Conveyor Belt Splicing and Vulcanising SWMS

For splicing crews, maintenance contractors and plant teams who join conveyor belts with hot vulcanising presses at ports, bulk handling sites, recycling plants and factories. It follows the job from the splice plan and isolation through press set-up, preparing the belt ends, handling adhesives and solvents, pressing, curing and cooling to inspection and return to service. Belt changeouts need a separate SWMS.

Belt splicing and vulcanising at an industrial site is not high risk construction work by itself, so WHS Regulation s 299 requires a SWMS only where the work is high risk construction work (for example during a construction project). If it is, tick the reg 291 items that apply, such as a fall of more than 2 m, a confined space or energised electrical installations or services. Otherwise the document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment. Coal mines and mines to which the mining safety Acts apply are outside the WHS Act (schedule 1, part 2, division 1, section 2(1)(a) and (b)).

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

What Is Covered In Our Conveyor Belt Splicing and Vulcanising SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the splice and check the kit” to “Pack up, return to service and dispose of waste”. The hazards and controls include:

• Conveyor starting during the splice
• Burns from hot platens
• Solvent vapour and flash fire
• Skin and breathing harm from adhesives
• Crushed hands in the press
• Hydraulic hose burst and oil injection
• Electric shock from press leads
• Cuts from knives and steel cord
• Rubber dust and noise from buffing
• Stored pressure when releasing the press
• Heavy platens and press parts
• Failed splices put into service

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

• Splicer trained and verified as competent in hot vulcanising for the belt type and splice kit used (no high risk work licence class applies)
• A competent person for the isolation, the press set-up and the pressure check
• Licensed electrical worker for any work on the drive motor, fixed supply or switchboard (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55)
• Site induction covering conveyor isolation points, hot surfaces and emergency stops
• Training in the safe handling of the adhesives, cements and solvents used, from their SDS
• First aid equipment, facilities and trained first aiders or access to them for the size and location of the site (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 205 to 213 (plant: alteration, proper use, guarding, insulation from heat, operational controls, emergency stops, maintenance and inspection)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 52, 53 and 355 (ignition sources, flammable stock, fire and explosion)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 346 and 351 (hazardous chemicals register, managing risks)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Preparation of Safety Data Sheets for Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work 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): s 55 (only licensed electrical workers do electrical work)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): s 17 (unsafe electrical equipment is disconnected or isolated)
• Mining safety Acts: the WHS Act does not apply to a coal mine to which the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 applies, or to a mine to which the Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act 1999 applies (WHS Act schedule 1, part 2, division 1, section 2(1)(a) and (b)); a quarry is a mine unless a regulation declares otherwise (Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act 1999 s 9(1)(f) and (4))

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
• 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 boots; high-visibility clothing; safety glasses, and a face shield when opening hot or pressurised parts; heat-resistant gloves for hot platens and parts
• Emergency arrangements for: burn from a hot platen, hydraulic oil injected through the skin or a solvent fire and person trapped by the belt or the press
• 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.