Concrete Wire Saw SWMS

For concrete cutting contractors who use diamond wire saws to cut through thick walls, slabs, piers and foundations. It follows the job from the engineer’s cut plan and exclusion zones through anchoring the saw, threading and tensioning the wire, controlling silica and slurry, supporting the freed section and lifting it out.

Cutting concrete makes silica dust, so the reg 291 item for a contaminated atmosphere (11) is ticked. Tick other items that apply: removing part of a load-bearing element (item 2), temporary support (item 4), a fall of more than 2 metres (item 0) or live services (item 10). Hand-held saws and floor saws have their own SWMS.

Learn More: What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?
Have you ever been asked to provide a SWMS on a project in Queensland? Read our guide to what a Safe Work Method Statement is and when you need one.

What Is Covered In Our Concrete Wire Saw SWMS?

The job steps run in the order the work is done, from pre-start checks to finishing up. The hazards and controls include:

• Wire breaking or whipping through the work area
• Drive unit, pulley or anchor failure
• Entanglement in the wire and flywheel
• Respirable crystalline silica dust and mist
• Alkaline slurry and wet floors
• Cut sections falling or binding the wire
• Striking hidden services and tendons
• Lifting and removing heavy sections
• Hydraulic hose failure
• Electric shock near water
• Noise and manual handling

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, and site induction
• Operator trained and assessed as competent in the wire saw make and model, including wire threading, tensioning and emergency stop (no high risk work licence class covers a concrete wire saw)
• Competent person or structural engineer to set cut positions, sequence, section weights and lift points
• Demolition work licence holder where the cut removes part of a load-bearing element or is otherwise demolition work (WHS Regulation ss 143 and Schedule 19)
• Person holding the dogging licence class where sections are slung or a crane operator is directed (WHS Regulation Schedules 3 and 19)
• Training in silica dust control and respirator fit-testing for workers who may be involved in or at risk from high risk silica processing (WHS Regulation s 529CD)
• Training in the identification and safe handling of asbestos for workers the PCBU reasonably believes may be involved in asbestos removal work or asbestos-related work (WHS Regulation s 445); everyone else stops and reports anything that may be asbestos
• First aid equipment, facilities and trained first aiders (or access to them) as the work needs (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 respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• Demolition Work Code of Practice 2021 (where the cut removes a load-bearing element or the concrete is post-tensioned)
• 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
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024 (where a crane lifts the sections)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021 (openings in floors)
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): construction electrical equipment (s 140) and underground electric lines (ss 14 and 15)
• 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 (14 pages), laid out on A4 landscape pages
• Business, client, job and document details typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• The high risk construction work checklist, worded as WHS Regulation s 291, and the construction project question (s 292)
• A worker and health and safety representative consultation record
• Qualifications, plant, PPE, hazardous chemicals, safety equipment, permits, references and emergency arrangements filled in for this work
• A 5 x 5 risk matrix, and job steps with initial and residual risk scores and the people responsible
• Implementing, monitoring and review requirements, an additional controls log, revision history and a worker sign-on sheet

Review and adjust it for your site, your plant and the way your crew does the job, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. If you have any trouble downloading this SWMS, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.