This Service Location and Potholing SWMS (Safe Work Method Statement) is pre-filled and covers finding, marking and exposing underground services by electronic locating, hand digging and vacuum excavation. It covers 28 activities, from the Before You Dig Australia enquiry to backfill, reinstatement and emergency response, with the hazards, control measures and risk ratings before and after controls for each. It's written by WHS specialists, aligned to Australian WHS legislation, and fully editable in Microsoft Word.
 
Who it's for
Service locators and underground asset detection businesses
Non-destructive digging and vacuum excavation contractors
Civil, excavation and earthworks contractors
Telecommunications, electrical and plumbing contractors exposing services
Utility and network maintenance crews
 
Use it to
Hand clients and principal contractors the SWMS they ask for
Apply for tenders and new jobs with your safety paperwork ready
Get through prequalification with Avetta, Cm3 and other contractor portals
Induct new workers and run toolbox talks on the task
 
What this SWMS covers
Before You Dig Australia enquiry, plan review and site inspection, including unregistered services
Asset owner permits, exclusion zones and attendance requirements
Traffic management, barricading and keeping the public out of the work area
Overhead powerline checks before positioning the vacuum unit and its boom
Vacuum unit positioning and pre-operational checks of high pressure hoses and fittings
Electronic locating with locators and ground penetrating radar, and the limits of AS 5488.1 quality levels
Marking out services and opening pits and chambers, including hazardous atmospheres
Breaking out pavement, with silica dust, noise and vibration controls
Hand digging around live cables, gas mains, water and sewer mains and asbestos cement pipe
Hydro and vacuum excavation, water jet injection injuries and protecting the asset
Spoil, slurry, refuelling, backfill, cable protection and reinstatement
Emergency response to a service strike, electric shock, gas release or serious injury
 
What's included
Hazards and control measures for 28 work activities
Risk ratings before and after controls, with a 5x5 risk matrix and the hierarchy of controls
PPE requirements checklist and high risk construction work checklist
Plant and equipment list, materials and maintenance checks, including gas detector bump testing
Relevant Australian Standards, including AS 5488.1 for subsurface utility information and AS/NZS 4233.1 for water jetting
Qualifications such as RIICCM202E for locating, heavy vehicle licences and traffic control competency
Site specific hazards section for anything unique to your job
Worker sign-off sheet and worker consultation record
 
Why use this template
Saves hours compared with writing a SWMS from a blank page
Covers the most common hazards and control measures for this work, ready to use out of the box
Fully editable, so you can add, remove or change anything to suit your site and how your team works
Helps your business stay compliant, with risk ratings, worker sign-off and consultation records already set up
 
How it works
Buy online and download straight away. You'll also get an email with your link.
Add your logo, ABN, project and site details.
Check it suits your site and task, edit anything you need to, and consult your workers before you finalise it.
Brief your team and collect signatures.
 
Common questions
Do I need a SWMS for service location and potholing?
A SWMS is legally required when the job is high risk construction work, for example digging near energised electrical cables or pressurised gas mains, working beside a road in use, or working where powered mobile plant is moving. Outside those situations a SWMS isn't mandatory, but you still have to manage the risks, and a SWMS is a sound way to record how. Asset owners, head contractors and prequalification portals often ask for one either way.
Does it cover the accuracy limits of electronic locating?
Yes. It covers the risk of treating locator marks as the exact position of an asset when the information is only Quality Level B or lower under AS 5488.1. It also covers verifying and recording the service position once it's exposed.
Can I change it?
Yes. It's a Microsoft Word file, so you can add, remove or change any hazard, control or rating, and add your own logo and details.
Does it suit my state?
Yes. It's written to the model WHS laws and suits all states and territories, including Victoria under the OHS Act and Regulations.
What if it doesn't suit my work?
You're covered by our 30-day money-back guarantee if it isn't fit for purpose.