Safety Work Method Statement Template

A Safe Work Method Statement or SWMS is vital on any construction or high risk job site. However, when it comes to managing SWMS it can be hard to juggle information and ensure that you have the right details.

In this guide we will dive into all you need to know about your SWMS template.

What You Should Include In Your SWMS Template

For any essential SWMS template, there are some elements that you need to avoid liability and ensure that everyone on site is safe.

1. Emergency procedures

You should include instructions and a description of any emergency procedures that are involved with your work activity. This will often be site specific and will need to be amended for different sites.

2. PPE required

Any Personal Protective Equipment or PPE required for site specific job management should be listed for all technicians on site to wear. Examples include; safety glasses, gloves, hard hats or etc. There should be a section in your SWMS document to ensure this is covered.

3. Risks and hazards

Your SWMS template should document a risk code and hazard scoring table to easily identify risks and hazards on the work site. Your technicians will be able to use this to score activities and determine how best to proceed safely.

4. Codes and rules

Your SWMS template will need to include all the right areas to adhere to your local codes and regulations. In your SWMS documents ensure that you reference any applicable codes that apply to your job. Forgetting to follow the correct codes could leave your business at risk or liability or have an auditor reject your documents.

5. Job description or activities

Add a step by step description of your job and the safety components that are involved. This could include evaluating risks, documenting, and any post control steps that need to be in place. Provide your technicians with all the tools they need to keep safe on the job by ensuring to include instructions in your SWMS template.

Benefits Of Risk & Safe Work Method Statement

Just like any job site checklist, a SWMS template can create consistency in your business and help reduce errors. When your team have a great SWMS template in place you will find that you can:

1. Avoid liability

By mapping out your safety procedures with a SWMS template you can ensure to add in all the instructions and details your team needs to keep safe. When you have all your boxes checked when it comes to your safety management, you can avoid liability or lawsuits in the unfortunate event of an accident.

No one wants to get a call from your customer to say there was a fire at the site and your faulty wiring was to blame. You would feel a lot better if you had a step by step documentation of your team’s work.

2. Reduce accidents

With risk management and the correct PPE equipment you can best avoid accidents and injuries to both your customers and your own team. SWMS are designed to incorporate safety tips to avoid risks before an incident occurs. With examples such as ‘Slippery when wet’ signs, or ‘hard hat only area’ signs, you can eliminate the chance of risks and minimise severe damage.

3. Save time

Apart from being safe, your safe work method statements can also save you time. Why it might not feel like filling out paperwork will save you time, your SWMS can actually help identify areas in your work for future improvement and encourage your team to learn safer practices in their work.

Using a SWMS Platform

While it can seem tedious to fill out SWMS templates and becomes frustrating when your information is hard to find, your SWMS are essential to your safety management. Luckily, there is an easy solution for your safety management.

With FieldInsight’s end-to-end platform, you can access your safety management, update your SWMS, and track your jobs all from the one place. FieldInsight allows you to:

• Say goodbye to cumbersome paper based systems
• Save time in your workflow with automation
• Boost productivity with real time data
• Track all your projects with just a few clicks
• Improve customer relationships with instant updates
• Be more efficient in the field with asset management
• and keep your team safe with easy to use SWMS management

Don’t keep struggling with your current safety management. Start saving time and improving your consistency with FieldInsight today.