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Electrical · Australia

SWMS for smoke alarm installation

By Safety PaperworkBuilt from Safe Work Australia and state regulator guidance · How we write and check theseUpdated

Yes. Smoke alarm installation usually includes high risk construction work (work on or near energised electrical installations or services), so a SWMS is required by law before work starts.

It must list the hazards, the controls and how they will be put in place, monitored and reviewed, and the workers must be consulted and sign before starting. The main hazards are electric shock from live wiring, falling through a floor opening or void, falling from a ladder and heat stress.

Make this SWMS nowWord templatePDF

SWMS example: smoke alarm installation

This is a complete SWMS for smoke alarm installation, with 5 job steps. Open it in the builder to add your site, crew and signatures, change anything, and download a PDF. Or download the free Word template below and fill it in by hand.

Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
Install smoke alarms · Electrical · Example
Document SWMS-001 · Rev 1

High risk construction work covered

Work on or near energised electrical installations or services

Job steps, hazards and controls

#Job stepHazardsRisk beforeControlsRisk after
1Plan alarm locations and let the occupants know
  • Working in an occupied home or building
Medium
  • Plan noisy, dusty or risky work for when the building is empty. Eliminate
  • Close off the work area with barriers, plastic sheeting or locked doors, and put up signs. Isolate
  • Keep fire exits and paths clear at all times. Administrative
  • Tell occupants before you turn off power, water or gas, and before noisy or dusty work. Administrative
  • Lock away tools, chemicals and materials each day, out of reach of children. Administrative
  • Clean up dust and debris at the end of each day. Administrative
Low
2Isolate the circuit for hard wired alarms, lock out and danger tag and prove dead
  • Electric shock from live wiring
Extreme
  • Isolate the power before any work. Do not do live work except in the limited cases the WHS Regulations allow (r.157; in Qld, the Electrical Safety Regulation 2013). Eliminate
  • Lock out and tag the isolation point with your own personal lock and danger tag. Isolate
  • Test before you touch: prove dead at the point of work with a voltage tester, proving the tester on a known live source before and after (AS/NZS 4836). Engineering
  • Only licensed electricians do electrical work. Administrative
  • Check for back feeds from solar, batteries and generators that can keep a circuit live after the main switch is off. Administrative
  • If live work cannot be avoided, use a permit, a safety observer and insulated tools. Administrative
  • Wear insulated gloves, arc-rated clothing and a face shield when testing or working near live parts. PPE
Medium
3Set up a platform ladder and cut ceiling holes, wearing glasses and a dust mask
  • Falling from a ladder
  • General dust
  • Eye injuries
High
  • Use a platform ladder, mobile scaffold or EWP for longer jobs instead of a straight ladder. Substitute
  • Use industrial-rated ladders (AS/NZS 1892, 120 kg or more) in good condition. Remove any damaged ladder from site. Engineering
  • Set extension ladders at a 4 to 1 angle on firm, level ground, tied or footed, and reaching 1 metre above the landing. Engineering
  • Use ladders only for short, light work. Do not carry heavy or awkward loads up a ladder. Administrative
  • Keep three points of contact and your belt buckle between the stiles. Do not overreach. Administrative
  • Use low-dust products, such as dust-reduced or pre-mixed compounds. Substitute
  • Seal off the work area with plastic sheeting in occupied buildings. Isolate
  • Use tools with dust extraction and a vacuum for clean up. Engineering
  • Lightly mist the area with water to keep dust down, away from anything electrical. Engineering
  • Never dry sweep or blow dust off with compressed air. Administrative
  • Use tool guards and screens to stop flying particles. Engineering
  • Use dust extraction and water to keep dust out of the air. Engineering
  • Keep others out of the area when cutting, grinding or chipping. Administrative
  • Keep an eye wash station or eye wash bottles on site. Administrative
  • Wear safety glasses at all times, goggles for dust and chemicals, and a face shield for grinding. PPE
Medium
4Run cable in the ceiling space, staying on joists
  • Falling through a floor opening or void
  • Heat stress
Extreme
  • Cover every hole and penetration with a fixed, secured cover marked "HOLE" or "DANGER". Isolate
  • Put guardrails with toe boards around stairwells, lift shafts, voids and open edges. Isolate
  • Install stairs early and fit temporary handrails as soon as they go in. Engineering
  • Never remove a cover or guardrail without approval. Put it back straight away. Administrative
  • Inspect covers and barriers daily and after other trades have been through. Administrative
  • Keep lighting good enough to see openings, especially on lower floors and in the evening. Administrative
  • Use a harness clipped to a rated anchor when working right next to an open void. PPE
  • Schedule heavy work for the cooler part of the day. Eliminate
  • Provide shade over work and rest areas, and fans or cooling in roof spaces. Engineering
  • Supply cool drinking water close by and drink a cup every 15 to 20 minutes. Administrative
  • Take regular rest breaks in the shade, more often as it gets hotter. Administrative
  • Let new and returning workers build up to full work in the heat over about a week. Administrative
  • Watch each other for dizziness, headache, confusion or stopping sweating. Stop work, cool down and get help. Administrative
  • Have a hot weather plan, including when work stops. Administrative
  • Wear light, loose, long-sleeved clothing, a hat or brim, and sunscreen. PPE
Medium
5Connect and test every alarm, then clean up
  • Electric shock from live wiring
  • Poor housekeeping and waste
Extreme
  • Electric shock from live wiring: see step 2 for the full controls Administrative
  • Order materials to size and send packaging back where you can. Eliminate
  • Put skip bins and waste chutes close to the work. Engineering
  • Clean as you go, and do a full clean up at the end of each day. Administrative
  • Keep exits, stairs and walkways clear at all times. Administrative
  • Stack materials neatly on level ground, away from edges. Administrative
  • Wear gloves when handling waste. PPE
Medium

