Data Cabling Installation SWMS

Suits cabling installers and ICT contractors fitting data and communications cabling in offices, shops, homes and industrial buildings. It follows the job from site survey and access set-up through drilling, cable pulling, termination, testing and handover. Mains wiring, ceiling-space entry, cable tray and fire stopping are covered by separate SWMS.

A SWMS is legally required when the work is high risk construction work, such as work with a risk of a fall of more than 2 m or work near energised installations or services (WHS Regulation sections 291 and 299). Data cabling is not high risk by itself, so otherwise this document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment. Tick the falls, asbestos, energised installations or contaminated atmosphere items on the cover if they apply to your job.

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 Data Cabling 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 ladders, step platforms and EWPs
• Falls through ceilings, risers and floor openings
• Contact with hidden mains cables when drilling or fixing
• Asbestos in ceilings, linings and penetrations
• Silica dust from drilling and coring masonry
• Heat, insulation fibres and cramped postures in ceiling spaces
• Dropped tools and cable striking people below
• Hazardous manual tasks when pulling long cable runs
• Glass shards and laser light from optical fibre
• Unsealed openings in fire-rated walls and floors
• Trips over cable and leads in 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

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and site induction
• Cabling registration or licence for communications cabling where the law requires it (confirm any cabling registration requirement before the job)
• Electrical work licence for any mains wiring or hard-wired mains connection (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55); mains work is outside this SWMS
• Training in ladder and step platform use, and in working near energised parts and overhead power lines
• Operator licence or verification of competency for any elevating work platform; a high risk work licence if it is a boom-type EWP with a boom length of 11 m or more (WHS Regulation Sch 3 item 21)
• Workers the PCBU reasonably believes may be involved in asbestos removal work or asbestos-related work are trained in the identification and safe handling of asbestos and ACM (WHS Regulation s 445); everyone else stops and reports anything that may be asbestos
• Crystalline silica training where the dust assessment finds drilling or coring high risk (WHS Regulation s 529CD)
• Fibre optic termination training for anyone handling bare optical fibre

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 306O (falls, ladders and trestle platforms in construction work)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 56, 57 and 60 (noise, hazardous manual tasks), ss 419, 422, 445, 450 and 451 (asbestos) and ss 529A to 529CD (crystalline silica)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld): ss 14, 18 and 55 (meaning of electrical equipment, electrical work and licence requirement)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 31 to 36 (work in the roof space of a building)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): s 193 (meaning of near, for work on or near energised electrical equipment) and ss 10 to 13 and sch 2 (overhead power line exclusion zones)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• 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

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (15 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.