Joinery and Cabinet Making SWMS

For cabinet makers, joiners and workshop managers who manufacture kitchens, wardrobes, vanities and other joinery in a workshop. It follows the work from machine set-up, guarding and isolation through cutting, edging, routing, CNC machining, assembly and dust control to storing and mixing finishes, spraying in a booth and cleaning up. On-site installation is not covered and needs a separate SWMS.

Workshop manufacture of cabinets and joinery is not construction work (WHS Regulation s 289(3)(b)), so a SWMS is not legally required for it, because s 299 applies only to high risk construction work; the document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment, and as a SWMS if the work becomes high risk construction work.

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 Joinery and Cabinet Making SWMS?

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

• Contact with saw blades and routing cutters
• Kickback and thrown offcuts from panel saws
• Hands and hair caught in edge bander rollers and trimmers
• Burns and fumes from hot-melt edging glue
• Moving gantry, spindle and ejected parts on CNC machines
• Machines starting during adjustment, cutter changes or jam clearing
• Wood and resin dust from sawing, routing and sanding
• Fire and dust explosion from dust build-up in collectors and ducts
• Isocyanate and solvent vapour from spray finishing
• Fire and static discharge in the booth and mixing area
• Paint injected through the skin by spray guns
• Noise from machines, extraction and compressors
• Strains from handling full sheets and finished units
• Nail gun and stapler injuries during assembly

High Risk Construction Work

No high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this work is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick the items that apply to your job, such as a fall risk of more than 2 metres or work where powered mobile plant is moving.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Operators trained and assessed as competent on each machine they use (panel saw, edge bander, routers, CNC machine and spray equipment), including the manufacturer’s instructions, guards, emergency stops and safe feeding methods (WHS Regulation s 39)
• Apprentices and new workers work under the supervision of an experienced cabinet maker until they are assessed as competent
• Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation has no high risk work licence class for the woodworking machines in this SWMS; a licence for the forklift truck class (Schedule 3 item 24) for anyone who moves board packs and finished units with a forklift
• Training in the label and SDS for each glue, finish, solvent and cleaner, including the gloves and respirator it calls for
• Respirator fit test for each wearer, and training in air-supplied respirators for anyone who sprays two-pack polyurethane or other isocyanate coatings
• Nail gun and stapler training for every user, covering the tool, its manual and PPE
• Competent person to maintain, inspect and service the machines, the spray booth and the dust extraction system (WHS Regulation s 213); occupational hygienist or ventilation engineer for extraction design, airflow testing and any air monitoring
• An adequate number of people trained in first aid, and first aid equipment in the workshop (WHS Regulation s 42)
• Making cabinets and joinery in a normal workshop is not construction work (WHS Regulation s 289(3)(b)), so no white card is needed there; workers who install on site need the general construction induction training card (white card) and a separate SWMS

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 203 to 213 (plant, guarding, operational controls, emergency stops and maintenance)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 49 to 53 and 355 (exposure standards, hazardous atmospheres, ignition sources and flammable substances) and ss 56 to 58 (noise)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 341 to 357 (hazardous chemicals), s 368 and Schedule 14 (health monitoring) and ss 529A to 529F (crystalline silica and the engineered stone prohibition)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Spray Painting and Powder Coating Code of Practice 2021
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021 (decanted containers)
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021 (ventilation, lighting and housekeeping)
• 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)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
• AS/NZS 4114 Spray painting booths, designated spray painting areas and paint mixing rooms (as named in the Spray Painting and Powder Coating Code of Practice 2021)
• 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 and the Spray Painting and Powder Coating Code of Practice 2021

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (19 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.