Slide Compound Saw SWMS

Suits carpenters, joiners, fabricators, glaziers and workshops that cut timber, aluminium and composite material on a sliding compound mitre saw. It covers setup, blade and guard checks, changing blades, clamping and support, the slide cut, long stock, dust and noise, and clean-up.

Using a mitre saw is not high risk construction work by itself, so no items are pre-ticked. A SWMS is required by law only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299); otherwise this works as a written safe work procedure. Tick any items that apply if the saw is used on a construction site for high risk construction work.

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

What Is Covered In Our Slide Compound Saw SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Set up the saw and the work area” to “Clear offcuts, clean up and shut down”. The hazards and controls include:

• Contact with the spinning blade
• Kickback and flying fragments
• Blade riding up on the slide cut
• Stock moving or falling from the table
• Guards that stick or are missing
• Accidental start during blade changes
• Wood dust and aluminium swarf
• Hearing loss from saw noise
• Hot, sharp swarf and burrs
• Electric shock from leads
• Manual handling of long stock
• Slips on sawdust and offcuts

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

• Operator trained and assessed as competent on the sliding compound mitre saw and the materials cut, with information, training and instruction that is suitable and adequate (WHS Regulation s 39)
• No high risk work licence class in Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation applies to a sliding compound mitre saw
• Apprentices and new workers supervised by a competent operator until assessed
• General construction induction training card (white card) when the saw is used on a construction site
• Competent person to maintain and inspect the saw in line with the maker’s recommendations (WHS Regulation s 213)
• First aid: access to first aid equipment and a trained first aider as the work requires (WHS Regulation s 42)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Managing Risks of Plant 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 Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace 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)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace

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
• 9 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 glasses or a face shield; hearing protection, as the last control for noise; P2 respirator, fitted and clean-shaven where it seals, as the last control for dust; safety boots
• Emergency arrangements for: laceration or amputation, eye injury and fire in dust or swarf
• 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.