Work Safe Week Seminar Series 2012

Identifying a good SWMS

Presented by:

Master Builders Association

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Work Safe Week 2012

Identifying a good SWMS

What are we covering?

- Legal requirements for SWMS

- The link between SWMS and PC duties

- Use of generic SWMS – Date - Venue - Names

- Use of SWMS as a ‘catch all’

- The importance of consultation and ongoing education

- Detailed SWMS for accredited builders

# Concepts are the same in non-construction

What is a SWMS?

- Acronym for Safe Work Method Statements

- Been around since the 1980’s.

- Formerly referred to as Job Safety Analysis (JSA) –

‘time to let go’

- A basic form of Risk Assessment – Identify, Assess,

Control

What is a SWMS?

A document that:

-Identifies high risk construction work

-states the hazards and risks to health or safety of that work

-Describes the measures to control those risks

-Describes how the control measures are

to be implemented.

Legislative requirements for SWMS

- Mandated under the Construction chapter of the

Victorian OHS Regulations 2007 effective 1 July 2008.

- Required for ‘High Risk Construction Work’ – 19 types

of construction work

- Builders and subcontractors (including self employed)

need to know which of these criteria apply to their work.

SWMS must be completed for the following high risk

construction work:

• Where there is a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres;

• involving tilt-up or precast concrete;

• involving demolition;

• involving structural alterations that require temporary support to prevent

collapse (e.g. prop works, use of acro’s, formwork)

• at workplaces where there is any movement of powered mobile plant;

• involving the removal or likely disturbance of asbestos;

• involving a confined space;

• involving a trench or shaft if the excavated depth is more than 1·5 metres;

• on or near energised electrical installations or services *

SWMS must be completed for the following high risk

construction work:

• involving a tunnel;

• involving the use of explosives;

• on or near pressurised gas distribution mains or piping;

• on or near chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines;

• in an area that may have a contaminated or flammable atmosphere;

• on or adjacent to roadways or railways used by road or rail traffic;

• in an area where there are artificial extremes of temperature;

• in, over or adjacent to water or other liquids where there is a risk of

drowning;

• involving diving.

• on telecommunications towers;

Safe Work Method Statements

Section 20(2)(c) of the OHS Act 2004

Regard must be had to the following matters in determining what is (or was

at a particular time) reasonably practicable in relation to ensuring health

and safety—

(c) what the person concerned knows, or ought reasonably to know,

about the hazard or risk and any ways of eliminating or reducing the

hazard or risk;

“You’re in construction, you really ‘ought to know’ that tilt up

construction is high risk work and you really ought

to have known how to have managed those risks”

5.1.9 Safe work method statement required for high risk

construction work

(1) An employer must not perform high risk construction work if there is a risk

to the health or safety of any person arising from the work, unless—

(a) a safe work method statement is prepared for the work before the work

commences; and

(b) the work is performed in accordance with the statement.

Which employer? The subby or the builder?

Duty is directly linked to Sections 21 and 23

Who provides the tools, the workers, the training and instruction?

Who’s system of work is it?

(2) If there is non-compliance with a safe work method statement

prepared under subregulation (1) in relation to particular work,

the employer must—

(a) stop that work immediately or as soon as it is safe to do so; and

(b) not resume the work until the statement is complied with or reviewed

and, if necessary, revised in accordance with regulation 5.1.10.

Note

Act compliance—sections 21 and 23 (see regulation 1.1.7).

A principal contractor is still an employer under Section 21 of the Act and

have duties under Section 26. Both the principal contractor (when on site)

and the subcontractor have the ability to stop unsafe work.

The link to OHS Coordination Plans

-The arrangements for coordinating health and safety on the project

-Duty linked to Section 26 OHS Act – persons who have management

and control of the workplace

-Note link also to Section 21(3) subcontractors

-Coordination plans are the ‘who’ – SWMS are the ‘what’

-Coordination is the key

SWMS

-Builder/supervisor training is critical

-Builders/supervisors should be able to receive a SWMS, review it,

assess it and be comfortable that what they are receiving reflects a

safe system of work.

-WorkSafe recommend 6 days managers and supervisors course

-Master Builders recommends Certificate III in OHS – also 6 days

Use of generic SWMS

- Why reinvent the wheel

- Reduces admin

- 132 Generic SWMS free on MBAV website

- Variations must be factored in

- 3 key ingredients - Dates, names, venue

Bob the builder (100 houses) + Red’s Roofing = 100 Red’s Roofing

SWMS

Use of SWMS as a catch all

-Hazardous manual handling

-UV requirements

-Chemical safety (PPE requirements) -combined with MSDS

-Traffic management and vehicle unloading

- Get SWMS for non-high risk work

Solicitors will still say “Please give me something

to defend you with no matter what the hazard”

Key tips for SWMS

-Risk controls must match the hazards

-Avoid referencing other documents (except MSDS)

-Have strong regard for the hierarchy of control

-Avoid throw away lines like “wear PPE’” or “correct manual

handling”

-Employees have to own the SWMS as much as you do.

-Inductions – 20-25 minutes of which at least 5 is spent on the

SWMS

SWMS and consultation

35. Duty of employers to consult with employees

When doing any of the following things, an employer must so far as is

reasonably practicable consult with the employees who are or are

likely to be directly affected by the employer doing that thing—

(a) identifying or assessing hazards or risks to health or safety at a

workplace under the employer's management and control or arising

from the conduct.

(b) making decisions about the measures to be

taken to control risks to health or safety at a workplace.

“Consultation is the difference between assuming

and knowing that the workplace is safe”

The importance of subby education

- Predominantly small business

- Do they know what their duties are?

- Are they aware of the implications?

- Do they know the difference between assuming and knowing?

Second company fined $60,000 after fall leaves worker in wheelchair

A building company has been fined $60,000 for an incident which left a worker a paraplegic after he

fell from the rafters of a two-storey house in Keysborough.

The 27-year-old worker was injured when he fell into a stairwell void while installing roof trusses in

2010. The court heard that the worker was helping install new trusses following extensive fire damage.

In order to weatherproof the building before forecast rain, he wanted to get the trusses up and

tarpaulin over them quickly.

The roof and trusses were wet from earlier rain and, when he attempted to lift two trusses laminated

together, he lost his grip and fell back into the stairwell void. There was no fall protection above the

void. The worker fell almost four metres to the landing below, breaking three vertebrae. He also

suffered a punctured lung, broken ribs, a fractured wrist and a head wound.

The company was the principal contractor on the site. The company which employed the worker faced

court in February and was convicted and fined $60,000.

FSC Style SWMS

-Commonwealth Federal Safety Commission Accreditation Scheme

-Modelled on AS4801

-SWMS include references to all corresponding Codes and Standards

-Include preliminary and residual risk ratings

-Builders need to educate more

-‘Not WorkSafe’s doing’

-What value does it add?

-Unlikely to change

Further assistance

- Certificate III in OHS

- WorkSafe funded Small Business Program – 3 hours of Free OHS

Consultancy for business with less than 20 employees

- Free Site Safety Audits for Master Builders members

Call 9411 4569

Questions?

Work Safe Week Seminar Series 2012