SSSP vs SWMS: what you actually need in New Zealand
In New Zealand the site safety document is the SSSP (Site-Specific Safety Plan), and the per-task document is a task analysis. Some main contractors ask for a "safe work method statement", or SWMS, using the term loosely. In New Zealand, that request is met with a task analysis for the task, backed by your SSSP for the site.
Why you might hear "SWMS"
The term safe work method statement, or SWMS, is common on some sites and in some head-contractor systems. When a main contractor asks a New Zealand subcontractor for a "SWMS", they usually mean a written method for a task that sets out its steps, hazards and controls. In New Zealand the document that does this is the task analysis (sometimes called a JSA).
What to hand over
- •Your SSSP for the whole of your work on the site
- •A task analysis for each higher-risk task, giving the steps, hazards and controls
- •The registrations, certificates and inductions the main contractor asks for
One request, two documents
If someone asks for a "site safety plan" they mean the SSSP. If they ask for a "method statement" or a SWMS for a specific task, they mean a task analysis. Handing over both, with the SSSP referencing the task analyses, covers the request in the language a New Zealand main contractor recognises under Site Safe conventions.
Common questions
Do I need a SWMS in New Zealand?
New Zealand law does not use the term SWMS. If a main contractor asks for one, provide a task analysis for the task and your SSSP for the site. Together these give the same information a method statement would, in the form New Zealand main contractors expect.
Is a task analysis the same as a JSA?
Yes. Task analysis, JSA (job safety analysis) and job safety and environmental analysis all describe the same thing: breaking a task into steps and setting out the hazards and controls for each step. It sits under your SSSP.
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