Autoclave & Steriliser Install SWMS

Autoclave and steriliser installation is the work that installs, connects and commissions a central sterile services department steam steriliser or autoclave, and low-temperature sterilisers, including the three-phase electrical, steam, water and drain connection, the placement of the pressure vessel, and commissioning testing. The dominant hazards are electric shock or arc flash connecting a three-phase steriliser, pressure-vessel rupture or stored-energy release during commissioning, steam and thermal burns and scalding, exposure to reprocessing chemicals or low-temperature sterilant, and crush or struck-by injury positioning a heavy steriliser into its recess. This SWMS covers the steriliser connection, placement and commissioning; it does not cover the steriliser's design, the reprocessing workflow it serves, or the central plant supplying steam, which are documented separately.

Under the model Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the harmonised Work Health and Safety Regulations adopted in each state and territory, this is high risk construction work because it is carried out on or near energised electrical services and in or near a confined or cramped plant space; Victoria operates the equivalent provisions under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017. The pressure vessel follows AS 1210, read with AS/NZS 3788 for in-service inspection, the reprocessing context follows AS/NZS 4187, the three-phase connection follows AS/NZS 3000, and the water and drain connection follows AS/NZS 3500.

Failure to meet the primary duty of care is prosecuted under the Category 1 to 3 offences in the Work Health and Safety Act (and the equivalent provisions in Victoria's Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004), with maximum penalties indexed in most jurisdictions, imprisonment available for individuals, and a separate industrial manslaughter offence; current figures follow the prevailing penalty schedule of the responsible state regulator. This document is structured to satisfy the safe work method statement content requirements of the harmonised regulations and documents a controlled placement, connection and commissioning.

Hazards identified

10 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.

1. 1Elimination: Isolate and lock out before work, test before touch, confirm correct IP rating, and use a licensed electrician under permit; wear arc-rated and insulated equipment.
2. 2Engineering: Verify the relief valve and run a staged test to the manufacturer's procedure under AS 1210 and AS/NZS 3788 controls, with an exclusion during the test.
3. 3Elimination: Lock out the steam supply and allow cool-down before work, with insulation and guarding and no work on a live or hot vessel; wear heat-resistant gloves.
4. 4Substitution: Use lower-hazard chemistry where available, with ventilation and local exhaust, safety-data-sheet controls and the AS/NZS 4187 context; wear a respirator and gloves.
5. 5Engineering: Use mechanical handling and skates to position the steriliser, with a lifting plan, two-person handling and an exclusion; wear gloves and footwear.
6. 6Engineering: Isolate and insulate hot water and condensate lines and allow cool-down before work; wear heat-resistant gloves.
7. 7Engineering: Flush and disinfect new water connections, with the AS/NZS 3500 and a water-management approach; wear gloves and eye protection.
8. 8Elimination: Work from outside the plant space where possible; otherwise assess the space, ventilate, and use a confined-space permit where it applies.
9. 9Engineering: Use mechanical aids for heavy components and baskets, with two-person handling and a 25 kg single-person limit; wear gloves.
10. 10Engineering: Provide bunding and drainage, with housekeeping and spill control; wear slip-resistant footwear.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

A steriliser technician is installing a central sterile services steam steriliser and a low-temperature steriliser, positioning the units, connecting the three-phase electrical, steam, water and drain services, and commissioning them. The work is high risk construction work because it is on or near energised electrical services and in a cramped plant space that can be a confined space, so the technician builds the safe work method statement around the electrical connection, the pressure vessel, the steam and the confined space. The heavy steriliser is positioned into its recess with mechanical handling and skates to a lifting plan, with two-person handling and an exclusion, and the three-phase connection is made only after isolation and lock-out by a licensed electrician who tests before touch, with the correct ingress-protection rating and arc-rated equipment. The pressure vessel is commissioned with relief-valve verification and a staged test to the manufacturer's procedure under AS 1210 and AS/NZS 3788, and during testing others are excluded. The steam supply is locked out and the vessel allowed to cool before any work, with insulation and guarding controlling steam and thermal burns, and hot water and condensate lines are isolated and insulated. New water connections are flushed and disinfected with a water-management approach to control legionella and biofilm, and reprocessing chemicals or low-temperature sterilant are handled with lower-hazard chemistry where available, ventilation and local exhaust, and safety-data-sheet controls. Where the plant space is confined, work is done from outside where possible, or under a confined-space permit with ventilation, and bunding, drainage and housekeeping control slips on wet floors. Workers sign on to the statement before starting, the electrical, pressure-test and commissioning records are kept, and the signed statement is held on site for the responsible state regulator, and a review is triggered if the steriliser or the plant space changes.

Related legislation

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (harmonised; enacted in all states and territories except Victoria, which applies the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004), s.19 — Primary duty of care to workers and to other persons at or near the workplace
• Harmonised Work Health and Safety Regulations, section 291 — Defines high risk construction work (Victoria: Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017, Part 5.1)
• Harmonised Work Health and Safety Regulations, section 299 — Content and review requirements for a safe work method statement for high risk construction work (Victoria: regulation 327; Tasmania: regulation 312)
• Harmonised Work Health and Safety Regulations, Part 4.7 — Electrical safety: the prohibition on energised electrical work except where de-energising is not reasonably practicable and the prescribed conditions are met (Victoria applies the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 and state electrical-safety legislation)
• Harmonised Work Health and Safety Regulations — Confined spaces: entry permit, atmospheric monitoring, standby and rescue duties (Victoria applies the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017)
• State pressure-equipment and plant requirements, with AS 1210 and AS/NZS 3788 — Pressure-vessel design, registration where it applies, and in-service inspection of the steriliser

Frequently asked questions