Suspended Pipework Installation SWMS
SWMS template for suspended pipework installation. Covers Above-ceiling install of pressure/waste pipework, brackets, supports.. 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.
Suspended pipework installation covers the installation of pipework suspended from ceilings, soffits and structures at height — hanging and supporting water, drainage, gas and services pipework on brackets, hangers and supports in commercial and industrial buildings. The dominant hazard is working at height to install the overhead pipework, alongside the manual handling of pipe and supports overhead, the dropped-object hazard, and the structural loading of the supports. This document is written on the basis that suspended pipework is installed by a licensed plumber with fall-prevention controls, the pipework supported correctly, and the dropped-object and manual-handling hazards controlled.
Suspended pipework is installed in connection with the relevant parts of AS/NZS 3500, with the pipework supported and fixed to the structure to carry the load. The work is carried out at height, governed by the managing the risk of falls Code of Practice, and a risk of a person falling more than two metres is high risk construction work requiring a SWMS. The overhead work brings manual-handling and dropped-object hazards, and the supports must carry the structural loading. This document coordinates the fall-prevention, support, dropped-object and manual-handling controls so the suspended pipework is installed without a fall.
Hazards identified
9 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Serious or fatal injury from a fall installing pipework at height
Crush and musculoskeletal injury handling pipe and supports overhead
Impact injury to workers below from dropped objects
Pipework failure or fall where the support or fixing is inadequate
Falls and equipment hazards using access equipment at height
Restricted-access and possible confined-space hazards in service spaces
Fire and burns from hot work at height
Contact with overhead services and obstructions during installation
Structural overload where the supports are not designed for the load
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Engineering: provide fall prevention for the overhead pipework — elevating work platforms, scaffolds or edge protection, or a travel-restraint system where edge protection is not practicable — to the managing the risk of falls Code of Practice.
- 2Engineering: support and fix the suspended pipework to AS/NZS 3500 and the structure — brackets, hangers and supports rated and spaced for the load — so the pipework is carried safely.
- 3Engineering: control dropped objects with tool tethering, exclusion zones below, and securing pipe and materials, so they cannot fall onto people below.
- 4Administrative: prepare a SWMS for the work at height high risk construction work where there is a risk of a person falling more than two metres, and brief the fall-prevention and access controls.
- 5Engineering: use mechanical lifting and team lifting for pipe and supports, particularly overhead, controlling the manual-handling and crush hazard.
- 6Administrative: where hot work is carried out at height, apply the hot-work precautions — permit, fire watch, clearing combustibles and extinguishing means — and where a service space meets the confined space definition apply the confined space controls.
- 7Engineering: confirm the structural loading of the supports is within the structure's capacity, with engineering input where required, and identify and avoid overhead services and obstructions.
- 8Administrative: ensure the work is carried out and certified by an appropriately licensed plumber or drainer under the relevant state or territory plumbing licensing scheme, with the relevant competencies and a compliance certificate issued where required.
- 9Administrative: all workers must hold a valid White Card (General Construction Induction Training, CPCCWHS1001) before entering any construction workplace, with the plumbing, excavation, confined space and any other competencies and licences required for the work.
- 10Administrative: conduct a daily pre-start toolbox talk covering the day's work, identified hazards, isolations, required PPE and emergency procedures, and record attendance in the consultation section.
- 11Administrative: consult workers and any health and safety representatives on the work and its risks, record the consultation, and keep this document available at the workplace.
- 12PPE: eye protection to AS/NZS 1337.1, hearing protection where required, gloves appropriate to the task, high-visibility clothing, and Class I or Class II safety footwear with protective toecap to AS/NZS 2210.3.
- 13Administrative: review and update this SWMS whenever the work scope changes, after any incident or near miss, when a worker or health and safety representative raises a concern, when new hazards are identified, or at minimum every 12 months.
Applicable Codes of Practice
The plumbing and drainage standards for the suspended pipework and its support.
Fall-prevention controls for the overhead suspended pipework installation at height.
Fire precautions for any hot work carried out at height during the installation.
Controls for the plant and equipment used in the work, including guarding and plant-and-pedestrian separation.
The risk management process and hierarchy of controls applied to the hazards of the work.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Installing overhead suspended pipework involves work at height where a person could fall more than 2 metres, which is high risk construction work requiring a SWMS before the work commences.
This is licensed plumbing, drainage or specialist work that, in the circumstances described, is high risk construction work — where there is a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres — so a SWMS must be prepared before the work commences, kept readily accessible, reviewed as necessary, and given to the principal contractor if one is appointed. The work is carried out to the relevant AS/NZS 3500 plumbing and drainage standards, the excavation, confined space and pressure-equipment requirements, and the relevant utility requirements, which are called up by the relevant legislation, with the excavation, confined-space, electrical, pressurised-pipe or work-at-height controls applied as relevant. A failure in this work can cause burial, an atmospheric incident, a service strike, a loss of containment or serious injury, and breaches of the relevant legislation and the primary duty of care under the model WHS Act are actively enforced, with offence categories running from failure-to-comply through to reckless conduct, and the most serious breaches carrying imprisonment for individuals. Body-corporate maxima are substantial and indexed; the current maximum follows the prevailing schedule of the responsible regulator.
