Ultra-High-Pressure Hydroblasting (>15,000 psi) SWMS
SWMS template for ultra-high-pressure hydroblasting. Covers UHP — different SWMS to standard pressure wash.. 8-state AU coverage, CIH-reviewed editable DOCX, available as an instant download.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Ultra-high-pressure (UHP) hydroblasting above 15,000 psi is a specialised cleaning and surface preparation method used for concrete scarification, coating removal, tube bundle cleaning, and industrial decontamination. At these pressures, the water jet behaves as a cutting tool capable of severing flesh, bone, and steel reinforcement in milliseconds, placing UHP work in an entirely different risk category to standard pressure washing. Under WHS Regulation 2011 r291, work involving pressurised gas or liquid systems and tasks with a risk of falls, structural collapse, or serious laceration constitutes High Risk Construction Work, triggering a mandatory Safe Work Method Statement before work commences. The PCBU must consult workers, document the controls, and keep the SWMS available for inspection for the duration of the work. This template addresses the unique hazards of UHP operations — jet injection injury, nozzle kickback, hose whip, and confined-zone exclusion — none of which are adequately covered by a generic pressure-washing SWMS.
Hazards identified
7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Catastrophic soft-tissue injection, compartment syndrome, sepsis, amputation, or fatality from sterile-water bacterial contamination of deep tissue
Operator thrown backward, loss of lance control, lacerations, fractures, and uncontrolled jet trajectory into bystanders
High-energy hose strike causing blunt-force trauma, fractures, and secondary jet impingement injuries to operator and crew
Eye penetration, facial laceration, and respiratory exposure to lead, silica, or coating residues dislodged at high velocity
Falls onto pressurised lances, contact with energised plant, and drowning risk in confined sumps or tank floors
Permanent noise-induced hearing loss, tinnitus, and inability to hear emergency stop calls or dump-valve warnings
HAVS, carpal tunnel injury, shoulder rotator-cuff damage, and cumulative back injury from sustained reaction-force counter-loading
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Elimination — Eliminate UHP cleaning where chemical stripping, vacuum recovery, or robotic crawlers can achieve the surface specification without manual lance operation.
- 2Elimination — Remove all non-essential personnel from the 20 m exclusion zone and barricade with rigid hoarding and signage before pressurisation.
- 3Substitution — Substitute hand-held lances with automated tractor-mounted or rotating-head systems on horizontal surfaces to remove the operator from the reaction-force path.
- 4Substitution — Use a lower-pressure rotating cavitation head where surface profile allows, reducing jet penetration energy below skin-injection threshold.
- 5Engineering — Install dual hand-operated dump-gun control requiring continuous deadman activation; pressure dumps to atmosphere within 0.5 seconds of release per AS 4233.1.
- 6Engineering — Fit hose whip-check restraints, anti-withdrawal nozzle guards, and burst-rated hose assemblies tested and tagged within 12 months.
- 7Administrative — Restrict UHP operation to operators holding WJTA-IMCA or equivalent certification with documented competency and current first-aid training including jet-injection injury response.
- 8Administrative — Conduct pre-start toolbox using this SWMS, confirm exclusion zone, communication signals, dump-gun function test, and emergency shutdown rehearsal before pressurisation.
- 9PPE — Issue UHP-rated metatarsal boots, kevlar-lined chaps and forearm guards, full-face shield with chin guard, Class 5 hearing protection, and P2 respirator for coating debris.
- 10PPE — Carry a jet-injection injury card identifying the hazard for emergency clinicians; ensure card details water source, pressure, and contamination risk for surgical triage.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Mandates dump-gun deadman controls, hose burst ratings, and pressure relief design directly applicable to UHP lances and pump skids above 15,000 psi.
Sets operator competency, exclusion zone distances, and pre-start inspection requirements that must be incorporated into the SWMS and toolbox brief.
Defines High Risk Construction Work categories including pressurised liquid systems and requires the SWMS to be prepared, consulted, and kept on site.
Triggers hearing protection selection, exposure standard compliance at 85 dB(A) LAeq,8h, and audiometric testing for sustained UHP nozzle operators.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Staging and platform access to reach vessel, structure and tube-bundle work faces places operators where a fall of more than two metres is possible.
Cleaning tank and vessel internals is carried out in or near a confined space, with entry, atmospheric testing and standby arrangements applied accordingly.
