From late spring the afternoon build-up is part of the working day across much of the country: a hot, still morning, a wall of cloud by lunch, then wind, lightning and a downpour that turns the access track to soup. Storm season is predictable in general and unpredictable on the day, which is why it belongs in the paperwork. Here is where the law sits, the controls to write into the SWMS for each storm hazard, and how to run the stop and the restart.
There is no legal weather trigger for stopping work. Australian WHS laws do not set a wind speed or a weather condition at which tools must go down; the duty is to manage the risk. In practice that means two documents working together: the SWMS for any high risk construction work that weather can affect – work at height, crane lifts, scaffold, excavations, work near energised services – and the site emergency plan that says what happens when a storm actually arrives.
The SWMS carries the task-level controls: when the lift is called off, who secures the loose sheeting, what gets inspected before anyone goes back into the trench. The emergency plan carries the site-level response: the stop-work call, the shelter points, the headcount and the phone numbers.
Section 19 of the WHS Act, the primary duty of care, requires a PCBU to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers. A forecast storm is a foreseeable risk, so planning for it is part of that duty.
Regulation 43 of the model WHS Regulations requires a PCBU to prepare, maintain and implement an emergency plan for the workplace, including emergency procedures: an effective response, evacuation, and notifying emergency services at the earliest opportunity. A severe storm is one of the emergencies that plan should cover, and it has to be implemented on the day, not just filed in the site office.
For plant, the limits come from the manufacturer. Cranes, elevated work platforms and similar plant have wind limits set by the manufacturer, and those must be followed. For scaffold, good practice is an inspection by a competent person before use after any event likely to affect its stability, such as strong winds or heavy rain. The Bureau of Meteorology issues severe thunderstorm and severe weather warnings, the trigger most sites use to move to storm footing.
Wind is the storm hazard that arrives first and does the most structural damage. Write the controls against the tasks it affects:
Lightning has no safe margin, so the control is simple: when a thunderstorm is approaching, stop work on roofs, at height, near cranes and on exposed metal structures, and get the crew to shelter. Shelter means a substantial building or an enclosed metal vehicle with the windows up – not an open-sided shed, not under the crane, not beside the scaffold.
Work does not resume until the storm has passed. Write into the SWMS who makes the call to stop, who confirms the storm has cleared, and that nobody goes back up until that confirmation is given. Nominate a second person so the decision never waits for a phone to be answered.
Rain is the hazard that keeps hurting after the storm has gone. The controls:
Before. Someone on site monitors Bureau of Meteorology warnings from the pre-start onward, and the crew knows who that is. A pre-storm checklist in the SWMS or emergency plan covers loose materials, the crane and EWP stow-down, scaffold sheeting, leads and boards, trench pumps and fencing. A severe weather forecast is also a change in conditions and a reason to check the SWMS still matches the site; our guide on when a SWMS must be reviewed or updated covers the revision and re-sign.
During. One person makes the stop-work call, and the SWMS names them and their back-up. The crew is told by a method that works in wind and rain – an air horn, a radio call or a phone group, agreed in advance – and everyone moves to the nominated shelter for a headcount. Call 000 in a life-threatening emergency; the SES on 132 500 is the number for storm and flood help such as fallen trees and water damage.
After. Nothing restarts until the post-storm inspections are done: scaffold by a competent person, excavations and trenches, temporary electrical, roof edges and anything fixed in a hurry before the front. Then brief the crew on what changed and what is cleared to restart. A short toolbox talk is the right place for it, and records that the restart was deliberate.
Storms are one half of the summer problem; the other is the heat that builds before them, covered in our guide to heat and UV controls in your SWMS.
Is there a wind speed at which work must stop?
Not in the WHS laws, which set no wind speed or weather condition for stopping work; the duty
is to manage the risk. Cranes, elevated work platforms and similar plant have wind limits set
by the manufacturer, and those must be followed. For everything else, the SWMS sets the
trigger and the person who calls it.
Who decides when to stop work for a storm?
Whoever the SWMS and the emergency plan nominate – usually the site supervisor, with a
named back-up. The point is that it is decided in advance and the crew knows the name. Any
worker who sees a hazard should still raise it straight away.
Do I need to inspect scaffolding after a storm?
Yes, as good practice: a scaffold should be inspected by a competent person before use after
any event likely to affect its stability, and strong wind or heavy rain is that kind of event.
Ties, bracing, sheeting, decks and footings all get looked at before the crew goes back on.
Should workers stay on site during a storm warning?
It depends on the warning and the site, which is what the emergency plan is for. On a warning
the crew stops exposed work, secures what can be secured safely, and moves to the nominated
shelter in a substantial building or an enclosed vehicle. Sending people home through
floodwater or falling branches can be more dangerous than sheltering, so the plan should cover
that choice too.
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