Window Furnishings & Blinds Install SWMS

Window furnishings and blinds installation is the fit-out trade that fixes blinds, tracks, headrails and coverings to windows, including high-set and atrium windows reached from platforms, and brings corded internal window coverings into line with the mandatory cord-safety requirements. The dominant hazards are falls when installing high-set or atrium blinds from a platform, child cord-strangulation from a non-compliant corded covering, headrails and tools falling onto people below, glass breakage when fixing near a glazed reveal, and contact with concealed wiring around the window. This SWMS covers the installation of blinds, tracks and furnishings and the cord-safety compliance; it does not cover the glazing itself, the motorisation wiring beyond the final connection, or the structural reveal, 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 high-set and atrium installation is carried out 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. Corded internal window coverings must be installed to the Competition and Consumer (Corded Internal Window Coverings) Safety Standard 2014, so that no loose cord forms a loop 220 mm or longer at or below 1,600 mm from the floor; temporary edge protection follows AS/NZS 4994 and safety glazing follows AS/NZS 2208.

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 safe, cord-compliant installation.

Hazards identified

10 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Engineering: Pre-assemble at floor level where possible, and use a scissor lift or boom elevating work platform rather than a ladder, with a licensed operator and pre-start checks.
2. 2Elimination: Select cordless or motorised coverings where specified; otherwise fit cord guides, tensioners or breakaway devices so no loose cord forms a loop 220 mm or longer at or below 1,600 mm from the floor, and fix an installer label, to the Corded Internal Window Coverings Safety Standard.
3. 3Engineering: Use tool tethers and a controlled lift of headrails, set an exclusion zone below the work, and keep no loose items at the platform edge; persons below wear a hard hat.
4. 4Elimination: Fix to the reveal frame or wall rather than into glass, set fixing points clear of glazing, and confirm safety glazing to AS/NZS 2208 before fixing.
5. 5Elimination: Check for concealed services before drilling, use cable detection, treat concealed cabling as live, and fix clear of switches and socket outlets.
6. 6Engineering: Use a two-person carry and a platform-mounted rest for long units, a 25 kg single-person limit, and awkward-load technique per the Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice.
7. 7PPE: Use pre-cut track and deburred ends, handle cut metal with care, and wear cut-resistant gloves to AS/NZS 2161.3.
8. 8Engineering: Use a rated platform on a firm level floor with edge protection at the atrium void, pre-start checks, no overreaching and ground conditions confirmed.
9. 9PPE: Capture dust where drilling, keep the head and eyes clear of the bit line, and wear sealed eye protection to AS/NZS 1337.1.
10. 10Substitution: Use mechanical fixings that limit drilling, on-tool dust capture and ventilation, and wear a P2 respirator to AS/NZS 1715 and 1716.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

A window-furnishing installer is fitting blinds and tracks throughout a new tenancy, including high-set windows over an atrium void reached from an elevating work platform. Because the high-set and atrium installation is carried out where a person can fall more than two metres, it is high risk construction work, so the installer builds the safe work method statement around the fall risk, the cord-safety requirements and the glazed reveals before work starts. Headrails are pre-assembled at floor level where possible, and the high-set work is done from a boom elevating work platform operated by a licensed worker rather than from a ladder, with pre-start checks, confirmed ground conditions, edge protection at the atrium void and no overreaching. For corded coverings, cordless or motorised units are selected where specified; where a cord remains, cord guides, tensioners or breakaway devices are fitted so no loose cord forms a loop 220 mm or longer at or below 1,600 mm from the floor, and an installer label is fixed, in line with the Corded Internal Window Coverings Safety Standard, controlling the child-strangulation risk. Fixings are made to the reveal frame or wall rather than into glass, set clear of the glazing, with safety glazing confirmed to AS/NZS 2208; concealed services are checked with cable detection before drilling, concealed cabling is treated as live, and fixings are kept clear of switches and socket outlets. Long headrails are moved with a two-person carry and a platform-mounted rest within a 25 kg single-person limit, and tool tethers, a controlled lift and an exclusion zone protect anyone below. Cut-resistant gloves and sealed eye protection control bracket and trimming injuries and drilling swarf, with on-tool dust capture for masonry reveals. Workers sign on to the statement before starting, and the signed statement and the platform checks are kept 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)
• Competition and Consumer (Corded Internal Window Coverings) Safety Standard 2014 (Commonwealth) — Installation requirements, including no loose cord forming a loop 220 mm or longer at or below 1,600 mm from the floor, firmly fixed cord guides or tensioners, and an installer label
• Harmonised Work Health and Safety Regulations, Part 4.4 — Managing the risk of falls (work above two metres; Victoria applies the equivalent provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017)

Frequently asked questions