Air Duct Cleaning SWMS

For duct cleaning contractors, air conditioning and facilities teams who clean supply, return and exhaust ducts with rotary brushes, air whips and vacuums. It follows the job in order, from asbestos checks and isolating the system through ceiling-space access, brush cleaning, sanitiser application and sealing up. Kitchen exhaust cleaning needs its own SWMS.

Cleaning ducts in an existing building is not high risk construction work by itself, so WHS Regulation s 299 does not require a SWMS for it and no item is pre-ticked; the document then works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment. Tick the asbestos item (3) if asbestos may be disturbed, or the confined space item (5) if anyone must enter a duct, and note that a SWMS is required when the work is high risk construction work.

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 Air Duct Cleaning SWMS?

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

• Disturbing asbestos in duct gaskets and linings
• Fans or brush machines starting during cleaning
• Electric shock in plant rooms and ceiling spaces
• Falling through ceilings and off ladders
• Heat illness in roof spaces
• Entanglement in rotating brushes and whipping air hoses
• Dust and mould spores breathed in
• Sanitiser and biocide chemical exposure
• Noise from vacuums and compressors
• Strains lifting machines and kneeling
• System restarted with access panels open
• Dust spreading to occupied areas

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

• Training in the duct cleaning equipment used (rotary brush machines, air whips, negative-pressure extraction), from the maker or an experienced operator, recorded
• Training in the sanitisers and cleaning chemicals used: labels, SDS, mixing, PPE and spill response
• Respirator training and a fit test for each wearer of a tight-fitting respirator, repeated when the make or model changes
• Asbestos awareness training so workers recognise suspect materials and stop
• Competence in safe use of stepladders and platforms
• Licensed electrician for isolation, testing or any electrical work (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55)
• First aid: first aid equipment and access to first aid facilities as the first aid assessment decides, with trained first aiders where it shows they are needed (WHS Regulation s 42)
• Building or site induction; general construction induction training card (white card) only if the work is construction work

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• WHS Regulation: ss 42 (first aid), 56 and 57 (noise), 60 (hazardous manual tasks), 62 (confined spaces), 78 (falls), 344, 346 and 351 (hazardous chemicals), 422 and 425 (asbestos identification and register)
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals 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
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Confined Spaces 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 Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): roof space work (ss 31 to 36), isolation and testing (ss 195 to 198), cord extension sets (s 18), safety switches (s 139)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (guidance)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (14 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.