Core safety steps before plumbing work: induction, the right card, and isolating services before you start.
Most plumbing injuries are preventable, and the prevention happens before the spanners come out. Use this as a revision checklist of the safety basics; for live work always follow the current HSE guidance and the site’s own rules.
- Attend the site induction so you know the site-specific hazards, welfare, first aid and emergency arrangements before you start.
- Carry the appropriate skills-certification (such as a CSCS-type) card that shows you are competent and entitled to be on site.
- Plan the job and check for hidden services, such as buried cables or pipes, before drilling or cutting.
- Isolate the relevant service before working on it: close and secure the water supply, and have electrical or gas work isolated by the right person.
- Prove isolation: confirm the supply really is off and, where relevant, drained or depressurised, rather than assuming it.
- Wear the right personal protective equipment for the task and keep the work area tidy to avoid slips, trips and falls.
Safe isolation is the habit that protects you and others: identify the service, isolate it, secure it and prove it is dead before you work. Confirm the correct isolation procedure for each service against current guidance.
Something wrong, unclear or out of date? Report an issue with this note.