Edge Banding Machine SWMS

Suits cabinet makers, joiners and shopfitting workshops that run edge banding machines to apply edging to boards and panels. It covers pre-start checks, setting up and loading the edging, filling the glue pot, feeding panels, trimming and scraping, changing blades, clearing jams, dust and fume control, noise and shutdown.

An edge banding machine in a workshop is not high risk construction work, so no s 291 item is pre-ticked and a SWMS is required by law (WHS Regulation s 299) only when the work is part of high risk construction work (s 291). Otherwise this document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment. If the machine is used during construction work, for example on a fit-out site, tick the s 291 items that apply, such as a risk of a fall of more than 2 m, energised electrical installations or services, or movement of powered mobile plant.

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

What Is Covered In Our Edge Banding Machine SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Pre-start machine and extraction check” to “Shut down, clean and pack up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Hands and hair drawn into feed rollers
• Contact with trimming saws and cutters
• Chips and offcuts thrown from the machine
• Burns from hot melt glue and the glue pot
• Vapour and isocyanates from heated adhesive
• Machine starting during blade changes
• Cuts when handling blades and cutters
• Fine wood and board dust in the air
• Fire in dust, glue and extraction
• Noise from trimming and extraction
• Strains from handling large panels
• Electric shock from heaters and leads

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 from the supplier or a competent person in the machine’s controls, feeding methods, emergency stops, blade and cutter changes and glue handling, with competence confirmed before unsupervised use
• Training in the site’s isolation (lock-out) procedure for blade changes, cleaning and clearing jams
• Training in the label and SDS of each adhesive and cleaner, including the heat, ventilation and respiratory protection it calls for
• Respirator fit testing for each wearer of a tight-fitting respirator
• Competent person to maintain, inspect and service the machine and the dust extraction system to the maker’s recommendations (WHS Regulation s 213)
• Licensed electrical worker for any work on heaters, wiring or the control cabinet (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55)
• No high risk work licence class covers edge banding machines (WHS Regulation Schedule 3)
• General construction induction training card (white card) only if the machine is operated on a construction site
• Site induction
• First aid equipment, facilities and trained first aiders or access to them, including burns first aid (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: proper use, guarding, operational controls, emergency stops, maintenance and inspection)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 49 and 50 (exposure standards and air monitoring), ss 53 and 355 (flammable stock and ignition sources), ss 56 and 57 (noise) and s 60 (hazardous manual tasks)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 341 to 346, 351 and 357 (hazardous chemicals), s 368 and Schedule 14 (health monitoring)
• 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
• 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): ss 131 to 136 apply only to a business that involves manufacturing work as s 123 defines it (assembly, fabrication, installation, maintenance, manufacturing, refurbishment or repair, but not construction, amusement or rural industry work); in that case s 133 requires specified electrical equipment (as s 123 defines it, so a hard-wired machine may fall outside it) to be inspected and tested by a competent person at the intervals it sets and used on a socket-outlet with a safety switch, and s 134 requires a non-portable safety switch for socket-outlets of the kind it describes, only where manufacturing is the primary work at the workplace
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace

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 glasses or a face shield when the enclosure is open, during setup and when changing blades; heat-resistant gloves and long sleeves when filling or cleaning the glue pot
• Emergency arrangements for: hand or hair caught in the machine, hot glue burn and deep cut or amputation
• 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.