While safe work method statements aim to reduce the risk of injury occurring onsite, does there need to be a more general, industry-approved document?

Maintaining safety in the workplace is an age-old issue for custom installers.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there are over 600,000 injuries and illnesses in Australian workplaces every year – which is an average of about 1,600 per day.

In order to combat this, each state and territory in Australia has incorporated a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) into their legislation to help reduce the risk of injuries, or even deaths, while at work.

The statement is an effective way for installers to set out a safe method of work for a specific job, as it describes how the work will be carried out, identifies possible hazards and outlines how specific risks will be managed.

It also includes a description of the equipment used in the job, the standards or codes to be complied with, the qualifications of the personnel doing the work and the relevant training required.

“Basically it’s a way to make sure that when you’re onsite, you are more safety-conscious and are using the safest possible practices,” says JFK Audio Visual director Justin Kern.

“If we’re working on a building in the city, as well as providing regular requirements like insurance details and worker’s compensation, we also have to provide a SWMS. For example, if an AV integrator is going to install one speaker in a hallway, you have to outline what you’re going to do, how you will do it, and how you will try to minimise any type of injury. It’s all about safety and cleaning up after you’ve finished your work so other people onsite won’t get hurt.”

Looking at New South Wales legislation, under clause 227 of Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (2001), a SWMS must be provided to any place of work where the construction cost exceeds $250,000. It must also be presented if high risk construction work is undertaken, even if the total cost of the work doesn’t exceed $250,000.

“You could be working on a small part of the job that’s only worth $300, but if the overall cost of the installation is over $250,000 you still have to fill out a SWMS,” Justin says.

“There are also a lot of buildings in the city that aren’t actually construction sites, they’re managed offices, but we still have to provide a SWMS because the building managers want it.”

Further, the legislation outlines that the principal contractor must ensure each sub-contractor provides a written SWMS for the work that will be carried out and identifies the relevant risks before they begin. Sub-contractors must also maintain and keep an up-to-date SWMS at all times.

But for many installers, the SWMS can become a slight burden: it is yet another document to add to the growing pile of paperwork that must be filled out before and during a project.

“The SWMS is a very detailed document, so it takes a lot of time to generate. Some companies can employ people to write the statements, or there are independent organisations that you can pay to write them for you. But if you choose to go down that path, you can’t really pass that added cost onto the customer,” Justin says.

“It becomes a lot of work when you’re doing the simple stuff onsite, because you’re meant to fill out a SWMS even for a little installation job. As an installer who will go onsite and do work, I have to provide the foreman or the builder with the SWMS to say we won’t leave tools on top of the ladder in case they fall, or when we install a speaker in the ceiling we will take away the box when we leave. It can get a bit crazy, but we have to realise that the foreman and the builder are just trying to cover themselves in regards to OH&S.”

Although a SWMS can be re-used for similar installation jobs, ideally each statement should be tailored to suit each installation. Given this, Justin suggests that it would be a good idea for an industry body to create a general SWMS that outlines the basic precautions that installers need to be aware of.

“From an industry perspective, it would be nice to have a standard SWMS that we can use. It would great if CEDIA or another industry body developed a general document for installers to use. I have found in the past that some builders/foreman are happy for a general or outlined SWMS, but larger projects call for a very detailed SWMS referencing which follows the relevant legislation and codes.

“I can understand why the SWMS is needed, as it encourages installers and all trade contractors of all types to be safety-conscious. But the time-consuming part of it, especially looking from the perspective of a small business, is a bit of a deterrent. It’s another thing that adds to the paperwork.”