Who this is for
- →Licensed plumbers installing suspended pipework at height.
- →Mechanical services and plumbing contractors hanging overhead pipework.
- →Plumbing businesses carrying out commercial and industrial pipework.
- →Builders and PCBUs requiring suspended pipework.
- →PCBU safety managers and supervisors coordinating the fall-prevention, support and dropped-object controls.
What you receive
- ✓Editable Microsoft Word document (.docx) fully compatible with Microsoft Word 2016 and newer, Google Docs, and LibreOffice Writer.
- ✓Title page with editable fields for PCBU name, ABN, site address, project name, principal contractor details, and document revision date.
- ✓Hazard register with the suspended pipework installation hazards — each with a documented consequence, inherent risk rating on a 5x5 likelihood-consequence matrix, hierarchy-of-control measures, and residual risk rating.
- ✓Suspended pipework prompts referencing AS/NZS 3500, a fall-prevention and access section, a support-and-fixing section, and a dropped-object and structural-loading section.
- ✓Licensing, competency and permit prompts for the relevant plumbing, excavation, confined space and specialist work, and a respiratory protection selection and fit-test record per AS/NZS 1715 where relevant.
- ✓Worker consultation record per the model WHS Act consultation duty and a worker sign-on register (blank, expandable).
- ✓Applicable legislation and Codes of Practice schedule pre-populated for the model WHS jurisdiction with a state-variance reference table covering the harmonised states, plus Victoria.
- ✓Emergency procedure template and a revision log.
Worked example
A licensed plumber is engaged to install suspended water and drainage pipework from the ceiling of a commercial building. Because the work is at height with a risk of falling more than two metres, a SWMS is prepared and the work follows the managing the risk of falls Code of Practice, with elevating work platforms providing fall prevention. The pipework is supported and fixed to the structure to AS/NZS 3500, with brackets, hangers and supports rated and spaced for the load so the pipework is carried safely. Dropped objects are controlled with tool tethering, exclusion zones below, and securing pipe and materials. Pipe and supports are handled using mechanical and team lifting overhead, controlling the crush hazard. Where pipework is welded or brazed at height, a hot-work permit, fire watch and extinguishing means are in place, and the confined space controls applied where a service space meets the definition. The structural loading of the supports is confirmed within the structure's capacity, and overhead services and obstructions avoided. The pipework is installed, and the records retained.
Related legislation
- Model Work Health and Safety Act — primary duty of care; the duty to consult workers; the reckless-conduct offence; and notifiable-incident provisions, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
- Model Work Health and Safety Regulations — Section 291 high risk construction work and the SWMS preparation and review duties, and the excavation, confined space and pressurised-pipe provisions where applicable, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
- The relevant plumbing and drainage standards AS/NZS 3500 (Parts 0–5), the excavation and confined space Codes of Practice, the pressure equipment and pipework standards, and the silica Code of Practice where cutting concrete, are called up by the relevant legislation, together with the Before You Dig Australia information and the relevant utility requirements.
- Plumbing and drainage work is licensed under each state and territory's plumbing licensing scheme, with the relevant competencies for excavation, confined space and specialist work, and compliance certification required for notifiable work; electrical work is carried out by a licensed electrician.
- Victoria operates under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017, with the high risk construction work, excavation and confined space provisions applying in place of the model instruments.
Frequently asked questions
Why is suspended pipework installation high risk construction work?
Suspended pipework is installed overhead at height, where a person could fall more than two metres from access equipment or the work position. A risk of a person falling more than two metres is high risk construction work requiring a SWMS, and fall prevention is the defining control for the work.
What fall-prevention controls apply?
Fall prevention is matched to the work: elevating work platforms, scaffolds or edge protection, or a travel-restraint system where edge protection is not practicable, to the managing the risk of falls Code of Practice. Access equipment is used to its safe operating requirements, and the work is high risk construction work requiring a SWMS.
How is the suspended pipework supported?
The pipework is supported and fixed to the structure with brackets, hangers and supports rated and spaced for the load to AS/NZS 3500, so the pipework is carried safely, and the structural loading of the supports is confirmed within the structure's capacity. Correct support and structural fixing ensure the suspended pipework does not fail or fall.
How are dropped objects controlled?
Dropped objects are controlled with tool tethering, exclusion zones below the work, and securing pipe and materials, so tools and materials cannot fall onto people below. Controlling dropped objects is an important part of overhead pipework installation, because a falling tool or pipe can injure people below.
What if hot work is carried out at height?
Where pipework is welded or brazed at height, hot-work precautions apply — a permit, a fire watch, clearing combustibles and extinguishing means — to AS 1674.1, in addition to the fall-prevention controls. The hot-work controls manage the fire and burn hazard of carrying out hot work at height.