PPE

Steel cap bootsSafety glassesP2 dust maskInsulated electrical glovesArc-rated clothing and face shieldHard hatSafety gogglesFace shieldSun protection (brim hat, long sleeves, SPF 50+)Work gloves

Plant and equipment

Platform ladderPower drillElectrical test equipmentHand tools

Permits and plans

Electrical isolation permit

Emergency

Call 000. Add the nearest hospital, the assembly point and the first aider for your site.

Sign-off

Supervisor and every worker sign to confirm they have read and understood this SWMS.

Free SWMS template for smoke alarm installation

Word (.docx) and PDF, A4 landscape, no email needed. Fill in your site details, then print or send it.

Word template (.docx)PDF template

Make yours in 2 minutes

Same document, filled in for your job. Answer a few yes or no questions, the crew signs on the phone, and you send the PDF.

Start this SWMS

Pre-start checklist for smoke alarm installation

Tick these off before work starts. They come from the hazards, permits and equipment in this job.

The safe sequence of work

  1. Plan alarm locations and let the occupants know
  2. Isolate the circuit for hard wired alarms, lock out and danger tag and prove dead
  3. Set up a platform ladder and cut ceiling holes, wearing glasses and a dust mask
  4. Run cable in the ceiling space, staying on joists
  5. Connect and test every alarm, then clean up

Hazards to watch on smoke alarm installation

The hazards most specific to this job, and the step where each one comes up.

Step 4Heat stressHard work in hot weather or hot roof spaces causes heat exhaustion or heat stroke, which can kill.
Step 1Working in an occupied home or buildingResidents, staff or children wander into the work area and get hurt, or the work blocks exits or cuts off power or water while people are inside.
Step 4Falling through a floor opening or voidA worker steps into an open hole, stairwell, lift shaft or penetration and falls to the level below.
Step 3Eye injuriesFlying chips, dust, chemicals or sparks get into the eye and cause damage or blindness.
Step 3General dustDust from plasterboard, filler, cement and clean up irritates eyes and lungs and makes it hard to see.
Step 3Falling from a ladderThe ladder slips or tips, or the worker overreaches, and they fall onto a hard surface.
Almost certainLikelyPossibleUnlikelyRareHow bad it could be: Insignificant to CatastrophicBA
Highest risk on smoke alarm installation: Extreme before controls (B), down to Medium after controls (A), on the Australia 5 by 5 risk matrix (possible and catastrophic becomes unlikely and major).

