Commercial Cool-Room & Refrigerant Install SWMS
Installing, connecting and commissioning a commercial cool-room or refrigeration system - insulated panels, condensing unit and evaporators, refrigerant pipework and charge, and three-phase electrical and controls.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Commercial cool-room and refrigerant installation is the work that builds and commissions a refrigeration system: insulated panels, the condensing unit and evaporators, refrigerant pipework and charge, and the three-phase electrical supply and controls. The dominant hazards are electric shock connecting the three-phase plant, refrigerant release with the risk of asphyxiation, frostbite and, for flammable A2L refrigerants, fire, confined cool-room and plant-space entrapment, pressure and stored energy during the system pressure test, and falls installing high-level evaporators and pipework. This SWMS covers the panels, plant, refrigerant pipework, charge and electrical connection; it does not cover the design of the refrigeration system, the building's main electrical supply, or the structural support for the plant, 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, in or near a confined cool room, in an area that may have a contaminated or flammable atmosphere from a refrigerant release, and where a person can fall more than two metres; Victoria operates the equivalent provisions under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017. The refrigerating system, charge and pipework follow AS/NZS 5149, the three-phase supply and controls follow AS/NZS 3000, the electrical work is done by a licensed electrician, and a refrigerant handling licence is required to handle refrigerant.
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 installation and charge.
Hazards identified
10 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Electrocution or fatal injury
Asphyxiation, frostbite or fire
Entrapment or atmospheric exposure
Injury from pressure release
Serious or fatal fall injury
Strain or sprain injury
Burn injury or fire
Laceration injury
Noise-induced hearing loss
Slip, trip and fall injury
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Elimination: Isolate and lock out before connecting the three-phase plant, test before touch, use a licensed electrician under permit, and use arc-rated and insulated equipment.
- 2Elimination: Eliminate ignition sources for flammable refrigerants, leak-test, ventilate, and use oxygen and refrigerant monitoring; recover and charge under a refrigerant handling licence.
- 3Elimination: Work from outside the cool room where possible; otherwise ventilate, confirm a functional internal release before closing up, and use a confined-space permit where it applies.
- 4Engineering: Use a staged pressure test to AS/NZS 5149 with rated gauges, and exclude others during the test; wear eye protection.
- 5Engineering: Use an elevating work platform or scaffold with edge protection for high-level evaporators and pipework, with a fall-arrest harness where a residual fall risk remains.
- 6Engineering: Use mechanical aids for panels, the condenser and evaporators, with multi-person handling; wear gloves and footwear.
- 7Engineering: Use screens for brazing, a hot-work permit and fire watch, and purge before hot work; wear flame-resistant clothing and gauntlets.
- 8Engineering: Deburr panel edges and handle safely; wear cut-resistant gloves.
- 9Engineering: Use low-noise practices and job rotation; wear hearing protection.
- 10Engineering: Keep access clear with housekeeping; wear safety footwear.
Applicable Codes of Practice
The system, refrigerant charge and pipework, and the pressure test
The three-phase supply and controls
Permit, ventilation and the functional internal release for the cool room
Isolation and energised-work controls for the three-phase plant
Hot-work permit and fire watch for brazing
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Connecting the three-phase refrigeration plant and controls is work on or near energised electrical services.
A cool room or plant space can be a confined space with a risk of entrapment where work is carried out.
A refrigerant release can displace oxygen and, for flammable A2L refrigerants, create a flammable atmosphere.
Installing high-level evaporators and pipework is carried out above the two-metre threshold.
Category 2 offence under section 32 of the model Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (and the equivalent provisions in each state and territory; Victoria under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004) where the work exposes a person to a risk of death or serious injury. The most serious breaches are Category 1 (section 31) where recklessness is proven, with imprisonment available for individuals. Body-corporate maximum penalties are substantial and are indexed in most jurisdictions; the current maximum follows the prevailing penalty schedule of the responsible regulator.
Who this is for
- →Licensed refrigeration and air-conditioning mechanics
- →Cool-room and coldroom panel installers
- →Mechanical-services contractors installing refrigeration
- →Fit-out and base-build builders engaging refrigeration trades
- →Site managers overseeing refrigerant charge and commissioning
What you receive
- ✓An editable Microsoft Word safe work method statement, with a version for each Australian state and territory
- ✓A document-control header with project, revision and review fields
- ✓A defined scope covering cool-room panels, refrigeration plant, refrigerant pipework, charge and electrical connection
- ✓A state-specific legislative and standards framework in each version, including the high risk construction work, refrigeration and confined-space provisions
- ✓A hierarchy-of-controls section for electrical connection, refrigerant release, the confined cool room, the pressure test and work at height
- ✓A hazard and risk table with likelihood-by-consequence ratings and control measures
- ✓A personal protective equipment schedule with AS/NZS references
- ✓A worker sign-on register and a review log
Worked example
A refrigeration contractor is installing a commercial cool room: erecting the insulated panels, mounting the condensing unit and high-level evaporators, running and charging the refrigerant pipework, and connecting the three-phase supply and controls. The work is high risk construction work because it is on or near energised electrical services, in or near a confined cool room, can create a flammable or oxygen-deficient atmosphere from a refrigerant release, and involves work at height, so the mechanic builds the safe work method statement around these limbs. The three-phase plant is connected only after isolation and lock-out by a licensed electrician who tests before touch, using arc-rated and insulated equipment. Refrigerant is recovered and charged under a refrigerant handling licence, ignition sources are eliminated where a flammable A2L refrigerant is used, the system is leak-tested and ventilated, and oxygen and refrigerant monitoring guards against asphyxiation and a flammable build-up; liquid-refrigerant contact is controlled to prevent frostbite. The cool room is worked from outside where possible, and before it is closed up a functional internal release is confirmed so no one can be trapped; entry where needed is under a confined-space permit with ventilation. The system pressure test is staged to AS/NZS 5149 with rated gauges and an exclusion, high-level evaporators are installed from an elevating work platform with edge protection, and brazing is done under a hot-work permit with screens, a fire watch and purging. Panels and plant are handled with mechanical aids and multi-person handling. Workers sign on to the statement before starting, the pressure-test, charge and electrical records are kept, and the signed statement is held on site for the responsible state regulator.
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 refrigerant-handling licensing and the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management framework — Recovery, handling and charging of refrigerant require a refrigerant handling licence
Frequently asked questions
Is cool-room and refrigerant installation high risk construction work?
Yes. It is work on or near energised electrical services, in or near a confined cool room, in an area that can have a flammable or oxygen-deficient atmosphere from a refrigerant release, and at height. A safe work method statement is required before the work starts, and this document is built to the harmonised section 299 content requirements.
How does it control the refrigerant release risk?
It requires elimination of ignition sources for flammable A2L refrigerants, leak-testing, ventilation, and oxygen and refrigerant monitoring against asphyxiation and a flammable build-up, with recovery and charging under a refrigerant handling licence and controls against frostbite from liquid refrigerant.
How does it handle the cool room as a confined space?
It requires work from outside where possible, ventilation, a confined-space permit where it applies, and confirmation of a functional internal release before the room is closed up so a worker cannot be trapped inside.
Can I edit it for my project?
Yes. It is an editable Microsoft Word document. You insert your project and personnel details, the system and refrigerant type, the plant and evaporator locations, and the electrical supply, and you review it if the system or refrigerant changes.
Does it require a licensed electrician and refrigerant handler?
Yes. The three-phase connection is by a licensed electrician after isolation and lock-out, and refrigerant recovery, handling and charging require a refrigerant handling licence. Both are documented in the method.