Mechanical Workshop and Vehicle Servicing SWMS

Suits mechanical workshops and mobile mechanics who service and repair cars and light vehicles. It covers fluids, brake and clutch dust, wheel removal and refit, batteries, engine-bay work, tools and compressed air, and vehicle movement. Hoist work, working under vehicles on jacks, tyre changing and balancing, brake and clutch overhaul, welding and grinding use separate procedures.

Vehicle servicing is not high risk construction work, so no item is pre-ticked and a SWMS is not legally required for it under WHS Regulation s 299 (required by law only for high risk construction work); this document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment that you tailor to your workshop. If the work is part of construction work, tick the reg 291 items that apply, for example energised electrical services or powered mobile plant.

Learn More: What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?
Have you ever been asked to provide a SWMS on a project in Queensland? Read our guide to what a Safe Work Method Statement is and when you need one.

What Is Covered In Our Mechanical Workshop and Vehicle Servicing SWMS?

The job steps run in the order the work is done, from pre-start checks to finishing up. The hazards and controls include:

• Vehicle rolling or starting unexpectedly
• Vehicle falling from a hoist or jack
• Fluids, fuel and battery acid contact
• Fire from fuel and oily rags
• Brake dust, including asbestos in friction parts
• Heavy wheel lifting
• Loose wheel nuts after a wheel change
• Short circuits and battery gas
• Hot engines and moving belts
• Compressed air injury
• Noise from air tools
• Vehicle movement in the workshop

High Risk Construction Work

No high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this work is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick the items that apply to your job, such as a fall risk of more than 2 metres or work where powered mobile plant is moving.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Trade qualification or supervised training in automotive servicing
• Verification of competency for hoists, jacks, tyre changers and other workshop plant used
• Training in the safe handling of the hazardous chemicals used (SDS read)
• Licensed driver for any vehicle moved or road tested
• Site or workshop induction
• First aid arrangements for the workshop (WHS Regulation s 42)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 52, 53, 342, 346, 351, 355 and 359 (ignition sources, flammable stock, labelling, register, risks, fire and explosion, fire protection)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 205 to 213 (plant controls, guarding, maintenance and inspection)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Preparation of Safety Data Sheets for Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (13 pages), laid out on A4 landscape pages
• Business, client, job and document details typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• The high risk construction work checklist, worded as WHS Regulation s 291, and the construction project question (s 292)
• A worker and health and safety representative consultation record
• Qualifications, plant, PPE, hazardous chemicals, safety equipment, permits, references and emergency arrangements filled in for this work
• A 5 x 5 risk matrix, and job steps with initial and residual risk scores and the people responsible
• Implementing, monitoring and review requirements, an additional controls log, revision history and a worker sign-on sheet

Review and adjust it for your site, your plant and the way your crew does the job, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. If you have any trouble downloading this SWMS, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.