What changes on your site

This example covers the job itself. Your site may add more. Add controls for any of these that apply (the builder asks you these as yes or no questions):

  • Will anyone work more than 2 metres off the ground?
  • Will anyone work on a roof?
  • Is there a skylight, clear sheet, fibro or other fragile roofing?
  • Will you use a scaffold or mobile tower?
  • Will you use an EWP (scissor lift or boom lift)?

Licences and legal requirements in Australia

This task can involve these high risk construction work categories under the WHS Regulations:

  • Work on or near energised electrical installations or services

A SWMS must be prepared before any high risk construction work starts. It must list the high risk work, the hazards and risks, the control measures, and how those controls will be put in place, monitored and reviewed. It must be easy for the workers to read and understand.

Rules that apply: WHS Regulation 2011, Part 4.7 General electrical safety; WHS Regulation 2011, Part 4.4 Falls.

Each state has its own regulator and some extra rules: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Australian Capital Territory.

Why SWMS get rejected

Principal contractors send documents back for these reasons. This example avoids them, but check yours too.

  • It is generic: another site address, tasks that are not on this job, or no sign it was reviewed for this site. WorkSafe WA says a generic SWMS may not meet the regulations unless it is reviewed and amended for the workplace.
  • The HRCW boxes are not ticked, or the ticks do not match the tasks (for example a roof job with no falls box ticked).
  • Falls are controlled only by "be careful", training or a harness, with no edge protection or scaffold and no reason why higher controls are not reasonably practicable.
  • Workers will clip on to a harness but there is no rescue plan for someone left hanging.
  • The "how controls are implemented, monitored and reviewed" part is missing, or it says the same thing on every row.
  • No worker sign-on, no person responsible for compliance, or a date given to the principal contractor that is before they actually received it.
  • Licence or White Card details are missing for workers operating plant or doing licensed high risk work.

Questions

Do I need a SWMS for smoke alarm installation?

Yes. Smoke alarm installation usually includes high risk construction work (work on or near energised electrical installations or services), so a SWMS is required by law before work starts.

Who signs the SWMS?

The person conducting the business (PCBU) or their supervisor prepares it with the workers, and every worker doing the high risk work signs to show they were consulted and understand it. Give a copy to the principal contractor before work starts.

How long do I keep it?

Keep this SWMS, and every revised version, until the high risk construction work is finished, where workers and inspectors can see it on site. If a notifiable incident happens during the work, keep it for at least 2 years after the incident.

What PPE is needed for smoke alarm installation?

Usually Steel cap boots, Safety glasses, P2 dust mask, Insulated electrical gloves, Arc-rated clothing and face shield, Hard hat, Safety goggles, Face shield, Sun protection (brim hat, long sleeves, SPF 50+), Work gloves. The site rules may add more, so check with the principal contractor.

More electrical SWMS

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Related jobs in other trades

DemolitionInternal Strip OutAlso involves electric shock from live wiringRoofingRoof Tile ReplacementAlso involves falling from a ladderConcretingConcrete Cutting and Core DrillingAlso involves electric shock from live wiringDemolitionNon Friable Asbestos RemovalAlso involves electric shock from live wiringTilingWet Area WaterproofingAlso involves working in an occupied home or buildingAir conditioning and refrigerationSplit System InstallationAlso involves electric shock from live wiring

Toolbox talks for this job

Toolbox talkLadder SafetyToolbox talkWorking at HeightsToolbox talkHeat StressToolbox talkWorking in Cold Weather

Blank SWMS template: free SWMS templates. Also for other countries: United Kingdom (RAMS) · United States (JHA) · Canada (FLHA)

Sources