Earthing & Lightning Protection System Install SWMS
Earthing and lightning protection system install SWMS for NSW. Work at height for air terminals and down conductors, electrical bonding, exothermic welding, earth electrodes and storm exposure, to AS/NZS 1768. Editable DOCX.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Installing an earthing and lightning protection system is the work of fixing air terminals, down conductors, bonding and earth electrodes to a structure so that a lightning strike is captured and conducted safely to ground. It is high risk construction work under the NSW WHS Regulation 2025 because it involves a risk of a person falling more than 2 m — air terminals and down conductors are installed on roofs, towers and parapets — together with work on or near energised electrical services where the system is bonded to the building earth and services, and excavation where earth electrodes are trenched (s291), so a SWMS is mandatory under s299. The work is largely at height and exposed: rooftop and tower work above 2 m is the dominant fall hazard, made worse by the fact that lightning protection is often installed precisely where storm exposure is high, so an approaching storm is itself a hazard that must stop the work. Bonding to live services brings an electrical risk, exothermic welding (a thermite reaction) introduces a high-temperature ignition and burn hazard, and trenching for the earthing ring brings excavation and underground-services risks. The system is installed to AS/NZS 1768. The SWMS sequences the roof, bonding and excavation work, sets storm-exposure stop criteria, and controls the exothermic welding process, with SafeWork NSW as the regulator.
Hazards identified
7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Fall fatality or serious injury (WHS Reg Part 4.4)
Electrocution and fatal injury from a direct or side-flash strike
Electric shock or arc injury (WHS Reg Part 4.7)
Severe burns and fire from the high-temperature reaction
Electrocution, gas release or service damage
Collapse and burial in the electrode trench
Struck-by injury at ground level
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Elimination — Pre-assemble conductor runs and terminal bases at ground level and lift them up as units, eliminating extended hand-work at height
- 2Substitution — Substitute mechanical crimp or clamp connections for exothermic welding wherever the system design permits, removing the molten-metal and ignition hazard
- 3Engineering — Roof edge protection, anchor points and fall-arrest for all work above 2 m on roofs, parapets and towers
- 4Engineering — Isolation and proving-dead of services before bonding, with insulated tools and barriers at live points
- 5Engineering — Underground-services location (dial-before-you-dig, potholing) and battered or shored electrode trenches
- 6Administrative — Storm-exposure stop criteria — monitor lightning-detection and cease rooftop work on a defined approach trigger
- 7Administrative — Exothermic welding procedure with a fire watch, clearance of combustibles and a hot-work permit
- 8Administrative — Permit and lockout for any bonding to energised services, by a licensed electrical worker
- 9PPE — Fall-arrest harness and certified anchorage; heat-resistant gloves, face shield and apron for exothermic welding
- 10PPE — High-visibility clothing, helmet and safety footwear, with insulated gloves for live bonding work
Applicable Codes of Practice
Primary standard for the design and installation of the lightning protection system
Fall-protection duties for rooftop and tower work
WHS duties for bonding to energised services
Reference for safe roof access and edge protection
Specification of harness and fall-arrest components
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Air terminals and down conductors are installed on roofs and towers above 2 m.
The system is bonded to the building earth and energised electrical services.
Earth electrodes are trenched, with excavation that can exceed 1.5 m.
Who this is for
- →Licensed electricians installing lightning protection systems
- →Lightning-protection and earthing specialists
- →Roof and height-access workers on terminal installation
- →Electrical engineers designing earthing systems
- →Principal contractor HSE managers overseeing rooftop electrical work
What you receive
- ✓Editable DOCX template — Microsoft Word compatible
- ✓State-specific WHS legislation schedule (NSW/VIC/QLD/SA/WA/TAS/NT/ACT)
- ✓Hazard register with risk ratings + hierarchy-of-control mapping
- ✓Worker sign-on register, pre-start checklist, and incident escalation flow
Worked example
At 6:45 am a crew from Stormguard Electrical begins installing air terminals along the parapet of a six-storey building. The supervisor checks the morning forecast and sets the day's storm-stop trigger on a lightning-detection app: any strike within 20 km and the roof clears. Edge protection and anchor lines are rigged before anyone approaches the parapet, and conductor runs are crimped into sub-assemblies on the ground and hauled up to limit time at the edge. At the down-conductor base, two connections are specified as exothermic welds; the crew sets a hot-work permit, clears combustibles, posts a fire watch, and the welder works in a face shield and heat-resistant gloves. Late morning the detection app flags a cell closing to 18 km; the crew stops, descends, and waits it out rather than finishing the run. Trenching for the earth ring is done after a dial-before-you-dig and potholing locate a comms duct, and the shallow trench is battered before electrodes are set. Bonding to the main earth is left to the licensed electrician under isolation at the end of the day.
Related legislation
- WHS Act 2011 (model)
- WHS Regulation 2025
- AS/NZS 1768:2021 Lightning protection
- Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice