Furnace Charging and Tapping SWMS

Suits ferrous and non-ferrous foundries, metal casting workshops and maintenance teams who charge and tap electric arc, induction, crucible and cupola furnaces. It follows the job in order: access control and the melt plan, furnace and cooling water checks, dry scrap, charging, melting, slagging and additions, ladle preparation, tapping, spills and breakouts, heat, fume and noise, and shut-down. Molten metal pouring and furnace relining need their own SWMS.

Furnace charging and tapping in a foundry is not high risk construction work by itself, so no item is pre-ticked and a SWMS is required by law only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299); otherwise the document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment that you tailor to your furnace and alloys. If the work is part of construction work, tick the reg 291 items that apply, for example the item for artificial extremes of temperature or movement of powered mobile plant.

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

What Is Covered In Our Furnace Charging and Tapping SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the melt and control access to the furnace area” to “Shut down, isolate and clean up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Molten metal splash and runout
• Steam explosion when metal meets water or moisture
• Wet, oily or enclosed scrap in the charge
• Bridged charge and eruption of the bath
• Worn refractory lining and furnace breakout
• Cooling water and coil leaks
• Radiant heat, infrared and ultraviolet radiation
• Metal fume, carbon monoxide and other gases
• Heat stroke and heat exhaustion
• Noise from furnaces and charging
• Ladle handling and loads over people
• Electrical hazards on furnace power equipment

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

• Furnace operators trained and assessed as competent on the furnace type, charging, tapping and the emergency procedures before they work unsupervised; trainees work under the direct supervision of a competent operator (WHS Regulation s 39; Foundry Industry Code of Practice 2004 s 3.7 on training in safe work practices and PPE)
• High risk work licence for the crane class used to carry charge baskets or ladles where Schedule 3 requires one: a bridge crane or gantry crane controlled from a permanent cabin or control station, or remotely controlled with more than 3 powered operations, is item 12 of Table 3.1
• High risk work licence in the dogging class, or a higher rigging class, for the person who slings a load or directs the crane operator when the load is out of the operator’s view
• High risk work licence for the forklift truck class if a forklift charges scrap or moves ladles (Schedule 3 item 24)
• Licensed electrical worker for any electrical work on the furnace power supply, controls or cooling system (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55); operators do not open electrical enclosures
• Gas work licence or gas work authorisation for any gas work on the gas system of a gas-fired furnace (Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 ss 726 and 727)
• Competent person to inspect the furnace, refractory lining, cooling system and tapping equipment and to maintain them to the maker’s recommendations (WHS Regulation s 213)
• First aiders trained in burns, heat illness and eye injuries, with the emergency shower and eyewash known to everyone in the area (WHS Regulation s 42; First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 s 3.3)
• Emergency response training in the furnace breakout, evacuation and fire procedures (WHS Regulation s 43)
• Site induction, and a general construction induction training card (white card) only if the furnace work is part of construction work

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Foundry Industry Code of Practice 2004 (furnace section s 2.4, working in heat s 3.1, airborne contaminants s 3.3, noise s 3.5, molten metal s 3.7, plant s 3.8, electricity s 3.9)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 (isolating energy sources s 4.5)
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 (burns, eyewash and emergency showers)
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) chapter 8A (crystalline silica substances, ss 529A to 529CD)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld): s 55 (electrical work licence)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
• Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 (Qld): ss 725 to 727 (gas work, for gas-fired furnaces)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (17 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: heat-resistant protective clothing for work near molten metal: coat or apron, gaiters or spats, footwear and headgear that are fire retardant (Foundry code s 3.7)
• Emergency arrangements for: molten metal splash or burn, furnace breakout, metal runout, eruption or steam explosion and heat stroke (confusion, collapse or hot dry skin)
• 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.