Product Overview

This Geotechnical Investigation SWMS is a site-specific safety document designed to identify, control, and manage risks associated with geotechnical and subsurface investigation works, helping your team maintain WHS compliance on every project. It provides a comprehensive framework covering multiple aspects of Geotechnical Investigation, from formation testing and soil sampling through to seismic surveys and groundwater assessments.

Activities & Specific Tasks Covered

This document includes specific risk controls for:

• Carrying out formation tests safely, including access, positioning of personnel, and interaction with plant and equipment
• Conducting geophysical tests with appropriate controls for electrical hazards, trip hazards, and instrument handling
• Evaluating porosity and filling while managing manual handling risks, sample handling, and exposure to dust and contaminants
• Executing features extraction tasks, including mapping, marking, and recording ground features without creating trip or excavation hazards
• Planning and undertaking ground water flow testing with controls for slips, trips, drowning risks, and waterborne contaminants
• Identifying hazardous ground substrates such as contaminated soils, unstable ground, or voids, and implementing exclusion zones and escalation procedures
• Safe material sampling using hand tools, augers, and drilling support equipment, including PPE requirements and decontamination processes
• Managing seismic survey operations, including cable layout, sensor placement, vibration sources, and public interface controls
• Site assessment and soil identification activities, including walkover surveys, vegetation clearing, and interaction with other site works
• Conducting soil testing on site, covering use of field test kits, compaction testing, and safe set-up of temporary test areas
• Transport, storage, and labelling of soil samples to minimise spill, cross-contamination, and manual handling injuries
• Monitoring and managing ground movement and subsidence, including installation and reading of monitoring points and working around unstable ground
• Undertaking geological surveys, including mapping, logging, and documentation while working on uneven terrain and remote locations
• Use of vehicles and mobile plant to access investigation locations, including remote and off-road environments
• General environmental protection controls such as sediment control, waste management, and protection of waterways during geotechnical works

Who is this for?

This SWMS is designed for geotechnical engineers, drilling and investigation contractors, environmental consultants, surveyors, and site supervisors overseeing ground and subsurface investigation works.

Specific Job Steps & Hazards Covered

Legislation & References

This document was researched and developed to align with:

• Model Code of Practice: How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks – Guidance on identifying hazards, assessing risks, and implementing control measures for geotechnical activities
• Model Code of Practice: Construction Work – Requirements for managing risks associated with construction-related ground investigations and site works
• Model Code of Practice: Excavation Work – Controls for any pits, test holes, boreholes, or trial excavations created during investigations
• Model Code of Practice: Hazardous Manual Tasks – Managing risks from lifting, carrying, and handling samples, equipment, and test apparatus
• Model Code of Practice: Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work – Applicable to seismic survey plant, drilling rigs, and powered equipment
• Model Code of Practice: Confined Spaces – Where investigations involve access to pits, shafts, or enclosed spaces with restricted entry or egress
• AS 1726 Geotechnical Site Investigations – Guidance for planning and conducting geotechnical investigations and associated safety considerations
• AS 4482.1 Guide to the investigation and sampling of sites with potentially contaminated soil – Non-volatile and semi-volatile substances – Relevant to hazardous ground substrate identification and sampling
• AS/NZS 4801 Occupational health and safety management systems – Framework for integrating this SWMS into an organisation’s WHS management system
• Work Health and Safety Act 2011
• Work Health and Safety Regulations 2017