Product Overview

Summary: This SOP sets out safe, consistent shipping and receiving protocols for timber and manufactured wood products, from truck arrival through to storage and dispatch. It helps Australian businesses control manual handling, forklift and stacking risks while protecting product quality and ensuring compliance with WHS and chain of responsibility obligations.

Shipping and receiving wood products presents a unique mix of safety, quality and logistics challenges. Long, heavy and sometimes unstable loads, banded packs, protruding nails, splinters, and the use of forklifts or overhead lifting gear all create significant WHS risks if they are not tightly controlled. At the same time, poorly managed loading, unloading and storage can lead to damaged timber, inaccurate deliveries, and disputes with customers and freight partners.

This Safe Operating Procedure provides a clear, step‑by‑step framework for how wood products are to be received, inspected, handled, stored and dispatched on site. It defines how trucks are to be marshalled, how exclusion zones are established, how loads are checked and stabilised, and how documentation is verified before any movement occurs. The SOP integrates WHS requirements with practical yard operations, giving your team a single, consistent way of working that supports due diligence under Australian WHS laws and Heavy Vehicle National Law chain of responsibility requirements.

By implementing this procedure, businesses can significantly reduce the likelihood of crush injuries, falls from vehicles, musculoskeletal disorders and product loss, while also improving turnaround times and communication with drivers and carriers. It supports safer manual handling techniques, correct use of forklifts and lifting attachments, and compliant stacking and racking of timber packs. The result is a safer yard, fewer damaged loads, and greater confidence that every shipment in and out of your facility is handled to a documented, defensible standard.

Key Benefits

• Reduce the risk of crush, struck-by and manual handling injuries during loading and unloading of timber products.
• Ensure consistent, documented shipping and receiving practices across shifts, sites and contractors.
• Streamline truck turnaround times through clear marshalling, communication and documentation checks.
• Improve product quality and customer satisfaction by minimising damage, mispicks and short deliveries.
• Demonstrate compliance with WHS duties and chain of responsibility obligations for timber freight movements.

Who is this for?

• Warehouse Managers
• Dispatch Coordinators
• Yard Supervisors
• Forklift Operators
• Storepersons
• Logistics Managers
• WHS Managers
• Operations Managers
• Inventory Controllers
• Timber Mill Supervisors

Hazards Addressed

• Crush injuries from moving vehicles, forklifts and mobile plant in loading areas
• Loads shifting or collapsing during unloading, stacking or transport
• Manual handling injuries from lifting, carrying or repositioning timber packs and boards
• Falls from height while accessing truck decks, trailers or loads
• Struck-by injuries from falling timber, banding, dunnage or load restraint equipment
• Splinters, cuts and puncture wounds from rough-sawn timber, nails, staples or broken pallets
• Slips, trips and falls in cluttered or uneven yard and loading dock areas
• Exposure to wood dust and noise in high-traffic warehouse or mill environments
• Vehicle-pedestrian interaction risks in shared traffic zones
• Incorrect use of forklifts, clamps, slings or attachments for handling timber packs

Included Sections

• 1.0 Purpose and Scope
• 2.0 Definitions and Terminology (Timber Packs, Bundles, Dunnage, Load Restraint, etc.)
• 3.0 Roles and Responsibilities (Supervisors, Forklift Operators, Storepersons, Drivers)
• 4.0 Applicable Legislation, Standards and Codes of Practice
• 5.0 Required Competencies, Licences and Training
• 6.0 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Requirements for Yard and Loading Areas
• 7.0 Pre-Arrival Planning and Scheduling of Deliveries and Dispatches
• 8.0 Site Traffic Management and Truck Marshalling Procedures
• 9.0 Driver Induction, Sign-In and Communication Protocols
• 10.0 Pre-Unloading Safety Checks (Load Stability, Restraints, Damage, Weather Conditions)
• 11.0 Safe Unloading Procedures for Wood Products
• 12.0 Safe Loading Procedures and Load Building for Outgoing Shipments
• 13.0 Use of Forklifts, Attachments and Other Lifting Equipment with Timber Packs
• 14.0 Manual Handling of Individual Boards, Short Packs and Irregular Items
• 15.0 Load Restraint, Securing and Verification Prior to Departure
• 16.0 Inspection, Quality Checks and Documentation of Received Goods
• 17.0 Storage, Stacking and Racking Requirements for Wood Products
• 18.0 Management of Damaged Goods, Non-Conformances and Disputes
• 19.0 Housekeeping, Yard Layout and Control of Slips, Trips and Falls
• 20.0 Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Control Measures Specific to Timber Handling
• 21.0 Incident, Near Miss and Property Damage Reporting Procedures
• 22.0 Environmental Considerations (Dust, Waste Timber, Packaging Materials)
• 23.0 Emergency Procedures for Load Collapse, Injury and Vehicle Incidents
• 24.0 Monitoring, Audit and Continuous Improvement of Shipping and Receiving Processes
• 25.0 Document Control, Records Management and Version History

Legislation & References

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth and state/territory equivalents)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Cth and state/territory equivalents)
• Safe Work Australia – Code of Practice: Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace
• Safe Work Australia – Code of Practice: Hazardous Manual Tasks
• Safe Work Australia – Code of Practice: Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces
• NHVR – Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) and Chain of Responsibility requirements
• Load Restraint Guide for Light Vehicles and Heavy Vehicles (National Transport Commission / NHVR)
• AS 2359: Powered industrial trucks (series)
• AS/NZS 4801: Occupational health and safety management systems (superseded but commonly referenced)
• AS 4068: Timber – Preservative-treated – Sawn and round – Product specification (for product handling and identification context)