Cane Crushing Mill and Shredder Maintenance SWMS

For sugar mills, mill maintenance contractors and shutdown crews. It covers maintaining sugar mill crushers and shredders during shutdowns, including isolation, stored energy, confined spaces and heavy component lifting. It follows the work from the shutdown plan and permit through isolation, hammer and roll work, lifts, hot work and return to service.

Mill maintenance is not high risk construction work by itself. A SWMS is legally required only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299); otherwise this document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment. If a job is construction work, tick the reg 291 items that apply, such as confined space, a fall of more than 2 m or energised electrical installations; none is pre-ticked.

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

What Is Covered In Our Cane Crushing Mill and Shredder Maintenance SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the shutdown and set up the safe work permit” to “Refit guards, test, close the permit and return to service”. The hazards and controls include:

• Unplanned start-up of crushers and shredders
• Isolation and lockout of multi-motor drives
• Stored hydraulic, steam and gravity energy
• Falls from mill decks and platforms
• Confined space entry in chutes, bins and hoppers
• Methane and low oxygen in enclosed plant
• Heavy hammer, roll and shaft handling
• Crane and hoist lifts of mill components
• Hot work near bagasse and sugar dust
• Hydraulic oil injection injuries
• Noise, dust, heat and fatigue in shutdowns

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

• Training in the mill’s isolation and lockout procedures for every worker who isolates or works on the plant, and a nominated isolation coordinator for each work area
• Trades qualifications and verified competency for the work (fitting, boilermaking, welding, riggers) and for the shredder and mill make and model
• Safe work permit issuer trained in hot work and permit hazards, and workers trained and documented in hot work and fire extinguisher use
• Confined space entry training for entrants, standby person and permit issuer (separate Confined Spaces SWMS)
• High risk work licence in the Schedule 3 class for any crane or hoist that needs one, and the dogging class (or a rigging class) for anyone slinging a load or directing the operator when the load is out of the operator’s view (WHS Regulation Schedule 3 and Schedule 19)
• Licensed electrical worker for any electrical work on motors, drives and switchgear (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55)
• Mill induction covering permit rules, no-go areas, emergency arrangements and the crushing season shutdown plan
• General construction induction training card (white card) only if the job is construction work
• First aid arrangements for the shutdown crew (WHS Regulation s 42)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 208, 210 and 213: guarding, operator controls that can be locked off, maintenance and inspection of plant
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) Part 4.3: confined spaces
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 78 and 79: managing the risk of a fall
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 53 and 355: flammable stock and ignition sources in hazardous areas
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 56 and 57: noise exposure standard and managing hearing loss
• Sugar Mill Safety Code of Practice 2024
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021
• Welding Processes Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work 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
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024 (where a mobile crane lifts components)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (14 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 with steel or composite toecaps; hard hat, safety glasses and cut-resistant gloves; hearing protection where noise cannot be reduced further
• Emergency arrangements for: person trapped or struck by plant or a falling component, person collapsed in an enclosed space and fire in bagasse or oil
• 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.