Boning and Slicing Knife Safe Work Procedure

Suits butchers, meat and food processors, caterers and commercial kitchens where staff bone, trim, slice and portion by hand. It covers choosing and checking knives, safe cutting and carrying, protective equipment as good practice, repetitive cutting, sharpening and what to do when someone is cut.

What Is Included In Our Boning and Slicing Knife Safe Work Procedure?

• Safe work procedure with an approval sign-off
• Risk first approach: change the work, then protective equipment
• Choosing, checking and sharpening knives
• Safe cutting, carrying, handing over and putting down
• Cut-resistant gloves, mesh, sleeve guards and aprons as good practice
• Hazardous manual task risks and rotation (WHS Regulation s 60)
• Non-slip floors, bench height and wet or cold work
• Response to a cut, bleeding, amputation and Triple Zero (000)
• When a serious laceration or amputation is notifiable
• Records, training, review and references

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld): s 19 (primary duty of care), s 26A (approved codes of practice), s 28 (duties of workers), ss 35 and 36 (notifiable incident, serious injury or illness), ss 38 and 39 (notification, record and preserving the site), ss 47 to 49 (consultation)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 32 to 38 (risk management), s 39 (information, training and instruction), s 40 (general workplace facilities), s 42 (first aid), ss 44 and 46 (personal protective equipment), s 60 (hazardous manual tasks), s 699 (prescribed serious illnesses), schedule 19 (dictionary)
• Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld): s 133 (employer’s duty to report an injury)
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021 (Qld), an approved code of practice: sections 3.4 (sources of risk, including tool maintenance and prolonged use) and 4.4 (control measures, including selecting tools suited to the task). Under s 26A of the WHS Act a business must follow an approved code or manage the risk in a way that gives an equivalent or higher standard
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021 (Qld): section 2.3 (heat and cold) for wet and cold work areas
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 (Qld): first aid kits, facilities and trained persons
• This document does not rely on a meat industry code, and the Act and Regulation hold no rule on cut-resistant gloves, mesh or knife sharpening. Food safety and meat processing licensing law are outside this document and no sections are cited
• This document is general information for Queensland workplaces and is not legal advice

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (6 pages), A4 portrait
• Business details and document control typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• Purpose, scope and a policy statement with an approval sign-off
• Definitions, and responsibilities for each role
• A step-by-step procedure that says who does what
• Records, training, monitoring and review, related documents and a revision history

Review it and adjust it to suit your business, your sites and the way your team works, and talk it through with your workers. If you have any trouble downloading this template, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading.