(SWMS) Construction

Suncoast Safety provides all Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) & Mobile Plant Risk
Assessments in Electronic editable PDF format and hard copies posted to you.

We also provide 7 days a week of help and support including after hours.
We also offer to review ; update all safety documentation on a 12 monthly basis.

We are here to help and support you and your business with nearly 15 years of experience.

Areas we service are Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Wide Bay, Hervey Bay,
Bundaberg, North Brisbane, Ipswich, Toowoomba, South Brisbane, Tweed, New South
Wales, Victoria, Northern Territory, Western Australia, North Queensland, Central
Queensland, Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton, Mackay
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Duty Holders

A person conducting a business or undertaking carrying out high risk construction
work is required under the  Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (WHS
Regulation) to:

  • ensure that a safe work method statement (SWMS) is prepared before the
    proposed work starts
  • make arrangements to ensure that the high risk construction work is carried
    out in accordance with the SWMS
  • ensure that a copy of the SWMS is given to the principal contractor before the
    work starts
  • ensure that a SWMS is reviewed and revised if necessary
  • keep a copy of the SWMS until the high risk construction work is completed.

All duty holders involved in a high risk work activity must make sure:

  1. the work is carried out in accordance with the SWMS
  2.  if the work is not carried out in accordance with the SWMS, the work is:
    # stopped immediately or as soon as it is safe to do so
    # resumed in accordance with the statement
  3. all SWMSs are given to the principal contractor prior to work commencing
  4. SWMSs are kept so as to be readily available for inspection.
  5. A new Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) tool has been published on the Safe Work Australia website to provide guidance on what a SWMS does, how it makes a difference, how to prepare one, and how to use it in the workplace and keep it up to date. Visit the Safe Work Australia website to access the tool.
swms-brisbane-queensland-australia

Purpose of a safe work method statement (SWMS)

The primary purpose of a SWMS is to help supervisors, workers and any other
persons at the workplace to understand the requirements that have been established
to carry out the high risk construction work in a safe and healthy manner.

The SWMS:

  •  sets out the work activities in logical sequences
  •  identifies hazards
  • describes control measures.

Both simple and complex activities can be broken down into a series of basic stepsthat will allow for full analysis of each part of the activity for hazards and potentialincidents. The description of the process should not be so broad that it leaves outactivities with the potential to cause incidents and prevents proper identification of the hazards nor is it necessary to go into fine detail of the tasks.

The aim of a SWMS is to:

  • describe the activity or task to be undertaken
  •  identify the resources, manpower and skills associated with the task
  • assess and select control measures (as appropriate)
  • systematically plan the activity so it can be completed efficiently and
    effectively.

The SWMS must be able to be easily read by those who need to know what has been planned to manage the risks and implement the control measures and ensure the work is being carried out in accordance with the SWMS.

This includes:

  • the supervisor of the high risk construction work
  • the worker carrying out the high risk construction work
  •  the principal contractor (if it is a construction project) or the person who has management and control over the high risk construction work.

What should be in a safe work method statement (SWMS)?

When preparing a SWMS the following must be taken into account:

  •  the circumstance at the workplace that may affect the way in which the highrisk construction work is carried out
  • on a construction project, the WHS management plan prepared by the principal contractor.
    #identify the work that is high risk construction work
    #specify hazards relating to the high risk construction work and risks to health and safety associated with those hazards
    #describe the measures to be implemented to control the risks
    #describe how the control measures are to be implemented, monitored and reviewed.

A SWMS should also include the following information:

  • the PCBU's name, address and ABN (if they have one)
  • details of the person(s) responsible for ensuring implementation, monitoring and compliance with the SWMS
  • if the work is being carried out at a construction project:
    #the name of the principal contractor
    # the address where the high risk construction work will be carried out
    # the date the SWMS was prepared and the date it was provided to the principal contractor
    #the review date (if any).

A SWMS may also include:

  •  the names of workers that have been consulted on the content of the SWMS
  • the date the consultation occurred
  • the signature of each worker acknowledging their participation in this consultation and the opportunity to discuss the proposed measures.

The content of a SWMS should provide clear direction on the control measures to be implemented. There should be no statements that require a decision to be made by supervisors or workers. For example, the statement 'use appropriate PPE' does not detail the control measures. The control measures should be clearly specified.

Workers and their health and safety representatives should be consulted in the preparation of the SWMS. If there are no workers engaged at the planning stage, consultation should occur with workers when the SWMS is first made available to workers for example, during induction training, or when it is reviewed such as during workplace-specific training or a toolbox talk. For more information on developing a SWMS, see the template located in appendix B of the Working safely in the house relocation industry guide.

Preparing

A PCBU that carries out high risk construction work must ensure a SWMS is prepared or has already been prepared by another person before the proposed work
commences.

If more than one PCBU is involved then each PCBU must, so far as is reasonably practicable, consult, cooperate and coordinate activities with all other PCBUs.

A PCBU (in consultation with workers who will be directly engaged in the high risk construction work) is best placed to prepare the SWMS because they understand the work being carried out and the workers undertaking the work and can ensure the SWMS is implemented, monitored and reviewed correctly.

There may be situations where there are different types of high risk construction work occurring at the same time at the same workplace.

Examples (These examples are indicative and provided as guidance only)

  • Work is being carried out:
    #where there is a risk of a person falling more than 2m
    #on a trench with an excavated depth greater than 1.5m.

If this is the case, it is possible for one SWMS to be prepared to cover all the high risk construction work being carried out at the workplace. Alternatively, a separate SWMS can be prepared for each type of high risk construction work. If separate SWMSs are prepared, thought must be given to how the different work activities may impact on each other and whether this may lead to inconsistencies between the various control measures.

  •  A contractor is engaged to work on a structure that is above 2m. Another contractor is engaged to carry out work using powered mobile plant such as a
    crane operation.
    Both contractors are required to prepare SWMS, the:
    # first contractor must ensure a SWMS is prepared for the work that is being carried out above 2m
    # second contractor must ensure a SWMS is prepared for the work on the powered mobile plant.

In this case, the contractors may decide to prepare one SWMS to cover both types of high risk construction work or they may decide to prepare separate SWMSs. If separate SWMSs are being prepared, consultation, coordination and cooperation between the contractors must occur to the extent necessary to avoid inconsistencies and ensure that each contractor is carrying the work out safely.

Generic safe work method statement (SWMS)

A generic SWMS may be prepared and used for work activities that are carried out on a regular basis. The content of this type of SWMS may be refined over a number of years and include consultation with workers and other PCBUs. Prior to each new activity, the SWMS must be reviewed and revised to ensure it applies to the high risk construction work and the actual workplace.