SWMS (Safe Work Method Statements)

A Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) records the hazards of a job, the controls you will use, and who has read and signed it. In Chippie you build one by ticking hazards rather than typing it out, the crew signs on site, and the finished SWMS is saved as a signed PDF in your document vault.

Create a SWMS

1. Open SWMS from the menu and press New SWMS. From a job, choose Create SWMS in its actions instead and the job is already linked.
2. Link a job if the SWMS is for one. Chippie fills in the title, and the site comes from the client's address. You can also create a SWMS with no job.
3. Check the title and the date of the work.
4. Tick the hazards that apply. The list starts with hazards for your trade, and you can search the whole library. Each hazard shows the risk, the controls that come with it, and a risk rating before and after those controls. Hazards that count as high-risk construction work are tagged.
5. Check the person responsible for the controls and how they will be monitored and reviewed. Both are filled in for you and can be changed.
6. Press Create & start signing.

Star a hazard you use often and it sits at the top of the list next time.

Add your own hazard

If the library does not cover something, press Add your own hazard. Give it a name, the risk, the controls (one per line) and, if you like, the risk ratings. It is saved to your business's library, so you can tick it on later SWMS too.

Get it signed

Everyone on your Chippie team signs under their own login, with a finger or a mouse. Their name and role come from their account, and the time is recorded by Chippie.

For someone who is not on your team, such as a labourer on the day or a subbie, open the SWMS on your own device, tap Add someone who isn't on your team, and hand it over. They type their name and role and sign. Their signature is marked as a non-member signature.

An owner or manager can mark team members as Require signature. Each one gets a notification, on their phone if they have push notifications turned on, and the SWMS cannot be finalised until they have signed. Anyone viewing the SWMS sees signatures appear as they happen.

Finalise it

When everyone has signed, an owner or manager presses Finalise this SWMS. Chippie produces a dated PDF with the work, the site, the high-risk work found, the hazards with their controls and ratings, the monitoring statement and every signature with its time. The PDF is stored, unaltered, in your Vault under SWMS.

A finalised SWMS is locked. Nobody can edit it, sign it again or reopen it.

What it does not do

• It is not a compliance check. The hazard library is a starting point. You decide which hazards and controls fit the job and your state's requirements.
• There is no remote signing. Signers use their own Chippie login or sign on a team member's device. There is no link to send by text or email.
• It needs a connection to create, sign and finalise.
• There is no PPE section of its own. Where PPE matters it is written into a hazard's controls.