Plumbing Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) Template
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This Plumbing Safe Work Method Statement, or Plumbing SWMS, is an easy-to-use form that your workers can use to plan and manage plumbing risks before installing, repairing, testing, or maintaining plumbing systems. Easily select the scope of work, possible hazards, and required PPE from a list of choices, then work through a ready-to-use list of job steps, risk assessments, and method statements for common plumbing activities.
Need a complete digital plumbing SWMS you can fill out and make your own? It comes pre-filled with plumbing job steps, risk assessments, and method statements you can edit to match how your company works, and your crew can scan to sign on before starting and export the finished SWMS to PDF or CSV.
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What is Plumbing Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)?
A Plumbing Safe Work Method Statement, or Plumbing SWMS, is a document used by site teams, supervisors, plumbers, and contractors to plan how plumbing work will be carried out safely. This SWMS usually includes details on the work area, pipework, drainage, tools, service isolation, confined areas, hot works, PPE, job steps, hazards, risk ratings, and control measures.
Due to the risks that come with plumbing work, hazards such as manual handling injuries, exposure to sewage or contaminated water, working in confined spaces, hot works, electric shock, slips, cuts, and other pressure systems have to be planned around to lessen potential accidents. This makes Plumbing SWMS documents highly relevant in Australian construction, maintenance, civil works, facilities management, utilities, residential building, and commercial projects where plumbing systems are installed, repaired, tested, or maintained.
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Applicable Standards and Policies for Plumbing Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
There are generally no explicit formatting requirements for a Plumbing Safe Work Method Statement. However, Australian WHS laws require PCBUs to prepare a SWMS for high-risk construction work where applicable, and to document hazards, risks, and control measures involved in plumbing work, excavation, hot works, confined spaces, manual handling, and work near services. A Plumbing SWMS is a good document to support compliance to this.
- Model WHS Regulations require a SWMS for high-risk construction work in Australia
- Safe Work Australia’s Construction Work Code of Practice covers SWMS requirements for high-risk construction work
- Safe Work Australia guidance covers excavation, confined spaces, hazardous manual tasks, and plant risks
- AS/NZS 3500 covers plumbing and drainage requirements in Australia and New Zealand
- State and territory WHS laws commonly require risk controls for plumbing and construction work
Staff Members and Parties that use Plumbing Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
A Plumbing SWMS is primarily used by project teams that manage pipe installation, drainage, excavation, hot works, confined spaces, service connections, maintenance, or other plumbing activities. Here are examples of other common parties that use a Plumbing SWMS:
- Site supervisors and project managers
- Plumbers and apprentices
- Excavation workers
- Health and safety teams
- Contractors and subcontractors carrying out plumbing work
Business Risks Reduced by Plumbing Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
A Plumbing SWMS puts controls in place for the hazards behind most plumbing incidents, such as excavation collapse, service strikes, hot works, confined space risks, manual handling, slips and trips, water damage, and exposure to hazardous substances. Applied consistently, it reduces the following business risks.
- Injuries, illness, and plumbing-related incidents
- Non-compliance with Australian SWMS and plumbing safety requirements
- Legal claims, enforcement action, and incident-related costs
- Project delays from service damage, leaks, investigations, and site shutdowns
Business Opportunities Created by Plumbing Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
A well-prepared Plumbing SWMS helps businesses improve control over plumbing work, excavation, service connections, and high-risk construction activities. Here are some ways a well-designed Plumbing SWMS can help businesses:
- Improve worker confidence before plumbing work begins
- Strengthen contractor prequalification and tender-offer competitiveness
- Improve coordination between supervisors, plumbers, excavation workers, and site teams
- Build trust with clients, regulators, insurers, and project stakeholders
What Should be Included in a Plumbing SWMS?
A Plumbing SWMS should be prepared before plumbing work is carried out as part of high-risk construction work or on sites with higher-risk conditions. While exact requirements can vary across Australian states, territories, projects, and principal contractor requirements, there are some core elements that are typically included that you should know about:
- Scope of work, site location, plumbing task, work area, and responsible persons
- Job steps for isolation, access, cutting, installation, joining, testing, commissioning, clean-up, and waste disposal
- Hazards such as working at height, excavation, confined spaces, hot works, silica dust, asbestos, manual handling, and other pressure systems
- Required controls such as service isolation, permits, PPE, ventilation, exclusion zones, safe access, licensed work, and pressure testing controls
- Risk ratings, emergency procedures, worker consultation, sign-off, and review requirements
Why are Plumbing SWMS Important?
