Electrical SWMS for Electrician Contractors

When you need this document

A builder or principal contractor is asking for a site-specific SWMS before you can get on the job, or your work falls under a high risk construction work category and the law requires one before work starts.

What it covers for electrician work

Typical hazards addressed: electric shock and arc flash, working near energised services, falls from ladders and ewps, roof cavity work (heat, low light), underground service strikes. Citations from the Electrician focus list:

• §reg 154: electrical work must not be carried out on electrical equipment while it is energised, unless reg 157 permits it
• §reg 155: before electrical work, a competent person tests the equipment to find out whether it is energised, and every exposed part is treated as energised until it is isolated and found not to be energised
• §reg 157: electrical work on energised equipment is permitted only where it is necessary in the interests of health and safety, necessary for the work to be carried out properly, necessary for testing, or there is no reasonable alternative. It is not a duty to isolate circuits before entering a roof space
• §reg 147: manage electrical risks at the workplace under Part 3.1. Isolating circuits before workers enter a roof or ceiling space is a control chosen under this duty and reg 36; no model regulation requires it by name
• §reg 163: a business that carries out construction work must comply with AS/NZS 3012 (electrical installations on construction and demolition sites)
• §reg 158: preliminary steps before any energised electrical work (risk assessment by a competent person, work area clear, isolation point accessible, authorisation)
• §reg 78 and reg 79: manage the risk of ANY fall liable to cause injury (ladders, EWPs, roof cavities); a fall of more than 2 m is additionally high risk construction work under reg 291
• §AS/NZS 3012: electrical installations on construction and demolition sites (temporary power, RCDs, testing)
• §AS/NZS 3000: electrical installations (wiring rules)
• §AS/NZS 3760: in-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment (test and tag of portable tools and leads)
• §AS/NZS 4836: safe working on or near low-voltage electrical installations and equipment (isolation, lock-out and test before touch)
• §reg 44 to reg 47: PPE duties (insulated gloves, arc-rated clothing where required)
• §Asbestos and electrical work: the asbestos demolition and refurbishment lines that follow apply to electrical work only where the job is refurbishment that disturbs the structure itself (for example cutting or drilling into walls, ceilings, eaves or floors to run cables, or removing or replacing an old switchboard or meter board and its backing panel) in an older building, structure or plant that the application line covers (built or installed before the date it gives). Minor or routine maintenance work, and other minor work, is excluded. On a job that does not disturb the structure in such a building, do not state these duties as applying
• §reg 447: the asbestos duties for demolition and refurbishment (reg 448 to reg 457) apply to the demolition or refurbishment of a structure or plant constructed or installed before 31 December 2003. Demolition or refurbishment does not include minor or routine maintenance work, or other minor work. Where these duties apply they are law, never good practice
• §reg 448 to reg 450: before demolition or refurbishment starts, the person with management or control of the workplace must ensure the asbestos register is reviewed (and revised if it is inadequate for the proposed work) and that the business carrying out the work is given a copy, and the business carrying out the demolition or refurbishment must obtain a copy of the asbestos register from the person with management or control of the workplace before it starts the work
• §reg 451: where there is no asbestos register for the structure or plant, the business that is to carry out the demolition or refurbishment must not carry it out until the structure or plant has been inspected to determine whether asbestos or ACM is fixed to or installed in it, and must ensure that the determination is undertaken by a competent person. It must assume that asbestos or ACM is fixed to or installed in the structure or plant if the competent person is, on reasonable grounds, uncertain, or if part of the structure or plant is inaccessible and likely to be disturbed. If asbestos or ACM is determined or assumed to be present, it must inform the occupier and the owner of the premises (residential premises) or, in any other case, the person with management or control of the workplace
• §reg 456 and reg 457: all asbestos that is likely to be disturbed by the refurbishment must be identified and, so far as is reasonably practicable, removed before the refurbishment is commenced. For residential premises this is the duty of the business carrying out the refurbishment (reg 457); for any other workplace it is the duty of the person with management or control of the workplace, or of the structure or plant (reg 456)

What's inside

• ✓ Title block: PCBU, principal contractor, site address, prepared and review dates
• ✓ High risk construction work categories identified for your activity
• ✓ Step-by-step work method with hazards, risk ratings, and controls
• ✓ Controls in hierarchy order: eliminate, substitute, isolate, engineer, administer, PPE
• ✓ Plant, equipment, permits, licences, and training requirements
• ✓ Emergency procedures and review triggers
• ✓ Your state’s legislation cited (WHS Regulation, or OHS Regulations in Victoria)
• ✓ Worker consultation and sign-off block