SafeWork SA advises workplaces to be cautious about the interaction between mobile plant and pedestrians

SafeWork SA advises workplaces to be cautious about the interaction between mobile plant and pedestrians

Short answer: SafeWork SA is warning operators and site managers to keep powered machinery physically separated from people on foot, after 14 fatalities across South Australia in five years. Regulators are calling on all employers to lock in documented planning, verified operator competency and daily supervisory management of vehicle movement.

The numbers behind this compliance news

• 14 fatalities tied to machinery movement in South Australia over five years.
• 81 serious injuries reported as notifiable from 2020–21 through 2024–25.
• Transport, Postal and Warehousing logged the highest tally of notifiable incidents, at 14.
• Construction ranked second with nine reports, ahead of Wholesale Trade on eight.

SafeWork SA has recently warned mobile plant operators about the considerable dangers posed to workers and pedestrians, after 14 fatalities over the last five years.

“Powered mobile plant includes forklifts, tractors elevating work platforms, delivery vehicles, order pickers, earthmoving equipment, prime movers, cranes and other industrial equipment and machinery that is designed to be easily transported and used at various locations,” SafeWork stated in its warning.

In the five financial years spanning from 2020–21 to 2024–25 in South Australia, SafeWork SA has documented 81 notifiable serious injury reports concerning powered mobile plant.

SafeWork says that the industries reporting the most notifiable incidents are Transport, Postal and Warehousing at 14, followed by Construction at 9, Wholesale Trade at 8, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing at 6, and Retail Trade at 5.

Why machinery moving near people on foot is so hazardous

Heavy equipment and unprotected pedestrians share the same ground, so crush, run-over and struck-by exposure escalates within seconds. Restricted visibility, reversing manoeuvres, background noise and congested loading areas magnify every danger. Rushed schedules or poor lighting turn an already hazardous activity into a tragedy waiting to happen.

Blind spots on forklifts, excavators and prime movers conceal anyone standing within metres of a moving machine. Where separation relies on eye contact alone, one lapse ends badly. Our team sees the identical pattern in regulator alerts year after year: hazards are well documented, yet everyday management drifts once production pressure builds.

Legal duties under the Work Health and Safety Act

Persons conducting a business or undertaking must eliminate exposure where reasonably practicable, then minimise whatever remains. Applying the hierarchy of control means designing shared space out of a layout first, adding engineering controls next, and relying on administrative control plus supervision last. Consult health and safety representatives before finalising any layout change, because frontline crews witness near misses that never reach management dashboards.

Guidance from Safe Work Australia and the regulator’s own SafeWork SA news updates both stress the same duty: wherever machines interact with pedestrians, separation must be planned, not improvised.

Mobile plant management priorities for separating machines and people

• Movement planning: map vehicle routes, walkways and crossing points into a single movement management plan, revised at each project stage.
• Physical separation: hard barriers, bollards and fenced walkways outperform painted lines, so barrier management deserves its own inspection schedule.
• Exclusion zones: establish no-go areas around slewing or reversing machinery, supported by spotter management during high-risk operations.
• Competency: licence verification, plant familiarisation and refresher training belong inside your competency management records.
• Pre-start checks: horns, cameras, mirrors, alarms and beacons fail quietly, which makes defect management non-negotiable.
• Maintenance: log servicing in a Plant and Equipment Register linked to asset management schedules.
• Fatigue: rosters, breaks and heat exposure demand fatigue management, especially on remote earthmoving projects.
• Contractors: induct every delivery driver, apprentice and guest through visitor management before granting ground access.
• Loading docks: refuges, keys-in-hand rules and pallet staging rely on disciplined dock management.
• Change: altered layouts, weather events and unplanned deliveries require change management rather than verbal assumptions.
• Reporting: capture close calls and reportable incidents, then drive corrective action management with named owners and due dates.

Documentation that supports mobile plant safety

Written procedures give supervisors something concrete to enforce. Begin with a formal risk assessment for each machine type, then translate findings into method statements crews genuinely follow. Our earthmoving and mobile plant SWMS range covers excavators, rollers and loaders, while the Tipper and Dog SWMS template addresses tipping plus reversing sequences on busy construction projects.

Policy sets expectations across every crew and shift. A plant & equipment policy defines authorisation, inspection frequency and escalation paths, feeding directly into your wider safety management system. Principal contractors should also review the Code of Practice update covering plant management before their next tender.

Practical steps for construction and warehousing teams

Modest design changes reduce risk at the source. Drive-through layouts remove reversing altogether. Marked waiting bays keep delivery drivers clear of swinging loads. Where equipment must operate beside people, appoint a trained spotter and confirm radio contact before wheels or tracks turn.

Supervisors ought to verify separation at every shift start and record what they observe, paying attention to pedestrian movement near vehicles at gates, amenities and material stockpiles. Frontline management that walks the ground catches drift long before an inspector arrives. Assign a risk rating to each shared interaction point so spending follows exposure rather than opinion.

Leadership accountability across construction and industrial workplaces

Senior management sets the tone. When executives fund barriers, reversing cameras and extra supervision, crews accept that separation genuinely matters. Line management then upholds expectations day to day, while performance management deals with operators who cut corners.

Close the loop with a quarterly management review of movement plans, defect trends and close-call reporting. Regulators consistently commend operations where consultative management brings labourers, drivers and forklift operators into route redesign rather than handing down directives.

Related safety news and resources

• 10 mobile plant safety tips for minimising injury exposure on any workplace.
• SafeWork SA mock trials explaining prosecutions — enforcement news that shows where preventable harm leads.
• Regulator warnings about the dangers of ozone exposure, another reminder that documented hazards still injure people.

Bookmark our industry news hub for regulator bulletins, template releases and compliance updates that help you keep machinery and people apart.

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