Grinder Operation SWMS

For tradespeople, fabricators and maintenance crews who grind, cut or clean up metal, concrete or masonry with hand-held grinders. The job steps run from checking the grinder and disc through setting up, grinding, dust control and clean-up.

A SWMS is legally required under WHS Regulation s 299 when the grinding is part of high risk construction work, for example a fall of more than 2 metres, a confined space or grinding that creates silica dust (tick the contaminated atmosphere item, s 291(l), because the approved Queensland silica code treats work with a risk of silica exposure as high risk); otherwise it works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment.

New to SWMS? Read What is a safe work method statement?

What is covered in our grinder operation SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Inspect the grinder, disc and power supply” to “Complete the work and clean up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Disc shatter and kickback
• Contact with the rotating disc
• Flying particles and eye injuries
• Sparks starting fires
• Electric shock from damaged cords
• Cutting into concealed services
• Silica dust from concrete, brick and stone
• Engineered stone prohibition
• Lead paint and asbestos checks
• Noise and hand-arm vibration
• Manual handling and awkward postures
• Dust and slurry clean-up

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

• General construction induction training card (white card) when working on a construction site
• Site induction
• Training in the safe use of grinders, including choosing and fitting discs, with competency confirmed by a competent person
• Crystalline silica training (VET accredited course or training approved by the regulator) for workers involved in cutting or grinding concrete, masonry or stone where the written assessment finds the processing high risk
• Respirator fit-test and use training for any worker who wears a tight-fitting respirator
• No high risk work licence class covers hand-held grinders

Legislation and codes of practice referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• 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 respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Welding Processes Code of Practice 2021 (grinding is an allied process: sparks and fire)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): equipment on construction work (s 140), workshop equipment (ss 132-134) and energised electrical work (ss 195-204)
• 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 (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
• 8 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 with side shields, plus a full face shield over them; hearing protection (earmuffs or earplugs) chosen for the noise level
• Emergency arrangements for: serious cut or amputation, fire from sparks and eye injury or burn
• 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 November 2026.