Thermographic (Infrared) Scanning SWMS
Safe Work Method Statement for infrared thermographic surveys of switchboards and electrical installations — energised-work controls, cover removal by a licensed electrician only, arc flash PPE by incident energy, asbestos backing panels, roof and plant room access, defect classification and reporting.
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This Safe Work Method Statement covers thermographic (infrared) scanning of energised low-voltage electrical installations in New South Wales workplaces: main switchboards, distribution boards, motor control centres, busways and the electrical connections of plant rooms and roof-top plant. It is written for electrical contractors, thermography providers and facilities maintenance businesses carrying out preventive maintenance surveys in offices, shopping centres, hospitals, factories, schools and strata buildings. It sets out who does what — a licensed electrician opens and closes boards, the thermographer scans but never opens a board — the Part 4.7 requirements for energised work (recorded risk assessment, authorisation, safety observer, suitable equipment), arc flash controls and PPE selected by incident energy, approach distances, an asbestos register hold point for older switchboards, roof plant and ladder fall controls, after-hours lone work, a results classification and immediate reporting and isolation of critical defects, with controls in hierarchy order and inherent and residual risk ratings.
Hazards identified
11 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Electrocution, cardiac arrest and burns
Severe burns, eye injury and fire
Switchboard fire, arc flash and loss of life-safety supply
Inhalation of asbestos fibres causing mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer
Fatal or serious injury
Delayed rescue after electric shock, arc flash or a fall
Defects missed and false assurance to the client
Burns and entanglement injuries
Trips, heat stress and restricted escape
Electric shock or burns to non-workers
Back, shoulder and hand strain
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Elimination — Scan through installed infrared windows, viewing panes or closed doors wherever possible; nothing enters an energised enclosure; no repairs during the survey; asbestos panels not disturbed.
- 2Substitution — Camera lenses that let targets be viewed from outside the approach distance; platform ladders instead of step ladders.
- 3Isolation — Barriers, exclusion zones and arc flash boundaries around open boards; only authorised persons in the immediate area; insulating mats.
- 4Engineering — Category III or IV rated clamp meters and voltage indicators; camera lanyards; escutcheons refitted before moving to the next board.
- 5Administrative — Licensed electrician opens and closes boards; recorded risk assessment and authorisation; safety observer unless the assessment shows no serious risk for testing-only work; asbestos register check; survey under normal load; critical defects reported immediately and isolated where agreed; lone worker check-ins.
- 6PPE — Arc-rated clothing and face protection rated for the assessed incident energy, insulating gloves for the person removing covers, safety glasses and non-conductive safety footwear.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Energised electrical work, risk assessment, safety observers, approach distances, arc flash and PPE.
Roof plant access and ladders for high boards.
Asbestos register and presumed asbestos in older switchboards.
Distinguishing plant rooms from pits and vaults that are confined spaces.
Lifting covers and carrying equipment.
Coordinating access, survey windows and defect response with the client.
First aid, CPR and AED arrangements for electrical work.
Only where the survey is construction work on a construction site.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Applies where the survey is construction work — for example a commissioning scan of a new or altered installation or a survey on a construction site.
Applies where the survey is construction work and includes roof plant or boards reached from a position with a fall risk of more than 2 m.
Applies where the survey is construction work in a warehouse or loading dock where forklifts move.
A routine maintenance survey may be testing or maintenance work of a minor nature, which section 289(3)(d) of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) excludes from construction work; this is assessed job by job, and where it is not construction work sections 299 to 303 do not apply. Scanning with covers removed is still electrical work on energised equipment, and section 161 requires it to be carried out in accordance with a safe work method statement; this document is that statement. Where the survey is construction work and a section 291 paragraph applies, section 299 also applies, the work must be carried out in accordance with the SWMS (s300), and a copy goes to the principal contractor where the work is part of a construction project (s301). The Applies column is left for the PCBU to complete for the actual site.
