Grease Trap Cleaning SWMS

For grease trap cleaning contractors, vacuum truck operators, plumbers and kitchen maintenance crews who empty and clean grease traps at restaurants, cafes, pubs, hotels, food courts and food factories. It follows the job from the site check and the decision on whether the trap is a confined space through opening the lid, testing the air, vacuum extraction, cleaning, biological hazard control and waste handling to close-out and emergencies. It works from outside the trap: confined space entry and grease trap installation are not covered and need their own SWMS.

Routine cleaning and emptying of a grease trap is treated as not construction work under WHS Regulation s 289: it is routine servicing, which is maintenance of a minor nature that s 289(3)(d) leaves out (the Safe Work Australia model Construction work code, guidance only in Queensland, lists servicing and regular inspection as examples), so no item is pre-ticked and this document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment. Repairing, replacing, relining or installing a trap or its drainage, or any excavation, is construction work: tick the items that apply, such as the confined space item where the trap is a confined space (s 291(f)). It does not replace the written risk assessment that Part 4.3 of the WHS Regulation requires where a trap is a confined space.

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 Grease Trap 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:

• Heavy lids crushing hands and feet
• Falls into the open trap
• Hydrogen sulphide and other toxic sewer gases
• Methane, fire and explosion at the opening
• Low oxygen at the trap opening
• Suction hose whip, spills and overfilled tanks
• Splashes of grease, sewage and cleaning chemicals
• Infection from sewage-contaminated waste
• Cuts from baffles, screens and sharp objects in the trap
• Manual handling of lids, hoses and containers
• Pump noise, heat and fatigue
• Vehicle movements and ignition sources near the opening
• Rescue attempts that put a second worker at risk

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

• Workers trained and assessed as competent in grease trap cleaning, the vacuum equipment used, the no-entry rule and the emergency procedures; confined space entry is not covered by this SWMS
• Competent person to decide whether each trap is a confined space, to record the risk assessment (WHS Regulation s 66) and to test the air at the opening
• Gas monitor user trained and competent in testing, calibration checks and reading the instrument
• Driver licensed for the class of the vacuum truck or tanker
• Workers trained in the hazards of sewer gas, biological hazards and the cleaning products used, and in the signs of gas exposure
• Where the trap is a confined space: information, training and instruction on its hazards, the controls, PPE and the emergency procedures for every worker who could enter or work in it, or who has a function in the emergency procedures, with the training record kept for 2 years (WHS Regulation s 76)
• First aid equipment, facilities and trained first aiders (or access to them) as the work needs (WHS Regulation s 42)
• Workers are encouraged or helped to get vaccinated against diseases the work could expose them to; recommendations are in the current Australian Immunisation Handbook (Safe Work Australia model code, guidance)
• General construction induction training card (white card) when the job is part of construction work, and the customer’s site induction

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): Chapter 4 Part 4.3 (confined spaces), s 51 (hazardous atmospheres) and ss 78 and 79 (falls)
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021 (deciding whether a trap is a confined space, and testing the air from outside)
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace 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 Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021 (openings and pits)
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021 (heat and facilities)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 (vacuum pump and vehicle)
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (guidance)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (18 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.