Concrete Grinder SWMS

For concrete grinding and polishing contractors, floor preparation crews and builders using walk-behind or hand-held grinders. It follows the job from setting up and assessing silica risk through grinding, slurry and chemicals to clean-up and pack-up.

Concrete grinding 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 concrete grinder SWMS template?

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

• Respirable crystalline silica dust from grinding
• Dust drifting to other workers
• Cracked or worn tooling throwing fragments
• Kickback and loss of control of the grinder
• Electric shock from leads and wet conditions
• Generator fumes and fuel fires
• Alkaline slurry burns to skin and eyes
• Noise and hand-arm vibration
• Strains from moving heavy machines
• Hidden services in the slab
• Heat illness while wearing a respirator
• Dust stirred up during clean-up

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
• Competency in operating the concrete grinder and dust extractor, verified before work starts
• Crystalline silica training (VET accredited course or regulator-approved training) for workers involved in, or exposed to, high risk silica processing
• Respirator fit test, repeated at least yearly and whenever the make or model changes (as the approved silica code recommends), and training in how to fit, check and clean the respirator

Legislation and codes of practice referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• 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
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): construction electrical equipment (s 140)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace

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
• 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: fit-tested respirator complying with AS/NZS 1716, such as a half-face respirator with a P2 filter (minimum protection factor 10), or a powered air-purifying respirator; safety glasses or goggles
• Emergency arrangements for: electric shock, slurry in the eyes or on the skin and coughing, wheezing or breathlessness during dusty work
• 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.