Plumbing SWMS are important because plumbing work can expose workers to hazards such as live services, confined spaces, excavation, hot works, pressure systems, working at height, and hazardous materials. This is critically important on construction, maintenance, civil, commercial, and residential projects where plumbing work may involve roof spaces, trenches, plant rooms, ceiling spaces, service risers, or occupied areas.
Essentially, a Plumbing SWMS helps confirm that the work steps, service isolation, permits, access requirements, and safety controls have been reviewed before the task begins. Additionally, it gives project management teams clear documentation of the due diligence performed, supporting consultation, site coordination, and compliance with Australian WHS requirements where the work forms part of construction or higher-risk site activity.
How to Create a Plumbing Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
Creating your own Plumbing SWMS forms doesn’t have to be complicated. In this section, we break down the process step by step.
Before starting your Plumbing Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) form, the following pre-requisites should be ready.
- Project or site details are required.
- Plumbing scope and work area must be listed.
- High-risk construction work details must be covered.
- Hazards, risks, and control measures must be stated.
- Tools, plant, and material handling needs must be included.
- Isolation, excavation, hot work, and PPE controls must be noted.
- Worker sign-off and SWMS review requirements must be recorded.
Start with Project and SWMS Information
First, you need to place high-level general information at the beginning of your Plumbing Safe Work Method Statement to help establish context for the work to be done. Here are some examples of core elements that you can use:
- Project name and site location
- SWMS title and document reference number
- Description of plumbing works to be completed
- Name of the PCBU, contractor, or subcontractor
- Names and roles of workers, supervisors, and licensed plumbers
Define the Scope of Plumbing Works
Next, you will want to define the scope of work so it is clear what plumbing activities are covered by the SWMS. For example, you will want to list the following information in your Plumbing SWMS:
- Type of plumbing work being completed
- Work area, service location, trench, roof area, or plant room
- Pipes, fittings, valves, fixtures, drainage, gas, or water systems involved
- Tools, testing equipment, materials, and plant required for the task
- Access, isolation, permit, and service location requirements
Assess Plumbing Work Hazards
It is important that potential hazards are identified before plumbing work starts so the appropriate safety control measures can be implemented. Common hazards that you should look out for include:
- Contact with live electrical services, gas lines, water lines, or other utilities
- Excavation, trench collapse, confined space, or poor access conditions
- Manual handling of pipes, tools, fittings, fixtures, and equipment
- Hot works, pressure systems, sharp edges, fumes, or hazardous substances
- Slips, trips, falls, wet surfaces, falling objects, or mobile plant movement
Record Safety Control Measures and Work Method
After the hazards are identified, you will want to determine the appropriate safety control measures to reduce risks for your workers and nearby site personnel. Be sure to document the following information in your SWMS:
- Service location, isolation, lockout, tagout, and testing requirements
- Trench, excavation, confined space, or roof access controls, where required
- Manual handling controls, safe lifting, and material storage requirements
- PPE requirements such as gloves, eye protection, hearing protection, respiratory protection, and safety footwear
- Work sequence for set-up, isolation, installation, testing, clean-up, and handover
Complete Review, Approval, and Worker Sign-Off
Complete your Plumbing SWMS with review, approval, and worker sign-off to confirm that the work method and safety control measures have been communicated before work starts. Here are some examples of fields you can include:
- Names and roles of reviewers and approvers
- Date of review and approval
- Worker confirmation that the SWMS has been read and understood
- Supervisor or person in charge sign-off
- Revision number and next review trigger
Frequently asked questions
How to create SWMS Process in an App or Software System
A well-designed SWMS process ensures workers clearly understand the hazards, risks, and required control measures to perform high-risk work, while enabling your team to easily document, review, and share safe work procedures before work begins.
