Safe Work Method Statements for residential construction

What it is

A Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) is a written document that identifies high risk construction work (HRCW), the hazards it creates, the control measures to be put in place, and how those controls will be implemented and reviewed. The duty sits in Part 6.3 of the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulations and applies in every AU state and territory through their mirror regulation.

A SWMS is mandatory before any HRCW starts. Not generic. Not after the fact. Not "we will write one up if asked".

The 18 categories of High Risk Construction Work

The model WHS Regulations list 18 specific activities that trigger the SWMS duty:

1. Work where a person could fall more than 2 metres
2. Work on a telecommunications tower
3. Demolition of an element of a structure that is load-bearing
4. Likely disturbance of asbestos
5. Structural alterations or repairs requiring temporary support
6. Work in or near a confined space
7. Work in or near a shaft or trench deeper than 1.5 metres or a tunnel
8. Use of explosives
9. Work on or near pressurised gas distribution mains or piping
10. Work on or near chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines
11. Work on or near energised electrical installations or services
12. Work in an area that may have a contaminated or flammable atmosphere
13. Tilt-up or precast concrete work
14. Work on or adjacent to a road, railway, shipping lane or other traffic corridor in use by traffic other than pedestrians
15. Work in an area where there are powered mobile plant movements
16. Work in an area where there are artificial extremes of temperature
17. Work in or near water or other liquid that involves a risk of drowning
18. Diving work

Residential builders hit categories 1, 4, 5, 7, 11 and 15 almost every job. Some hit category 3 on knock-down rebuilds and category 13 on tilt panel work.

Who prepares the SWMS

The PCBU that is carrying out the HRCW prepares the SWMS. In residential building this is usually the principal contractor or the subcontractor who actually does the work. If the principal contractor engages a roofer to do work above 2 metres, the roofer prepares their own SWMS. The principal contractor has to make sure each contractor's SWMS is in place before the work starts.

Consultation with the workers who will do the work is required. The model Code of Practice "Construction work" makes the point that a SWMS prepared without input from the workers doing the job is unlikely to be effective and breaches the consultation duty.

What the SWMS must contain

The Regulations require the SWMS to:

• Identify the high risk construction work being done
• Specify the hazards relating to the work and risks associated with them
• Describe the measures to be implemented to control the risks
• Describe how the control measures are to be implemented, monitored and reviewed

The practical content of a useful SWMS includes the site address, the specific task, the workers involved, the plant and equipment, the PPE, the emergency procedures, the names of the people responsible for the controls, and a signature block where workers sign on after reading and being inducted to the document.

Site-specific and task-specific

A SWMS for "roof work" downloaded from a template website does not meet the Regulations. The SWMS has to address the actual site and the actual task. If the roof pitch, edge protection, anchor points, weather and access change from one job to the next, the controls in the SWMS change.

A SWMS that has been used on a previous job can be a starting point but it has to be reviewed and revised for the new site before work starts. This is the most common SWMS failure WHS inspectors find on residential sites.

Worker sign-off and availability

Each worker doing the HRCW has to be inducted in the SWMS and the consultation has to be documented. A sign-on sheet is the normal evidence. The SWMS has to be kept on the site or be readily available there, and produced to a WHS inspector on request.

If the inspector asks for the SWMS and it is not available, the PCBU is in breach regardless of whether the work itself is being done safely.

When the SWMS has to be reviewed

A SWMS must be reviewed and, if necessary, revised if:

• The control measures are revised
• A workplace incident or near miss reveals a gap
• The work or conditions change in a way that creates a new hazard
• A worker, HSR or regulator reasonably asks for a review

Workers cannot keep doing the HRCW until the SWMS is updated to reflect the change.

Where residential builders get caught

The three recurring problems on residential jobs:

• Treating the SWMS as a one-off document handed to the certifier or insurer. The duty is to use it as a live control document on site.
• Letting a contractor "use ours" rather than preparing their own. Each PCBU doing the HRCW has to prepare its own SWMS.
• Stopping at the template. The Regulations require site-specific, task-specific risk identification. A photocopied generic SWMS is the easiest finding for a SafeWork inspector to make.

Failure to prepare or keep a SWMS for HRCW is a strict liability offence under the WHS Regulations in most jurisdictions, with penalties for a body corporate that can reach the tens of thousands per breach before any Category 2 prosecution.