Safe Operation of Brick Saw SWMS

For bricklayers, landscapers, pavers and building crews who cut bricks, blocks and pavers with a wet-cutting saw on site. The job steps run from the cutting area and saw set-up through power and water, blade checks, cutting, hot or wet conditions and clean-up.

Brick 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 safe operation of brick saw SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Set up the cutting area” to “Clean up and pack up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Silica dust from cutting bricks, blocks and pavers
• Contact with the saw blade
• Blade breakage and flying fragments
• Electric shock in wet conditions
• Water supply failure and wet cutting
• Noise and hearing loss
• Manual handling of masonry
• Heat illness and sun exposure
• Slurry, slips and wet ground
• Engineered stone prohibition
• Dust clean-up and slurry disposal
• Saw set-up and moving the saw

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 construction work
• Site induction
• Operator trained in the safe use of the brick saw, including blade changes, and verified as competent by the supervisor
• Crystalline silica training for workers where the written silica assessment finds the cutting high risk
• Respirator fit-test and training (donning, seal check, cleaning, storage) for any worker who wears a tight-fitting respirator
• No high risk work licence class covers a brick or masonry saw

Legislation and codes of practice referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld), including chapter 8A (crystalline silica) and the noise exposure standard in section 56
• 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
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace 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
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): electrical equipment on construction work (s 140)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
• AS/NZS 1716:2012 (Respiratory protective devices) and AS/NZS 1715:2009 (Selection, use and maintenance of respiratory protective equipment), as named in WHS Regulation s 529B

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
• 10 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; fit-tested respirator with at least a P2 filter, kept clean (see the silica row)
• Emergency arrangements for: severe cut or amputation, electric shock and heat illness
• 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.