Concrete Saw SWMS

For concrete cutting contractors, builders and maintenance crews using a handheld petrol cut-off saw on slabs, walls and paving. It follows the job from planning the cut and scanning for services through cutting, slurry and clean-up. Walk-behind floor saws are covered by the separate Concrete Floor Saw SWMS.

Concrete sawing that risks silica dust exposure is high risk construction work, because the approved Queensland silica code treats it as work in an area that may have a contaminated atmosphere (WHS Regulation s 291(l)), and a SWMS that covers what s 529CB(2) requires can replace the separate silica risk control plan (s 529CB(3)).

New to SWMS? Read What is a safe work method statement?

What is covered in our concrete saw SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the cut and check for hidden services and materials” to “Shut down, clean up and pack up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Cutting live cables, gas lines or water mains
• Cutting a structural or load-bearing element
• Disturbing asbestos in older buildings
• Respirable crystalline silica dust
• Kickback and blade grab
• Shattered blades and flying fragments
• Petrol fire and hot exhaust burns
• Noise above the exposure standard
• Hand-arm vibration
• Cut-out pieces falling or trapping the blade
• Alkaline slurry burns
• Heat illness wearing a respirator

High risk construction work

These high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are already ticked because they are part of this work. Tick any others that apply to your job:

• Is carried out in an area that may have a contaminated or flammable atmosphere

Licences, training and competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for work on a construction site
• Training and verified competency in the handheld cut-off saw model used, including blade changes
• Crystalline silica training for workers where the cutting is assessed as high risk silica processing
• Respirator fit test, repeated at least yearly and whenever the make or model changes (as the approved silica code recommends), and training in checking the seal before each use
• No high risk work licence is needed to operate a concrete saw; licensed operators are needed for any lifting or plant used with it that Schedule 3 covers
• Site induction

Legislation and codes of practice referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Demolition Work Code of Practice 2021 (where the cut removes part of a load-bearing element)
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): construction electrical equipment (s 140)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace

What you get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (15 pages), laid out on 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; safety glasses with side protection, plus a face shield when cutting; hearing protection: earmuffs or fitted earplugs, rated for the saw’s noise level
• Emergency arrangements for: blade contact or deep cut, cut into a live cable, gas line or water main and petrol fire
• 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.

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