Who this is for
- →Electrical contractors offering thermographic surveys to building owners and facility managers
- →Thermography service providers working with a licensed electrician who opens the boards
- →Facilities maintenance firms running preventive maintenance programs for offices, shopping centres, hospitals and schools
- →Electrical contractors carrying out commissioning scans of new or altered installations
What you receive
- ✓Editable DOCX template — Microsoft Word compatible
- ✓Hazard register with inherent and residual risk ratings and controls in hierarchy-of-control order
- ✓Table of who does what — licensed electrician opens boards, thermographer scans
- ✓High risk construction work table against section 291 paragraphs (a) to (r), with the Applies column left for site completion
- ✓Step-by-step procedure with hold points for the asbestos register, risk assessment and authorisation, closing each board and reporting critical defects
- ✓Results classification table and survey record: board, load, component, temperature, class and action taken
- ✓Plant, PPE, training, permits and emergency response sections, including electric shock and arc flash response
- ✓Worker consultation, sign-on and review log
- ✓Prepared for the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)
Worked example
A facilities maintenance contractor is engaged for the annual thermographic survey of a 1980s shopping centre in western Sydney. The supervisor obtains the asbestos register, which records asbestos backing panels in three original distribution boards, and the centre's arc flash labels for the main switchboard. The survey is booked for a weekday afternoon when the centre is trading at normal load. The licensed electrician records the risk assessment and the work is authorised. At each board the electrician, in arc-rated PPE, removes the escutcheon without disturbing the panel, barriers the area, and stays at the board while the thermographer scans from outside the approach distance. A busbar connection on a chiller feeder shows a critical temperature rise: the centre manager is told on the spot, agrees to isolation, and the electrician isolates and locks out the circuit. Roof-top chiller connections are scanned from the guarded plant walkway. Every board is closed before the crew moves on and the report lists the defects, loads and items not validly surveyed.
Related legislation
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) — ss19, 20, 26A, 27, 28, 29, 35–39, 46, 47, 84
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Part 4.7 energised electrical work (ss146, 147, 149, 154–162)
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — s289 construction work; s291 high risk construction work; ss299–303 SWMS
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Chapter 8 asbestos (ss419, 422, 425, 427)
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — ss36, 38, 39, 42, 44, 48; Part 4.2 hazardous manual tasks; Part 4.3 confined spaces; Part 4.4 falls
- Home Building Act 1989 (NSW) — licensing of electrical wiring work
- AS/NZS 4836:2023; AS/NZS 3000:2018
Frequently asked questions
Can a thermographer who is not an electrician open a switchboard?
Not under this document. Removing a cover that exposes energised parts is done only by a licensed electrician, who stays at the board while the thermographer scans and refits the cover before the crew moves on. A thermographer who is not a licensed electrician may scan through closed doors, viewing panes or infrared windows.
Why do I need a SWMS for a thermography survey?
Scanning with covers removed is electrical work on energised equipment. Section 161 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) requires that work to be carried out in accordance with a safe work method statement, by a competent person with suitable tested equipment, and with a safety observer unless the work is only testing and the risk assessment shows no serious risk. This document is written to be that statement.
Is a thermography survey high risk construction work?
It depends on the job. A routine maintenance survey may be minor maintenance work excluded from construction work by section 289(3)(d). A commissioning scan or a survey on a construction site is construction work, and it is high risk construction work under section 291(k) because it is carried out near energised installations, and under section 291(a) where there is a fall risk of more than 2 m.
What happens when a critical defect is found?
The client's nominated contact is told immediately, before the crew leaves the board. Where the client agrees, a licensed electrician isolates, locks out and tags the circuit. Nobody tightens or touches the hot connection during the survey; repair is separate de-energised work.
Does it cover arc flash?
Yes. Arc flash is assessed in the recorded risk assessment using the site's arc flash study or labels where available, and arc-rated PPE is selected with a rating not less than the assessed incident energy for everyone inside the arc flash boundary.
Document details
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