Conveyor Idler and Roller Replacement SWMS

For maintenance crews and contractors who replace idlers and rollers on conveyors at ports, bulk handling sites, recycling plants and factories. It follows the job from the plan and lock-out through access and work at height, lifting the belt clear, removing and fitting rollers, working near adjacent moving belts, and the test run. Full belt changeouts and splicing need separate SWMS.

Idler and roller replacement at an industrial site is not high risk construction work by itself, so WHS Regulation s 299 requires a SWMS only where the work is high risk construction work (for example during a construction project). If it is, tick the reg 291 items that apply, such as a fall of more than 2 m, a confined space or energised electrical installations or services. Otherwise the document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment. Coal mines and mines to which the mining safety Acts apply are outside the WHS Act (schedule 1, part 2, division 1, section 2(1)(a) and (b)).

Similar job: if it is closer to your work, see the Conveyor Belt Changeout SWMS.

New to SWMS? Read What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?

What Is Covered In Our Conveyor Idler and Roller Replacement SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the replacement and check access” to “Clean up and dispose of old rollers”. The hazards and controls include:

• Conveyor starting during roller changes
• Hands crushed at idler frames and belts
• Belt dropping when lifted clear
• Entanglement at nip points
• Working near moving belts
• Falls from gantries and walkways
• Dropped rollers and tools
• Strains from heavy rollers
• Hot bearings and grease burns
• Slips on spilled material
• Dust from carried material
• Restarting with people on the line

High Risk Construction Work

None of the high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this job is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick any that apply on your site.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Workers trained and verified as competent in the site’s isolation and lock-out procedure and in idler and roller replacement
• A competent person for the plan, the belt lift and the isolation
• Licensed electrical worker for any disconnection or work on motors, cabling or switchboards (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55)
• High risk work licence for dogging where slinging is done or a crane operator is directed out of view, and the matching class for any crane or hoist (WHS Regulation schedule 3)
• Boom-type elevating work platform of 11 m or more needs its own licence class; no licence class exists for working at heights
• Working at heights training for workers on gantries and walkways
• Confined space entry training and a permit if any enclosure must be entered
• Site induction covering isolation points, plant traffic and emergency stops
• First aid equipment, facilities and trained first aiders or access to them (WHS Regulation s 42)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 205 to 213 (plant: alteration, proper use, plant not in use, guarding, operational controls, emergency stops, maintenance and inspection)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 78 and 79 (falls), s 48 (remote or isolated work) and ss 66 and 67 (confined spaces)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld): s 55 (only licensed electrical workers do electrical work)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): s 17 (unsafe electrical equipment is disconnected or isolated)
• AS/NZS 4024 (series) Safety of machinery, conveyors (named only as Appendix D of the Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 lists it)
• Mining safety Acts: the WHS Act does not apply to a coal mine to which the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 applies, or to a mine to which the Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act 1999 applies (WHS Act schedule 1, part 2, division 1, section 2(1)(a) and (b)); a quarry is a mine unless a regulation declares otherwise (Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act 1999 s 9(1)(f) and (4))

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (13 A4 landscape pages). Type your business, client and job details once and they fill in on every page, with a space for your logo
• 11 job steps for this work, each with its hazards, controls, initial and residual risk scores and the person responsible
• PPE listed for this job: safety boots with toe protection; high-visibility clothing; hard hat and safety glasses; close-fitting gloves for rollers and frames (no loose cuffs)
• Emergency arrangements for: person caught by an idler, roller or belt, person suspended after a fall and dropped roller or belt strike
• Plus the parts every Work Safety QLD SWMS shares, from the s 291 checklist to the worker sign-on sheet (see the layout in our free SWMS template)

Adjust it for your site, plant and crew, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.

Checked against the Queensland laws and codes of practice listed above. Last reviewed November 2026.