Overhead Pipework Installation SWMS

Suits plumbers, fire services contractors and pipefitters who hang pipework overhead in plant rooms, ceilings and risers. It follows the work from planning and asbestos checks to setting up an exclusion zone, working from EWPs and scaffolds, fixing hangers, lifting and joining pipe, connecting to existing services and handover. Plumbing installation and EWP operation are covered by separate SWMS.

Work with a risk of a fall of more than 2 metres is high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 291(a)), so that item is ticked. Tick the others the job involves, such as chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines, energised electrical installations or services, or the disturbance of asbestos.

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 Overhead Pipework Installation SWMS?

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

• Falls from EWPs, scaffolds and platforms
• Falling tools, fixings and pipe
• Anchors and hangers failing under load
• Dust from drilling concrete and masonry
• Striking hidden services while drilling
• Pipe slipping from lifting gear
• Manual handling of long, heavy pipe
• Fire from welding and brazing near insulation
• Heat, fume and poor light in plant rooms
• Electric shock in ceiling spaces
• Release of pressure or hot contents when cutting into lines
• Asbestos in older plant rooms and linings

High Risk Construction Work

These high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are already ticked because they are part of this work. Tick any others that apply to your job:

• Involves a risk of a person falling more than 2m

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and site induction
• Trade licence or endorsement as required by Queensland building and plumbing law for the pipework being installed (for example fire protection or plumbing); the employer checks it before work starts
• High risk work licence in the dogging class, or a higher rigging class (WHS Regulation Schedule 3), for slinging loads or directing a plant operator when the load is out of the operator’s view
• Elevating work platform operator training; a high risk work licence applies only to boom-type platforms of 11 m boom length or more (Schedule 3 item 21)
• Licensed electrical worker for any electrical work (Electrical Safety Act 2002, s 55)
• Hot work: training in welding or brazing for the process used, and fire watch trained to use an extinguisher
• Asbestos training for workers who may be involved in asbestos-related work, such as in older plant rooms and ceilings (WHS Regulation s 445); everyone else stops and reports anything that may be asbestos
• First aid equipment and facilities, and trained first aiders as the work and site need (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 306A to 306Q (falls in construction work) and ss 54 and 55 (falling objects)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 56 and 57 (noise), s 445 (asbestos training) and ss 529A to 529CD (crystalline silica)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant 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 Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Welding Processes Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace 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
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld): s 55 (electrical work to be done by licensed electrical workers)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 31 to 36 (work in the roof space of a class 1, 2 or 10a building)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
• Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008 (Qld): s 7 (person not to obstruct an evacuation route) and part 5 (prescribed fire safety installations)

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.