Ozone
Treatment
Vehicle interior odour elimination via ozone gas · 30–60 min treatment · 2-hour minimum ventilation · Ref JSA-OD-002 / SOP-OD-001
Issued April 2026 · Next review April 2027
At a glance
- Task / activity
- Ozone Treatment — vehicle interior odour elimination
- Location
- Outdoor or open-bay area only — NEVER a sealed indoor workshop. See SOP-OD-001 §6.
- Personnel required
- 1 trained detailer
- Estimated duration
- 30–60 min treatment + 2 hr mandatory ventilation = 2.5–3 hr minimum total
- Prerequisite training
- Site induction · SOP-OD-001 read and understood · Ozone machine operating sign-off
- Document references
- JSA-OD-002 (this doc) · SOP-OD-001 (parent) · MSDS C039 (ozone) · Poster_OD_DoNotEnter_Ozone (door sign)
What is this?
Ozone (O₃) generated by a workshop ozone machine and circulated inside a sealed vehicle interior. Ozone oxidises odour-causing compounds — most effective on smoke residues (cigarette / vape / fire damage). Treatment 30–60 min depending on odour severity.
Operator NEVER inside vehicle during treatment. Machine started and stopped from outside. Vehicle must ventilate ≥2 hr before re-entry or customer handover.
What could hurt you?
- • Ozone inhalation — toxic at very low ppm. WES TWA 0.1 ppm; IDLH 5 ppm. Pulmonary oedema at high doses.
- • Re-entry before ventilation complete — accumulated ozone in cabin causes immediate respiratory damage.
- • Treating a vehicle with people, animals, or plants still inside — ozone is acutely toxic.
- • Soft material degradation — ozone attacks rubber seals, silicone, some adhesives. Customer disclosure required.
- • Electrical fault with ozone machine — operating in damp / wet vehicle interior is not recommended.
- • Gas leakage from vehicle into adjacent workshop area if treated indoors.
Mandatory PPE
Setup and cleardown only: nitrile gloves and safety eyewear. Treatment runs unattended — operator NEVER inside vehicle. If early re-entry required (<2 hr), don half-face respirator with OV/P2 cartridges first.
Ozone is detectable by smell at well below the WES — but treatment-level concentrations are far above smell-detection. Smell is not a safe exposure gauge.
STOP — Confirm vehicle is EMPTY before sealing
Walk a 360° around the vehicle. Open every door, check every footwell, behind every seat, the boot, the glove box if pet-relevant. NO people. NO animals. NO plants. NO open food. Then and only then close the doors. Once sealed and the machine is running, NO ONE goes inside until 2 hours after treatment ends. The single most common ozone exposure incident is treating a vehicle that wasn't actually empty.
Mandatory PPE
-
Nitrile gloves — setup/cleardown
EN ISO 374 — for handling the ozone machine and any contact with treated surfaces during cleardown.
-
Safety eyewear — setup/cleardown
AS/NZS 1337.1 — splash protection during machine handling and any spilled water.
-
Half-face respirator (only if early re-entry needed)
AS/NZS 1716 — OV/P2 combined cartridges. Worn ONLY if re-entering vehicle before 2-hour ventilation complete (e.g. machine retrieval after fault). Not worn for normal treatment.
-
Non-slip safety footwear
AS/NZS 2210.3 — workshop default.
Procedure
- 1
Pre-treatment vehicle prep: confirm vehicle is empty (no people, no animals, no plants, no open food). Remove gross debris per JSA 04. Note any pre-existing soft-material condition (rubber seals, silicone trim, dashboard plastic) — photograph for record.
Hazards
- ⚠Treating a vehicle with someone or an animal still inside
- ⚠Customer dispute over post-treatment soft-material degradation if no pre-existing condition recorded
- •Aerosol cans rupturing or food spoiling during treatment
Controls
- ✓360° walk-around before sealing — every door, every footwell, boot, glove box
- ✓Photograph dashboard, door seals, console, before treatment — file with job
- •Remove temperature-sensitive items, opened food, batteries from the cabin
- 2
Place ozone machine inside vehicle (or with feed tube into cabin per machine type). Position machine on a stable surface — driver footwell or floor in front of front passenger seat. Confirm power cord is intact.
Hazards
- ⚠Damaged power cord — electric shock, fire risk
- •Machine knocked over during treatment
- •Feed tube kinked / disconnected
Controls
- ✓Visual inspect cord, plug, casing — tag-out and do NOT use if damaged
- •Stable, level surface for the machine — strap or wedge if vehicle is on slope
- •Confirm tube routing and connection before starting
- 3
Set machine timer (typical 30 min for moderate odour; 60 min for severe). Don gloves + eyewear. Close all doors and windows. Activate machine from outside — most machines have a delay-start. Step out and close door before run begins.
