Cold Room and Freezer Entry Safe Work Procedure

Suits kitchens, butchers, supermarkets, warehouses, caterers, farms and events businesses with walk-in cold rooms or freezers. It sets out the checks before entry, safe work inside, and a clear response if a person is trapped or unwell, and it points to our cold room release checklist and cold environment policy.

What Is Included In Our Cold Room and Freezer Entry Safe Work Procedure?

• Safe work procedure with an approval sign-off
• Release and alarm checks before every shift
• Never locking, bolting or defeating the door release
• Tell-someone and check-in steps for lone entry (WHS Regulation s 48)
• Cold stress, warm clothing and hypothermia warning signs
• Ice and slip hazards, stable stock and racking
• Forklifts and trolleys in cold stores
• Air safety: refrigerant alarms and low oxygen, in general terms
• Trapped or unwell person response and Triple Zero (000)
• Count-out before a room is closed up
• Records, training, review and references

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld): s 19 (primary duty of care), s 26A (approved codes of practice), s 28 (duties of workers), ss 35 to 39 (notifiable incidents and preserving the site), ss 47 to 49 (consultation)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 32 to 38 (risk management), s 39 (information, training and instruction), s 40 (general workplace facilities, including paragraph (f), extremes of heat or cold), ss 42 and 43 (first aid, emergency plans), ss 44 and 46 (personal protective equipment), s 48 (remote or isolated work), ss 51 and 52 (hazardous atmospheres, ignition sources), s 54 (falling objects), s 60 (hazardous manual tasks), Part 4.3 and schedule 19 (confined spaces), schedule 3 (high risk work licences)
• Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld): s 133 (employer’s duty to report an injury)
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021 (Qld), an approved code of practice: section 2.3 (heat and cold) and section 4.2 (remote or isolated work). Under s 26A of the WHS Act a business must follow an approved code or manage the risk in a way that gives an equivalent or higher standard
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 (Qld): the hazard table and the first aid kit contents in appendix E. Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021 (Qld): section 3.4 (assessing the risks)
• The Act and Regulation hold no rule written for cold rooms, refrigerant leaks or oxygen depletion in cold rooms, and no temperature, time limit or clothing rating. Refrigeration and refrigerant standards are outside this document and no sections are cited
• This document is general information for Queensland workplaces and is not legal advice

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (6 pages), A4 portrait
• Business details and document control typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• Purpose, scope and a policy statement with an approval sign-off
• Definitions, and responsibilities for each role
• A step-by-step procedure that says who does what
• Records, training, monitoring and review, related documents and a revision history

Review it and adjust it to suit your business, your sites and the way your team works, and talk it through with your workers. If you have any trouble downloading this template, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading.