Jack Hammer SWMS

For concreters, plumbers, electricians, landscapers and builders who use jack hammers to break slabs, footings, paths and rock. It follows the job from planning around buried services and post-tensioned slabs through set-up, tool checks and breaking, to silica dust and slurry control, noise and vibration, handling broken pieces and clean-up. Hydraulic rock breakers and concrete saws are covered by separate SWMS.

Breaking concrete or rock with a jack hammer as part of construction work creates a risk of silica dust exposure, and the approved Queensland silica code says construction work with that risk is high risk construction work under WHS Regulation s 291(l), so that item is ticked; a SWMS that covers what s 529CB(2) requires can replace the separate silica risk control plan when the breaking is also high risk construction work and the SWMS is prepared before it starts (s 529CB(3)), and you can tick falls, demolition, temporary support or energised services if the work involves them.

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 Jack Hammer SWMS?

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

• Striking live cables, gas lines and water pipes
• Breaking post-tensioned tendons and reinforcement
• Breaking structural slabs and load-bearing elements
• Respirable crystalline silica dust and slurry
• Kickback and loss of control of the tool
• Flying fragments and failing bits
• Hand-arm vibration injury
• Noise above the exposure standard
• Carbon monoxide from engine exhaust in enclosed areas
• Hose and coupling failure under air pressure
• Falling through floors and openings
• Heavy tools and broken pieces causing strains
• Heat illness when wearing a respirator

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 work on a construction site, and site induction (WHS Regulation s 316)
• Training and verified competency in the jack hammer type used (electric, pneumatic or petrol), including bit and chisel changes, retainers, hoses and couplings, and the maker’s noise and vibration information
• Crystalline silica training (VET accredited course or training approved by the regulator) for workers who may be involved in or at risk from high risk silica processing (WHS Regulation s 529CD)
• Respirator fit test before first use, then at least yearly and when the wearer’s face or the make or model changes, as the silica code recommends, and training in checking the seal each time
• Competent person to scan slabs and ground for services, reinforcement and post-tensioned tendons and to mark the results
• Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation has no high risk work licence class for jack hammers or compressors; operators of any lifting plant or machine used to move broken pieces hold the licence or competency for that plant
• Demolition work licence (WHS Regulation s 143), held by the person doing the breaking out or the person it is done for, when it removes part of a load-bearing element: WorkSafe Queensland requires it for a structure with pre-tensioned or post-tensioned parts, for work using load-shifting equipment (such as an excavator, loader or crane) and for every structure other than a domestic house or its ancillary structure, such as a carport or garage; breaking out a non-load-bearing element, or doing so after a new load-bearing element is in place, is not demolition work
• Licensed electrician to isolate, disconnect or make safe any electrical cable found in the break area (Electrical Safety Act 2002 ss 18 and 55)
• Accredited traffic controllers where traffic is directed on or beside a road (Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Accreditation and Other Provisions) Regulation 2015 ss 54 and 55)
• 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
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace 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
• Demolition Work Code of Practice 2021 (manual demolition, section 4.11; post-tensioned concrete, section 5.1)
• Excavation Work Code of Practice 2021 (where breaking out leads to a trench)
• 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
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008 (where the work is on or beside a road)
• Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Accreditation and Other Provisions) Regulation 2015 (Qld): traffic controllers
• 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 (17 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.