February 03, 2011 - The Occupational and Safety Regulations require the preparation of a SWMS before work begins, especially for medium to high-risk construction activities. The objective of an SWMS is to provide a blueprint of how work will be carried out, identify safety risks and lays out the control measures that will be applied to how work is conducted to mitigate these risks as far as possible.

In many cases, builders shrug their shoulders and grumble that they have to compile another report before they can actually get to do the work. However, anyone who has any experience in managing building projects knows that a good SWMS is much more than just a legal requirement.

When it comes to building work, there are so many things that can go wrong, because of the human element. No matter how hard you try, there is no way to control what people do and, in many cases, you can end up with a disaster simply because someone wasn’t paying attention to what they were supposed to be doing. Unfortunately, even if it isn’t your fault directly, you will still be held liable and will have to pay through the nose for it, especially if someone is injured.

However, with a good SWMS in place, you will be legally compliant, in the first place, but it is also proof that you instituted proper control measures and aren’t liable for the mistakes of others. Crafting a SWMS should also involve employees as well as sub-contractors, to ensure everyone is on the same page. This approach also ensures that everyone has understood all the hazards and risks involved, and there is less chance of accidents occurring onsite, when everyone knows what they are dealing with.

Of course, making sure you have a good SWMS also means conforming to all the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations. So, rather than waste time creating an SWMS from scratch, Ensafe SWMS Central provides a vast library of pre-written SWMS that you can modify to suit your particular project. While it is imperative that you go through the SWMS with all your employees, this doesn’t mean you need to spend days working on something that could take a few hours. Likewise, if you can’t find a SWMS to suit your needs, Ensafe can create a custom statement for you.

For more information on Ensafe and to access their SWMS library, please visit http://www.swmscentral.com.au

Contact:

Martin Gerardo
Sydney
NSW
2176
Australia
http://www.swmscentral.com.au