A Supervisor’s Guide to Dogging Safety

1. The Supervisor’s Duty of Care Under WHS Legislation

Under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (and equivalent state-based legislation), a supervisor is classified as a “person conducting a business or undertaking” (PCBU) or as an officer with due diligence obligations. Key duties include:

• Ensuring licensed workers are only assigned tasks within the scope of their High-Risk Work Licence (HRWL).
• Providing and maintaining a safe system of work for all lifting operations.
• Monitoring worker health and safety to ensure compliance with safe work practices.
• Consulting with workers (including Dogmen) on health and safety matters relating to lifting.

2. Verifying Dogging Licences: What Supervisors Must Check

It is not enough to simply ask a worker, “Do you have your dogging ticket?” Supervisors must take active steps to verify:

• Licence class: Must show “DG” (Dogging). White Cards or other HRWL classes do not permit dogging work.
• Expiry date: High-Risk Work Licences expire every five years. An expired licence is invalid.
• State of issue: All Australian HRWLs are nationally recognised, but confirm the worker is the named licence holder (photo ID required).
• Conditions: Some licences have conditions (e.g., “corrective lenses required”). Supervisors must ensure these are met.

Practical tip: Use the national licensing database (where available) or maintain a site register of verified licence details.

3. Planning Lifting Operations: SWMS, JSA, and Lift Plans

Every dogging operation requires documented risk management. As a supervisor, you are responsible for ensuring the following are completed before any lift commences:

• Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS): Mandatory for high-risk construction work, including any lift involving cranes or hoists. Must identify dogging-specific hazards.
• Job Safety Analysis (JSA): For smaller lifts, a JSA or pre-start risk assessment is still required.
• Lift Plan: For complex, heavy, or critical lifts, a formal lift plan should be prepared by a competent person. The supervisor must ensure all Dogmen have read and understood the plan.

Common oversight: Many supervisors assume the crane operator is responsible for lift planning. Under WHS law, multiple duty holders share responsibility.

4. Supervision Failures: The Most Common Legal Pitfalls

Based on actual prosecution records (SafeWork NSW, WorkSafe Victoria), the most frequent supervisor failures in dogging incidents include:

5. Dogging vs. Electrical Spotter: Drawing the Line

One of the most confusing areas for supervisors is distinguishing between dogging tasks (requiring a DG licence) and other roles such as electrical spotter. For example:

• Dogging: Directing a crane via hand signals or radio; selecting slings; calculating load weights.
• Electrical spotter: Watching for power lines and advising safe approach distances (does not require a DG licence, but requires specific training).

A supervisor who incorrectly assigns an electrical spotter to perform dogging tasks (e.g., slinging a load) is breaching WHS laws. To fully understand the distinct training requirements and legal scopes, revisit our detailed resource: What is a Dogman Ticket? – it breaks down the mandatory boundaries every supervisor must enforce.

6. Incident Response: What a Supervisor Must Do After a Lifting Incident

If a dogging-related incident occurs (near miss, injury, or property damage), supervisors are legally required to:

1. Secure the scene – Do not move equipment or loads unless necessary for immediate safety.
2. Provide first aid / emergency response – Activate site emergency procedures.
3. Notify the regulator – In cases of serious injury or death, report immediately to SafeWork / WorkSafe.
4. Preserve evidence – Photograph slings, load, crane position, and documentation.
5. Complete internal incident reports – Record witness statements as soon as possible.
6. Cooperate with any investigation – Regulators have powers to seize documents and interview workers.

7. Proactive Safety Management for Supervisors

Beyond legal compliance, embed dogging safety into daily operations through:

• Pre-start briefings: Review the lift plan, identify hazards, confirm each Dogman’s licence status.
• Spot checks: Randomly inspect slings, shackles, and lifting gear.
• Toolbox talks: Discuss dogging incidents from industry alerts.
• Competency refreshers: Even licensed Dogmen benefit from refresher training. Leverage advanced insights from Dogging Expertise Unleashed to upskill your team.
• Empower stop-work authority: Encourage workers to stop a lift if unsafe – support that decision without reprisal.

8. Building a Safety Culture: Training and Continuous Improvement

The most legally defensible supervisor is one who can demonstrate proactive training and continuous improvement. Keep records of:

• All dogging training completed by site workers (initial licences and refreshers).
• Supervisory training on WHS duties (e.g., “Due Diligence for Officers” courses).
• Minutes from safety meetings where lifting operations were discussed.
• Corrective actions taken after near misses.

When a regulator investigates an incident, they will request these records. Their absence is often treated as evidence that proper systems were not in place.