Coffee Machine Installation and Repair SWMS

Suits coffee machine technicians and service businesses who install, service and repair commercial espresso machines and grinders at cafes and workplaces. It follows the job from planning and the machine’s boiler details through isolation, the water and electrical connections, commissioning, grinder and group servicing, descaling, hand-over and pack-up. Cooktop, oven and rangehood installation and commercial kitchen gas appliances need their own SWMS.

A coffee machine is plant, and the construction work chapter of the WHS Regulation applies to plant only in the cases listed in s 290(2), so no high risk construction work item is pre-ticked and a SWMS is required by law only for high risk construction work (s 299). If the installation is part of a cafe fit-out or other construction work (s 290(2)(b)), tick the items that apply, such as energised electrical installations or services or a risk of a fall of more than 2 metres. Otherwise this document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment that you tailor to your machines and customers.

New to SWMS? Read What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?

What Is Covered In Our Coffee Machine Installation and Repair SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the job and the machine” to “Pack up and leave the cafe safe”. The hazards and controls include:

• Scalds from steam, hot water and hot parts
• Boiler pressure and safety valves
• Stored pressure released when fittings are opened
• Electric shock and the electrical work boundary
• Water connection and the plumbing licence boundary
• Chemical burns from descaling products
• Descaler contaminating food and water
• Grinder blades, guards and moving parts
• Heavy machines and grinders on benches
• Working alone in a cafe
• Slips on wet cafe floors
• Noise and coffee dust

High Risk Construction Work

None of the high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this job is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick any that apply on your site.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Technician trained and assessed as competent in installing, servicing and repairing the commercial coffee machines and grinders worked on, to the maker’s procedures (WHS Regulation s 39 duty to train and instruct)
• Licensed electrical worker for any electrical work beyond connecting by a flexible cord plug and socket outlet (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55)
• Plumbing licence that covers the water supply and drain connection work (Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 s 56); a trainee works under direct supervision (s 58(1)(b))
• Worker trained in the hazards of acid and alkaline descaling and cleaning products and the SDS controls for those used
• No high risk work licence class in Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation covers this work, and it needs no construction induction training card because it is not construction work unless it is part of a fit-out
• First aid equipment and facilities, and the person appointed as the job’s first aider (WHS Regulation s 42); a technician working alone has a first aid kit in the vehicle and a check-in arrangement

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 208, 210 and 213: guarding, operator controls, and maintenance and inspection of plant
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 246 and Schedule 5 items 3.1 and 3.2: registration of boilers and pressure vessels
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 328, 341, 344, 346, 351, 354 and 357: hazardous chemicals
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 60: hazardous manual tasks
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 48: remote or isolated work
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 56 and 57: noise
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 289 and 290: construction work and plant
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld) ss 18 and 55: electrical work and licences
• Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 (Qld) ss 56 and 58 and Schedule 1: plumbing work and licences
• 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
• 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 (14 A4 landscape pages). Type your business, client and job details once and they fill in on every page, with a space for your logo
• 10 job steps for this work, each with its hazards, controls, initial and residual risk scores and the person responsible
• PPE listed for this job: safety boots; heat-resistant gloves for hot parts, group heads and portafilters; nitrile or other chemical-resistant gloves, checked against the SDS, for descaling and cleaning products
• Emergency arrangements for: scald or steam burn, electric shock and boiler leak, safety valve lifting or over-pressure
• Plus the parts every Work Safety QLD SWMS shares, from the s 291 checklist to the worker sign-on sheet (see the layout in our free SWMS template)

Adjust it for your site, plant and crew, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.

Checked against the Queensland laws and codes of practice listed above. Last reviewed November 2026.