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Safe Work Method Statement for Plumbing (SWMS)

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Safe work method statement plumbing

~10,000 employees

~500 employees

~10 employees

~25,000 employees

~200 employees

~1,500 employees

~1,500 employees

What is a Safe Work Method Statement for Plumbing?

A Safe Work Method Statement for Plumbing enables a company, project or team to outline the hazards and controls associated with plumbing activities. Aside from step-by-step procedures and ticking boxes, this SWMS protects workers and makes sure that every task is done in safety. Assure your workers that they can work with confidence with a Safety Work Method specifically for Plumbing in place, leading to workers taking ownership and accountability in the work that they do, avoid expensive mistakes, and keep projects active and flowing.

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How to tell if your Safe Work Method Statement needs improvement?

There are a number of job steps which create hazards for site workers and other stakeholders, including working at heights, use of explosive tools and working with hazardous substances. A safe work method statement ensures that all plumbers and other parties involved with the activities have read, understood and acknowledged how these hazards will be approached and controlled.

When used properly, a safe work method statement ensures more plumbing activities are conducted in the right way, which leads to better safety outcomes for all.

However, how can you tell if you need to strengthen the structure of your Plumbing Safe Work Method Statement? If the following indicators show, then you need to implement a more structured SWMS:

  • If the hazards are not clearly identified and the control measures you've put in place are not effective
  • If the workers are not actively engaging with the document, then it's time to create and structure a proper Plumbing SWMS.
  • If the workplace is constantly experiencing incidents and near misses, and the activities are facing safety violations, then that means the current structure of your SWMS is missing the critical steps

What are the general contents of a Safe Work Method Statement for Plumbers?

The Work Health and Safety (WHS) regulations has laid out the general contents of a SWMS, but there is no strict template to follow for as long as the following sections are present:

  1. General details about the project and company
  2. Breakdown of the plumbing work tasks/activities, list of equipment and tools used, and the persons/professionals involved
  3. Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment, and Control Measures, especially the categories as indicated in the High Risk Construction Work (HRCW)
  4. List of PPEs to be used
  5. Emergency and first-aid procedures

A business or workplace is required to create a SWMS for a particular work task if it falls under in any of the categories under the High Risk Construction Work (HRCW).

Who is responsible for enforcing a Safe Work Method Statement for Plumbers on-site?

Managing and enforcing a Safe Work Method Statement for Plumbing isn't just a one-person job, it's a team effort and everyone needs to cooperate.

The site supervisor is fully responsible for implementing the guidelines as set in the SWMS to the site and for making sure that the workers are adhering to the regulations, wearing the right PPEs, and reporting any hazards when they notice something dangerous. The safety officers are also responsible for making sure that everything is up to the WHS standards.

Remember, safety is everyone's responsibility. Everyone should take ownership in their roles and responsibilities, take accountability when things go right or wrong, and make sure the plumbing operations are safe for workers, compliant, and efficient.

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This Plumbing Safety SWMS was generated with Dashpivot

This plumbing SWMS is much smarter and easier to manage than your traditional SWMS docs:

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  • Ensure everyone is always working off the same latest version of the SWMS with real-time editing and online storage.
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