Radial Arm Saw SWMS

Suits carpenters, joiners, cabinet makers, shopfitters and school or training workshops that use a radial arm saw to crosscut, mitre, bevel and groove timber and boards. It follows the job in order: positioning the saw, checking guards and carriage return, power and isolation, blade changes, preparing stock, crosscuts, non-through cuts and ripping, clearing jams, dust and noise, and shutdown. Table saws have their own SWMS, and drop saws need a separate SWMS.

A radial arm saw is not high risk construction work by itself, so no item is pre-ticked and a SWMS is required by law only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299). If the saw is used as part of construction work on a construction site, tick the reg 291 items that apply, for example a risk of a fall of more than 2 metres (reg 291(a)) or work on or near energised electrical installations or services (reg 291(k)). Otherwise the document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment that you tailor to your saw.

Similar job: if it is closer to your work, see the Panel Saw SWMS.

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

What Is Covered In Our Radial Arm Saw SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Position the saw and set up the work area” to “Shut down, pack up and store the saw”. The hazards and controls include:

• Blade run-out toward the operator
• Contact with the spinning blade
• Kickback of stock
• Missing or bypassed guards and carriage stop
• Carriage that does not return
• Hands drawn in during bevel and groove cuts
• Offcuts and fragments thrown at the face and eyes
• Electric shock from leads and the saw
• Strains from lifting long boards
• Fine wood dust and combustible sawdust
• Noise from the saw
• Unexpected starts during blade changes

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

• Operator trained and assessed as competent on the radial arm saw used, covering the arm, yoke and bevel locks, guards, carriage return and stop, crosscut, mitre and bevel cuts, blade changes and isolation (no high risk work licence class applies to a radial arm saw)
• Instruction in the saw maker’s isolation and blade-change procedure
• Competent person to inspect, maintain and test the saw, its guards, carriage return and brake to the maker’s recommendations (WHS Regulation s 213)
• A licensed electrical worker for any connection of the saw to fixed wiring and any repair to its wiring (Electrical Safety Act 2002 ss 18 and 55)
• Trained first aider available, with first aid provided as s 42 of the WHS Regulation requires
• Site induction, and a general construction induction training card (white card) only when the saw is used on a construction site

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, 206, 207, 208, 210, 211 and 213 (plant: managing risks, proper use, plant not in use, guarding, operational controls, emergency stops where fitted, maintenance and inspection)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 36 and 44 (hierarchy of control, personal protective equipment)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 49 to 53 (exposure standards, air monitoring, hazardous atmosphere, ignition sources, flammable stock)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 56 to 58 (noise)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 60 (hazardous manual tasks)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 344, 346 and 351 (safety data sheets, hazardous chemicals register, managing chemical risks)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 42 and 43 (first aid, emergency plan)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): chapter 8A (crystalline silica substances) and s 529D (engineered stone prohibition)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work 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): ss 18 and 55 (electrical work and electrical work licences)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 131 to 136, only where the work is manufacturing work as section 123 defines it (assembly, disassembly, fabrication, installation, maintenance, manufacturing, refurbishment or repair, but not amusement, construction or rural industry work): no double adaptors or piggyback plugs (s 132); specified electrical equipment inspected, tested and tagged by a competent person at least yearly if double insulated and otherwise at least every 6 months, and used from a socket-outlet that has a safety switch (s 133, with the exemption in s 135); a non-portable safety switch for qualifying socket-outlets, only where manufacturing work is the primary work performed at the workplace (s 134); and testing of safety switches under AS/NZS 3760 (In-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment and RCDs) (s 136)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 137 to 139, only where the work is service work or office work as section 123 defines it (for example teaching at an education facility): specified electrical equipment inspected and tested by a competent person (at least yearly, or at least every 5 years if used only for office work) or connected to a safety switch (s 138), and testing of safety switches under AS/NZS 3760 (s 139)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): s 140, only where the work is construction work: electrical equipment for the work, and construction wiring, comply with AS/NZS 3012 (Electrical installations – Construction and demolition sites); a tag showing a test or retest date goes only on equipment mentioned in AS/NZS 3012 clause 3.1 that is new or was inspected and tested by a competent person and found to comply (s 140(3)); s 140 sets no test interval and no safety switch rule
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (16 A4 landscape pages). Type your business, client and job details once and they fill in on every page, with a space for your logo
• 11 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; hearing protection suited to the noise level, used after other controls
• Emergency arrangements for: blade contact or cut, electric shock and fire in sawdust or at the saw
• 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.