40 minutes
Medium difficulty
Start your Plumbing SWMS with General Information
It is important to begin your Plumbing Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) with key project, site, date, reference, and location details so the document can be traced to the correct plumbing activity. This section should use simple text and date fields for fields such as:
- Text field or Automatic Form Counter for SWMS Reference Number
- Date selector field for Date
- Text fields for Project Name and Address
- Text field or Automatic Single Day Weather capture
- Multi-line text field for Description of Work
Create a Section for Scope of Work, Hazards, and PPE
Next, create a section where users can select the project scope, possible hazards, and required PPE for the plumbing works. For simplicity, we recommend using multiple-choice selector fields for this section, with fields such as:
- Multiple-choice selector field for Project Scope
- Multiple-choice selector field for Possible Hazards
- Multiple-choice selector field for PPE Required, including Ear Protection
- Conditional text field for other hazards or PPE not listed in the pre-filled choices
Create a Table for Material and Equipment Information
Users will next need to list down the copper and PEX pipework, cordless press tool, rotary hammer drill with dust extraction, and other equipment required for the task. We highly recommend using a table for this section so each item can be recorded with its make, asset details, and required training information.
- First column for Material or Equipment Name
- Second column for Make or Model
- Third column for Registration or Asset ID, if any
- Fourth column for Required License or Training, if any
Create a Table for the Method Statement and Risk Assessment
Next, create the main SWMS table where users can record each plumbing job step, hazards, risk scores, controls, and responsible persons. We highly recommend using a table for this section, with the following formatting for the columns:
- First column for Job Step
- Second column for Potential Hazards
- Third column for Initial Risk Score
- Fourth column for Controls
- Fifth column for Residual Risk Score
- Sixth column for Person Responsible
Add Pre-filled Method Statement Rows for Plumbing Work
After the main table is created, add pre-filled rows that reflect the most common plumbing job steps in the attached SWMS. These rows help users complete the form faster while still allowing the SWMS to be adjusted for the actual site task.
- Row for Pre-start planning, work area setup and equipment inspection
- Row for Excavating trenches and installing underground pipework
- Row for Cutting, joining and installing pipes, fittings and fixtures
- Row for Pressure testing, commissioning and completing plumbing works
Create a Section for Additional High-Risk or Site-Specific Steps
Some plumbing tasks may require extra job steps depending on overhead pipework, mobile scaffold access, falling pipes or tools, scaffold movement, manual handling, or elevated work areas. We highly recommend creating an additional method statement table so users can add extra risk assessment rows when needed.
- Columns for Job Step, Potential Hazards, Likelihood, Consequence, Initial Risk Score, Controls, Residual Risk Score, and Person Responsible
- Dropdown fields for Likelihood and Consequence scores
- Risk Score = Likelihood Rating x Consequence Rating
Create a Section for Risk Matrix Guidance
Next, add a risk matrix section as a guide for users to assess initial and residual risk scores for any additional job steps they may add. We highly recommend using the following fields and features to help guide users:
- Pre-filled or photo of the Risk Matrix table showing Likelihood, Consequence, and Risk Score levels
- Pre-filled text field for Consequence ratings from 1 to 5
- Pre-filled text field for Likelihood ratings from 1 to 5
- Pre-filled guide for residual risk actions, including Low, Moderate, High, and Catastrophic risk outcome
End your Plumbing SWMS with Worker and Supervisor Sign-offs
Finally, complete the Plumbing Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) with worker confirmation and sign-off fields for the responsible parties. If your app or software allows, use scan-to-sign and automatic e-signature fields to keep the sign-off process digital.
- A scan to sign-on table for workers’ sign-off
- E-signature field for Supervisor Sign-off
- E-signature field for Project Manager Sign-off
- Automatic date and time stamp fields for each sign-off
About the author
Ron Gadugdug
Engineering Content Writer
Education:
Cebu Institute of Technology - University - Civil Engineering
Bio:
Ron is a Civil Engineer with 6 years of experience in the construction industry, primarily focused on quantity surveying, cost estimation, project management, quality control, contract administration, and property & engineering insurance. At Sitemate, he writes about practical applications of evolving technologies and digital solutions that support construction professionals in improving efficiency, compliance, and project delivery across the built world.
Project Details:
Quantity Surveying & Cost Engineering
Performed quantity take-offs of several high-rise and horizontal structures using sheets and applications like Revit and Bluebeam Revu, and spearheaded trials with Building Information Modeling (BIM) software.
Project Management & Consultancy
Coordinated with project management teams during the construction of local projects such as a 4-tower hotel & resort, a 22 storey condominium project, and a school dormitory project.
Contract Administration
Assisted during contract biddings and negotiations with general contractors and sub-contractors, and oversaw progress reporting, billings, and payment.
Property & Engineering Insurance
Dedicated non-life claims handler, overseeing property and contractor all-risk insurance claims, risk management, and bonds.
Version History:
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