Meat Band Saw SWMS

For butcher shops, supermarkets, smallgoods makers and meat processing plants that cut carcass portions and bone on a band saw. It follows the work from the pre-start check and set-up through cutting, bone dust and offcuts, isolation, blade changes, cleaning and sanitising, and shut down. Workshop band saws used for metal or timber are outside this document.

A meat band saw is not high risk construction work, so WHS Regulation s 299 requires a SWMS only if the work is part of high risk construction work. Otherwise this document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment, and no high risk construction work item is pre-ticked. If the saw is installed or used during construction work, for example a shop fit-out, tick the items that apply, such as a fall of more than 2 metres or energised electrical installations or services.

Learn More: What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?
Have you ever been asked to provide a SWMS on a project in Queensland? Read our guide to what a Safe Work Method Statement is and when you need one.

What Is Covered In Our Meat Band Saw SWMS?

The job steps run in the order the work is done, from pre-start checks to finishing up. The hazards and controls include:

• Contact with the moving blade
• Product slipping or twisting in the blade
• Blade breakage and whipping
• Missing or bypassed guards and interlocks
• Saw starting during cleaning or a blade change
• Cuts when handling blades
• Slips on fat and wet floors
• Strains from heavy cuts of meat
• Bone dust and splatter in the eyes
• Noise when cutting bone
• Chemical burns from cleaners and sanitisers
• Electric shock from wet equipment

High Risk Construction Work

No high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this work is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick the items that apply to your job, such as a fall risk of more than 2 metres or work where powered mobile plant is moving.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Training in the safe use, guarding, controls and cleaning of the band saw, with competency confirmed by a competent person before unsupervised use
• Training in the site’s isolation procedure (unplug or switch off at the isolator) for blade changes, cleaning and clearing
• Training in the SDS and safe use of cleaning and sanitising chemicals
• Food safety induction and hygiene rules of the site
• First aider on shift briefed on deep cuts, amputations and scalds
• No high risk work licence class covers meat band saws

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: proper use, guarding, operational controls, emergency stops, maintenance and inspection)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 133 and 134 apply where manufacturing work is the primary work at the workplace (the Dictionary gives sorting, processing and packing food products as an example, so a butcher shop is not automatically covered); s 138 applies to service work, where specified electrical equipment is connected to a safety switch or inspected and tested at least yearly by a competent person
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (13 pages), laid out on A4 landscape pages
• Business, client, job and document details typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• The high risk construction work checklist, worded as WHS Regulation s 291, and the construction project question (s 292)
• A worker and health and safety representative consultation record
• Qualifications, plant, PPE, hazardous chemicals, safety equipment, permits, references and emergency arrangements filled in for this work
• A 5 x 5 risk matrix, and job steps with initial and residual risk scores and the people responsible
• Implementing, monitoring and review requirements, an additional controls log, revision history and a worker sign-on sheet

Review and adjust it for your site, your plant and the way your crew does the job, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. If you have any trouble downloading this SWMS, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.