Hazards
- ⚠Operator inside vehicle when machine engages
- •Wrong timer setting — over- or under-treatment
Controls
- ✓Use the delay-start feature so operator exits BEFORE generation begins
- ✓Confirm operator is outside vehicle and door closed before generation
- •Time/duration written on door sign in marker
- •Set independent timer (phone) as backup to machine timer
- 4
Affix the door warning sign (Poster_OD_DoNotEnter_Ozone). Lock the vehicle. Walk a 360° around to confirm signage visible from likely approach angles. Note start time + estimated end time on the sign.
Hazards
- ⚠Person walks past unaware and tries to open vehicle
- ⚠Unauthorised entry by another worker / customer
Controls
- ✓Door sign on driver door + windscreen ideally (two visible signs)
- ✓Vehicle locked — keys with operator
- ✓Notify any nearby workers what is happening and when it ends
- •Site security: gate locked, area cordoned if in customer-accessible area
- 5
Treatment runs unattended. Monitor remotely if machine has WiFi/Bluetooth indicator. Operator does not re-enter. After timer completes (typical 30–60 min), the machine should auto-stop. Confirm via indicator that generation has ceased.
Hazards
- ⚠Machine fails to auto-stop — continues generating
- ⚠Operator entering to "just check"
- •Sudden weather change requiring vehicle relocation
Controls
- ✓Auto-stop confirmed by indicator before approaching the vehicle
- ✓NO entry during treatment — for any reason. If the vehicle must be moved (storm, fire, security), wait for auto-stop then 30 min minimum vent before retrieving it — or accept the vehicle damage / loss
- •If timer runs over the expected end time by >5 min: assume machine fault, treat as no-stop scenario (see emergency)
- 6
Begin ventilation. From outside the vehicle (without entering), unlock and open one door at a time using long-arm reach. Open all doors and windows. Ozone has a sharp / sweet smell — slight smell at this stage is normal and expected.
Hazards
- ⚠Operator inhaling concentrated ozone when door first opens
- •Gas drift to adjacent area / public
Controls
- ✓Stand to the side of the door when opening, step back, let it vent
- ✓Do NOT enter the vehicle yet — ventilation continues for 2 hr from this point
- •Position doors so prevailing wind carries vent gas AWAY from any other work area
- •Notify any nearby workers
- 7
Ventilate for a minimum of 2 hours with all doors and windows open. The door sign STAYS ON during ventilation. No re-entry. Run HVAC on FRESH for the last 15 minutes if treating cabin air.
Hazards
- ⚠Re-entering before 2-hour ventilation complete
- ⚠Customer or next worker entering before vent time complete
- •Persistent ozone smell suggesting incomplete dissipation
Controls
- ✓Set a 2-hour timer — do NOT skip or shortcut
- ✓Door sign stays attached for the full 2 hours
- ✓If using HVAC: from outside reach in to engine-start and set HVAC, then exit
- •Any persistent strong ozone smell at 2 hr: extend by 1 hr; do NOT hand over
- 8
Post-ventilation: sniff-check from outside the vehicle. If ozone smell is gone (or only very faint sweet trace), proceed. Don gloves to retrieve the machine. Inspect soft materials (rubber seals, silicone trim) for any new degradation; compare to pre-treatment photos.
Hazards
- •Handing over a vehicle with new soft-material degradation undocumented
- •Customer dispute over visible degradation
Controls
- •Visual + photograph rubber seals, silicone trim, dashboard — compare to pre-treatment photos
- •Note any degradation in job notes; share with customer at handover
- •Wipe down treated interior surfaces with damp microfibre to capture any residual
- 9
Customer handover: smell-check together with the customer before they take the vehicle. Confirm they understand any noted soft-material change. Remove the door sign.
Hazards
- •Customer takes vehicle and reports residual smell or material damage later
Controls
- •Walk-around smell-check with the customer — both inside and outside the vehicle
- •Verbally note any pre-existing or treatment-noted condition
- •Document handover sign-off in job notes if customer contests anything
- 10
Documentation: record machine model, timer setting, treatment duration, ventilation time, soft-material observations, and customer handover in job notes. File any deviation or incident.
Hazards
- •Missed documentation — no record if a customer complaint follows
Controls
- •Method (Ozone), duration, vent time, smell-check captured in job notes
- •Photo of door sign with start/end times
- •Photos of soft-material areas before + after
- •Any machine fault / unauthorised entry / extended vent → Incident Report Form