
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (and state/territory equivalents)
• Safe Work Australia – How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks: Code of Practice
• AS ISO 21502:2022 Project, programme and portfolio management — Guidance on project management
• AS/NZS ISO 9001:2016 Quality management systems – Requirements