If you are involved in the construction industry, you will have heard about a safe work method statement or SWMS. The construction industry is one that experiences many hazards. This is why it is important that workers and passersby are kept safe from any threat. A business should follow all rules and regulations present in their country so that the health and safety of everyone is kept intact.
What is SWMS?
A safe work method statement or SWMS tends to be a formal and usually legal document that outlines the particular requirements present with carrying out a certain high risk task. SWMS are employed mostly in construction. They are usually said to be needed for every “high risk construction activities”. But work method statements may even be utilized in certain industrial oriented jobs. They are even employed for the operation of certain plant and equipment across different industries.
A SWMS for all activities gets prepared for some project. It can be made before the site work starts. You can get it made from a professional like a SWMS template concreting at Construction Safety. The group of SWMS will get submitted and then reviewed by the client. It can be reviewed by a 3rd party prior to the work starting.
When it is approved, the SWMS will be a living document that needs to be referenced. It may be updated when the project is occurring, with newly inducted workers looking at it and acknowledging that they have actually read, understood and even agreed to carry out work in the particular safe manner that has been outlined.
Purpose of the statement
It has been claimed that the main purpose of a SWMS is to make sure that everyone who carries out high risks construction tasks, does this in a way that is safe. With the help of a SWMS, the reader is able to be guided through the requirements and also present safety measures connected with the particular activity on the job.
If there is no SWMS, workers and even supervisors will be following their own intuition and even maybe bad habits to carry out work. When the work method statement is read and also acknowledged, all workers will get to know of the safety needs. This includes the training and instruction that they should follow prior to carrying out works and also how to carefully prepare for and handle the risks connected with every job step.
This information allows workers to be aware of any hazards and even risks connected with the activity. They can also understand any control measures that they or others should put in place. A SWMS behaves as a mechanism by which a company and project can make certain that all activities are carried out in an approved and also standardized way. This limits the likelihood of silly mistakes occurring and negligence that can lead to injuries, losing productive hours moreover potential fatalities.
From the above you can see that it is very important to have a SWMS in place that is made properly.
