SSOW Template

Work through it per task or per contractor: the scope of the work, the hazards of the task, the controls in place, the interface with the other work, and the sign-off. The SSOW is the counterpart to the JSA and the permit: the JSA is the step-by-step, the permit is the authorisation, and the SSOW is the safety statement that ties the two together. Print it for the task, sign it, and file it. The SSOW is the document the client and the investigation work from, and the template is the structure that makes the statement a record.

How to use the template

1. Set the task and the contractor — the scope, the location, the date, the contractor
2. Record the hazards of the task — the hazards, the interface with the other work
3. Record the controls in place — the controls, the PPE, the permit reference
4. Record the interface — the other work, the shared services, the coordination
5. Sign it — the contractor and the client, the date
6. File it, and reference it on the permit and the JSA where the task carries them

Worked example

A SSOW for the tank cleaning contractor: the scope the internal clean of the day tank, the location the tank farm, the date, the contractor; the hazards the H2S, the oxygen displacement, the slip; the controls the gas test, the ventilation, the attendant, the rescue, the PPE; the interface the adjacent tank live, the crane over the area; the sign-off the contractor and the site HSE officer. The SSOW in the file, referenced on the confined space permit, and the safety of the work is agreed, not assumed.

Standard & legal context

The SSOW is the safety statement for the UK construction and the process industry, and the CDM Regulations carry the coordination duty that the SSOW records. The OSHA contract and the site safety plan in the US carry the same expectation, and the ISO 45001:2018 clause 8.1.4 procurement and the clause 8.1.3 management of change carry the duty at the management system level. The SSOW is the safety statement, and the template is the document that makes the statement a record, and the record an agreement.

Common mistakes

1. The SSOW as a formality — the SSOW is the safety statement, and the statement that is not agreed is the one the investigation questions
2. No interface recorded — the interface with the other work is the point, and the SSOW without it is the one that misses the coordination
3. No sign-off — the sign-off is the agreement, and the SSOW without it is the statement, not the agreement
4. No reference on the permit — the SSOW is referenced on the permit and the JSA, and the reference is what ties the documents together