Polyethylene Pipe Butt Fusion Welding SWMS

Suits pipeline, water, sewer and gas contractors who join polyethylene pipe with butt fusion machines in the field or in a yard. It covers setting up the fusion station, handling and facing the pipe, heating, joining and cooling, joint records and lifting the welded string. Laying the pipe in the trench needs its own SWMS.

Butt fusion welding is not high risk construction work by itself, so no high risk construction work item is pre-ticked. A SWMS is required by law only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299). Where the job is construction work, tick the items that apply, for example a trench deeper than 1.5 metres, movement of powered mobile plant, a road in use, or energised electrical services.

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 Polyethylene Pipe Butt Fusion Welding SWMS?

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

• Burns from the hot heater plate and pipe ends
• Fumes from heated plastic and cleaning fluids
• Crush and pinch injuries at the hydraulic carriage and clamps
• Cuts from the rotating facing tool and sharp shavings
• Rolling and dropped pipe during unloading
• Crush injuries when lifting the welded string
• Electric shock from leads and generators
• Fire near the heater plate
• Poor joints from rushed fusion or early movement
• Manual handling of pipe and machine parts
• Heat, sun and wet weather

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

• Fusion machine operator trained and assessed as competent on the machine in use and on the pipe maker’s and machine maker’s fusion procedure (no high risk work licence class applies to operating a butt fusion machine)
• General construction induction training card (white card) when the fusion welding is construction work, for example installing a water, sewer or gas service
• Plumbing or drainage licence under the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 (Qld) where the pipe work is plumbing or drainage work (s 56), unless an exemption in s 58 applies; a QBCC contractor licence may also be needed, and the QBCC can confirm which applies to the job
• High risk work licence in the dogging class, or a higher rigging class (Schedule 3), for anyone who slings a load or directs a crane or excavator operator when the load is out of the operator’s view (Schedule 19, dogging work)
• Excavator or side-boom operator trained and competent on the machine (no high risk work licence class applies to excavators)
• Competent person to check the fusion record and the finished joints against the maker’s procedure
• First aider on site, briefed on treating burns
• Site induction

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Welding Processes Code of Practice 2021 (fumes, burns and fire, by analogy for hot plate work)
• 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
• 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
• Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 (Qld) (where the pipe work is plumbing or drainage work)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): safety switches (s 139)
• AS/NZS 3760 In-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment and RCDs (as named in the Electrical Safety Regulation 2026)

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.