Welding Galvanised Steel — Safe Work Method Statement

Welding galvanised steel is ordinary welding with one big extra hazard: the zinc coating boils off at welding temperatures and forms a dense white zinc oxide fume. Breathing it causes metal fume fever, a flu-like illness with fever, chills, aches, nausea and a metallic taste that usually starts several hours after exposure, often in the evening after work, and clears in a day or two. Welders who get it regularly notice it is worst at the start of the week. It is a sign that fume control has failed, and the same fume also carries the general welding fume hazard: welding fume is classified as a cause of lung cancer. Some older or non-standard coatings can also contain lead, so check if you are working on old or unknown steel.

On a construction site, welding galvanised steel is High Risk Construction Work where it is done in an area that may have a contaminated atmosphere, such as inside a building, plant room, pit, tank or any area with poor air movement where zinc fume builds up. A SWMS is required in those conditions and most principal contractors require one for all hot work. If the work is also at height or near mobile plant, add those HRCW types. Workshop fabrication outside a construction site does not need a SWMS, but you still have to manage the risk under the WHS Regulations.

Control the fume at the source. The best option is to avoid welding galvanised steel by welding before galvanising, or bolting instead. Where you have to weld it, remove the coating from the weld zone where the welding procedure requires it, using a method with dust extraction, then capture the fume with on-torch extraction or a local exhaust hood positioned close to the arc. General ventilation is not enough indoors. Add respiratory protection selected under AS/NZS 1715, usually a powered air-purifying respirator under the welding helmet, and keep your head out of the plume. The coating must be repaired after welding with an approved zinc-rich paint or zinc spray to the project's coating specification; those products are flammable and have their own solvent hazards.

The SWMS must cover how coating removal is done, what extraction is used and where it is positioned, the RPE and fit testing, hot work and fire controls, the coating repair method, and what workers should do if they develop metal fume fever symptoms.

Customise this template with: the location and how enclosed it is; the welding process and consumables; the steel and coating type (and whether the coating has been tested for lead on old steel); the coating removal method; the extraction equipment and RPE; the hot work permit reference; the coating repair product and its safety data sheet; and the first aid and reporting arrangements.