Balcony and Roof Terrace Waterproofing SWMS

For waterproofing contractors and builders applying liquid and sheet membranes to balconies, podiums and roof terraces. It follows the job in order, from planning edge protection and checking older buildings for asbestos, through surface preparation, solvent-based primers, liquid membranes and torch-on sheet work, to flood testing and handover. Internal wet areas such as bathrooms have their own SWMS.

Balcony and roof waterproofing is high risk construction work when a person could fall more than 2 metres (WHS Regulation s 291(a)), so that item is ticked; you can also tick a contaminated or flammable atmosphere if solvent-based primers are used in an enclosed area or grinding creates silica dust (as the Queensland silica code advises), asbestos if older materials may be disturbed, and energised electrical installations or powered mobile plant when power lines or lifting plant are near the 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 Balcony and Roof Terrace Waterproofing 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 balcony, podium and roof edges
• Falling objects striking people below
• Solvent fumes from primers and liquid membranes
• Isocyanates in some polyurethane products
• Fire from torch-on membrane and LPG
• Burns from hot bitumen and the torch
• Silica dust from grinding concrete
• Asbestos in older balconies and roofs
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Slips on wet primer and membrane
• Heavy rolls, pails and strains
• Heat, sun and wet weather
• Flood test water and electric shock

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 training or verified competency in the membrane system applied, including the manufacturer’s product training where the manufacturer requires it for the warranty
• Training in the torch, gas cylinder and hot work controls for anyone who torches membrane, and a trained fire watch
• Instruction on the safety data sheet for each product, including respirator and glove selection, and training in the fit, use and care of respirators
• Training in fall protection, harness use and rescue for anyone who uses a harness system and for those who may carry out a rescue
• Crystalline silica training for workers where grinding concrete is assessed as high risk silica processing (WHS Regulation s 529CD)
• Competent person to inspect temporary edge protection and any scaffold before use
• Training in recognising suspected asbestos and when to stop work
• Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation has no high risk work licence class for waterproofing; operators of cranes, hoists and other plant used to lift materials hold the licence for that plant where Schedule 3 has a class for it, and a separate SWMS covers the lift

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021 (where scaffold gives access or edge protection)
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021 (decanted products)
• 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
• Welding Processes Code of Practice 2021 (fire and explosion, hot work and gas cylinder controls used as guidance for torch work)
• AS 1674.1 Safety in welding and allied processes – Fire precautions (named in the Welding Processes Code of Practice 2021 for hot work permits)
• 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
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones, Schedule 2 (uninsulated lines), and construction electrical equipment (s 140)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (distances come from the 2026 Regulation)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (19 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.