Stair and Balustrade Installation — Safe Work Method Statement

Stair and balustrade installers spend their day at the exact edges that everyone else on site has been kept away from. To fit a stair you have to work in the open stairwell void; to fit a balustrade you usually have to take down or work past the temporary edge protection that was guarding the floor edge, balcony or void. On two-storey homes and apartments the fall is more than 2 metres, which makes this High Risk Construction Work and requires a SWMS. The key question the SWMS must answer is how the edge stays protected at every moment between the temporary protection coming down and the permanent balustrade being complete.

The task-specific hazards are falls through stairwell voids and off balcony edges, stair stringers and flights that are heavy and awkward to handle in tight spaces, glass panels that are heavy, sharp and can shatter if knocked or point-loaded, and drilling and core drilling of concrete slab edges for posts and spigots, which produces silica dust and can hit reinforcement or post-tensioning tendons. Partially fixed stairs and balustrades also look finished to other trades, who will use or lean on them before the fixings are complete.

The finished work has to meet the National Construction Code. In broad terms, for floors and stairs where a fall of more than 1 metre is possible, barriers must be at least 1 metre high on floors and landings (865 mm along a stair flight), openings must not let a 125 mm sphere pass through, and where the fall is more than 4 metres, horizontal or near-horizontal elements between 150 mm and 760 mm above the floor must not be climbable. Glass in balustrades must comply with AS 1288. Fixings and posts must be installed to the engineer's or system supplier's details. Check the current NCC and the approved drawings for the specific project; this summary is not a substitute.

The SWMS must cover the sequence for removing temporary edge protection, the fall prevention used while the permanent barrier is installed, safe handling of stair flights and glass, drilling into slabs, and how incomplete stairs and balustrades are closed off to others.

Customise this template with: the site and builder; stair and balustrade type and materials; the location and height of each edge; the temporary edge protection and who owns it; the lifting method for flights and glass panels; slab type (including post-tensioned) and fixing specification; and the inspection and sign-off required before the work is handed over.