Question 1

Step 1: confirm a SWMS is required

Accepted Answer

A SWMS is required for high-risk construction work as defined in the WHS Regulations: work at height above a set threshold, work in or near excavations, work involving asbestos or silica, work near energised electrical installations, and the other listed categories. If the work is not high-risk construction work, a SWMS is not the required document, though your client or contract may still ask for one.

Question 2

Step 2: describe the work and the site

Accepted Answer

Name the activity, the location on site, the plant and substances involved, the crew, and the conditions that make this site different: access, ground conditions, adjacent trades, overhead services, weather exposure, public interface. Those conditions are what make the document site-specific rather than generic.

Question 3

Step 3: break the work into steps

Accepted Answer

Write the sequence the crew will actually follow, in order, at a level someone could supervise: set up, prepare, carry out, finish, pack down. Most weak SWMS documents fail here by describing the trade rather than the task, so the hazards never attach to a step.

Question 4

Step 4: identify hazards at each step

Accepted Answer

For each step, list what could cause harm: falls, falling objects, plant interaction, electrical, hazardous substances, manual tasks, traffic, ground collapse, dust, noise. Include the hazard created by a neighbouring step or trade, because that is where a lot of real incidents come from.

Question 5

Step 5: rate the risk and choose controls

Accepted Answer

Rate the risk before controls, choose the control using the hierarchy (eliminate, substitute, engineering, administrative, PPE), then rate the residual risk. Administrative controls and PPE sit at the bottom for a reason: a statement whose only controls are "be careful", a briefing and gloves has not controlled the hazard.

Question 6

Step 6: assign responsibility and hold points

Accepted Answer

Every control needs a person responsible and a way it will be checked. Where work must not proceed until verification, state the hold point and who releases it. This is what turns a document into a process on site.

Question 7

Step 7: consult, sign on and review

Accepted Answer

Take the draft to the crew who will do the work. They know the site conditions and will find the step you missed. Then sign on: the workers carrying out the work sign the statement before work starts. Set the review triggers: change in work, new hazard, incident, new crew, new plant, or the interval your client requires.

Question 8

Where SubbieSure fits

Accepted Answer

SubbieSure includes a Work Method Statement builder for creating and issuing statements per project, with hazards, risk ratings and controls, and sign-off that can be enforced at prestart. See the SWMS app page, or bring your current statement to a demo.

How to write a SWMS in Australia