Traffic Management Plans for Warehouses, Manufacturing and Industrial Sites
Pedestrians and powered mobile plant sharing the same floor is the single hazard WorkSafe inspectors look at first. We build the plan that holds up.
Practical, site-specific traffic management plans for Victorian workplaces. Built around how your site actually operates, aligned with the OHS Act 2004 and OHS Regulations 2017, and developed by a former WorkSafe Victoria inspector.
A traffic management plan isn't a document you write once and file. It's the working record of how you keep people and mobile plant separated — on a real site, in real conditions, on the day an inspector turns up.
When you need a traffic management plan
If any of the following apply to your site, you're not just exposed — you're likely already non-compliant.
Forklifts or powered mobile plant on site
Any site operating forklifts, reach trucks, pallet jacks, telehandlers or order pickers around workers carries an obligation to identify and control the interaction risk under the OHS Regulations 2017.
New fitout, expansion or site change
A new mezzanine, a relocated loading dock, a changed despatch flow — any layout change that affects how vehicles and people move resets your risk profile. Existing plans rarely survive a real fitout.
Contractor or head-contractor requirement
Project managers, head contractors and food manufacturing principals increasingly require a site-specific traffic management plan before allowing works to start. A generic template won't pass the review.
Visiting trucks, deliveries or third-party drivers
If drivers who don't work for you are inducted onto your site daily, your plan needs to cover them. Loading bays, reversing areas and pedestrian crossings are where most incidents actually happen.
Recent near miss or incident
A pedestrian struck, a near miss documented, or a hazard report referencing forklift interaction. These are the events WorkSafe asks about when they arrive. The plan needs to reflect what changed.
WorkSafe inspection, notice or audit
An improvement notice citing pedestrian–plant interaction, or an upcoming audit where traffic management is in scope. The fix needs to be defensible, not decorative.
What a real traffic management plan includes
Not a stock template with your logo on it. A working document that controls actual risk on your actual site.
- Site walk and risk identification We walk the site during operating hours and watch what actually happens — not what the SOP says happens. Pedestrian routes, blind corners, reversing zones, intersections with mobile plant, loading and unloading.
- Site map with traffic flows Marked-up plan showing pedestrian-only zones, vehicle-only zones, shared zones with controls, speed limits, designated crossing points and exclusion zones.
- Control hierarchy applied properly Separation first, then engineering controls, then signage and PPE — applied in the order the OHS Act 2004 requires. We document why each control was chosen and what was considered before settling on it.
- Roles, responsibilities and rules Who's responsible for what, induction requirements for visitors and contractors, communication protocols between drivers and ground crew, and the rules that apply in each zone.
- Emergency and breakdown procedures What happens when a forklift breaks down in a pedestrian zone, when a load falls, when the floor is wet, when visibility drops. Real scenarios with real responses.
- Review triggers and ongoing duties A plan that lists when it must be re-reviewed — layout changes, new plant, incident occurrence, change of operation — rather than sitting on a shelf until the next inspection.
The process
Four steps from initial call to a plan you can hand to a WorkSafe inspector, a head contractor, or your insurer.
Scope
A 15-minute call to understand the site, the operation, the trigger, and what success looks like. Fixed-fee scope confirmed before any onsite work.
Walk
Onsite walk during normal operations. We see what's actually happening — not the version in the existing procedure manual.
Draft
Written plan with site map, control hierarchy, rules, responsibilities and review triggers. Reviewed with you before sign-off.
Embed
Induction materials, signage recommendations, and a clear path to keeping the plan live as the site changes.
Industries we work with
Direct, practical experience in the sectors where traffic management failures are most often cited.
Warehousing and distribution
Pallet racking aisles, despatch zones, third-party drivers, multi-shift operations.
Food manufacturing
Wash-down zones, raw-to-finished flow, contractor access, hygiene and safety overlap.
Logistics and transport
Loading docks, yard movements, driver-on-foot interactions, fatigue management overlay.
General manufacturing
Production floors with mobile plant, finished-goods movement, maintenance access.
Construction fitouts and projects
Multi-employer sites, principal contractor duties, evolving site conditions, staged works.
Retail back-of-house and bulk goods
Customer-facing operations with goods movement, delivery scheduling, after-hours work.
Why work with RAS-OHS
A traffic management plan only matters if it works when it's tested. That happens in two places: when an inspector walks the floor, and when something nearly goes wrong.
Former WorkSafe inspector
Direct enforcement experience under the OHS Act 2004. We know what inspectors look for in a TMP because we've audited them ourselves.
Risk-based, not paperwork-based
Controls that actually reduce risk on the floor, documented in a plan you can defend — not a binder that exists only for the next audit.
Practical for Victorian SMEs
Built around what your operation can actually deliver. We don't write controls that depend on a budget you don't have or a workforce you don't run.
Common questions
Straight answers to what site managers, project managers and OHS leads ask us before engaging.
Is a traffic management plan legally required in Victoria?
Victorian employers have a duty under the OHS Act 2004 to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and others affected by the conduct of their undertaking. Where powered mobile plant operates around people, the OHS Regulations 2017 require risk control measures — and the practical evidence of those measures is a traffic management plan. There is no separate stand-alone law titled "traffic management plan", but in any reasonably foreseeable inspection or investigation, the absence of one is treated as the absence of control.
What's the difference between a generic template and a site-specific plan?
A template is a starting structure. A site-specific plan reflects the actual layout, actual movements, actual people and actual risk on your site on a normal operating day. WorkSafe inspectors and head contractors can tell the difference in under five minutes.
How long does it take to develop a plan?
For a single-site operation, typically two to three weeks from scoping call to final plan — including the site walk, drafting, review and sign-off. Multi-site, complex or rapidly changing sites take longer because the plan must be built to a structure that survives the change.
Who needs to be involved from our side?
Someone with operational authority over the site — a site manager, operations lead or OHS coordinator. Elected Health and Safety Representatives must be consulted under the OHS Act 2004 if you have them. Drivers, forklift operators and floor staff are interviewed during the walk because they know where the real risks are.
What if we already have a plan but it's out of date?
That's the most common starting position. We review the existing document against your current operation, identify the gaps that matter, and either rebuild or restructure depending on what's there. A plan that's three years old on a site that's changed twice is not a plan — it's a liability.
Can you support principal contractors or project managers?
Yes. Project management companies and principal contractors increasingly require a site-specific TMP from subcontractors or tenants before works begin. We work directly with PM firms managing fitouts in warehouses, manufacturing sites and food production facilities to deliver plans the principal will accept.
Do you deliver this onsite or remotely?
The site walk is onsite — there is no substitute for seeing the operation in person. Drafting, consultation and review happen remotely. We support sites across Melbourne and regional Victoria.
What does it cost?
Fixed-fee scoping confirmed after the initial discussion. Cost depends on site size, complexity, operational hours and whether the plan is being built from scratch or rebuilt from an existing baseline. We confirm scope and fee in writing before any onsite work.
Build a plan that holds up.
15-minute call. We'll discuss the site, the trigger and what you actually need — and tell you whether a traffic management plan is the right next step or whether something else is.
Or call 0435 245 411 — Monday to Friday, business hours.