Shutdown laydowns and industrial work fronts put the jetting crew in areas where powered mobile plant is moving.
The PCBU must prepare the SWMS in consultation with workers, supervise its implementation, and retain it for the duration of the work; penalties are substantial and indexed, with the current maximum following the prevailing WHS schedule.
Who this is for
- →Industrial cleaning contractors on refinery and petrochemical shutdowns
- →Concrete scarification crews on infrastructure remediation projects
- →Marine and shipyard surface preparation subcontractors
- →Tank and vessel internal cleaning specialists in heavy industry
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
On a regional alumina refinery shutdown, a two-person UHP crew is tasked with removing hardened scale from a heat exchanger tube bundle using a 22,000 psi flex-lance system. At the 6am pre-start, the supervisor opens this SWMS on a ruggedised tablet and walks the crew through each hazard line. The operator confirms his WJTA certification, the dump-gun deadman is bench-tested to verify the 0.4-second pressure drop, and the whip-check restraints on each hose coupling are visually inspected and signed off against the SWMS checklist. The exclusion zone is rebarricaded at 20 m because an adjacent crew has moved closer overnight — a control directly prompted by the SWMS hazard register. Each worker signs the SWMS sign-on sheet, including a labourer acting as standby observer with the dump-gun isolation control. Two hours into the task, the operator reports increased nozzle reaction; the supervisor halts work, refers back to the SWMS engineering controls, and identifies that a worn rotating head is causing jet imbalance. The head is replaced, the change is recorded as a SWMS amendment, and the crew re-signs before resuming. The completed SWMS, with amendment log and sign-on sheet, is filed with the principal contractor for the required retention period.
Related legislation
- WHS Act 2011 (model)
- WHS Regulation 2025
- Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals CoP; Construction Work CoP
Frequently asked questions
Does ultra-high-pressure hydroblasting require a SWMS?
In practice yes, and on most sites it is a condition of the permit. Legally, a water jetting rig is not itself one of the matters listed at s291 — the pressurised-services paragraphs there cover gas mains and chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines. What does trigger s291 is the setting the work is done in: tank and vessel internals bring s291(f) for confined spaces, staging work brings s291(a) where a person could fall more than two metres, and shutdown laydowns bring s291(o) for powered mobile plant. Where those apply to construction work, s299 makes the SWMS mandatory.
Is a standard pressure-washing SWMS good enough for this?
No, and that is precisely why this is a separate document. Above 15,000 psi the jet behaves as a cutting tool that severs flesh, bone and steel reinforcement in milliseconds, which puts it in a different risk class from washdown work. The hazards needing their own controls — injection injury through skin and through protective clothing, nozzle reaction force exceeding the operator's counter-balance, and hose whip from coupling failure — simply do not appear in a generic pressure-washing method. Dropping to a rotating cavitation head where the surface profile allows is listed as a control in itself.
What equipment checks are required before pressurisation?
A dual hand-operated dump-gun requiring continuous deadman activation, with pressure dumping to atmosphere within half a second of release under AS 4233.1, plus whip-check restraints on every coupling, anti-withdrawal nozzle guards, and burst-rated hose assemblies tested and tagged within twelve months. The pre-start covers a dump-gun function test, communication signals, exclusion zone confirmation and an emergency shutdown rehearsal. In the worked example the deadman is bench-tested and the pressure drop timed before the flex-lance is picked up.
How large is the exclusion zone and who can operate the lance?
Twenty metres, barricaded with rigid hoarding and signage before pressurisation, with all non-essential personnel removed — the worked example re-barricades it because an adjacent crew moved closer overnight. Operation is restricted to jetting operators holding recognised certification with documented competency and current first aid covering jet-injection response. Each operator carries an injection injury card recording the water source, pressure and contamination risk, so an emergency clinician triages it as a surgical emergency rather than treating it as a simple puncture wound.
How do I record an equipment change mid-shift?
Through the amendment log, which the worked example puts to use two hours into a tube bundle job: nozzle reaction climbs, work halts, a worn rotating head is identified as the cause of jet imbalance, the head is replaced, the change is recorded and the crew re-signs before resuming. You buy the template once as an editable Word file, with a legislation schedule for the eight jurisdictions, a hazard register with risk ratings, a sign-on register and a pre-start checklist. Set it to your operating pressure, lance type, exclusion distance and standby arrangement.
Document details
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