Rattle Gun SWMS

For mechanics, fitters, riggers, maintenance crews and site workers who use an air-powered impact wrench to undo and tighten nuts, bolts and wheels. It covers inspecting the tool and air supply, fitting sockets, operating the tool, clearing jams and packing up.

A SWMS is legally required under the WHS Regulation (s 299) only when the work is part of high risk construction work, such as a fall risk over 2 metres; otherwise this document 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 rattle gun SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Inspect the rattle gun and air supply” to “Pack up and store”. The hazards and controls include:

• Hose whip from a burst hose or loose coupling
• Sockets and fasteners thrown from the tool
• Worn or wrong sockets breaking in use
• Hands crushed or pinched at the fastener
• Entanglement in the spinning anvil or socket
• Hearing loss from tool exhaust and impact noise
• Hand-arm vibration and strains
• Compressed air injury to eyes, ears and skin
• Stored energy released when freeing a component
• Trips over air hoses
• Oil and lubricant skin contact and slips

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 and instruction in the safe use of pneumatic impact tools, including hose and coupling safety
• Verification of competency for the rattle gun and the air compressor used
• General construction induction training card (white card) when working on a construction site
• Site induction
• Competent person to inspect, repair and test the tool, hoses and compressor
• Audiometric (hearing) testing for workers who must wear hearing protection against noise over the exposure standard

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 36 and 44 (control measures, PPE)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 56 to 58 (noise exposure standard, audiometric testing)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 60 (hazardous manual tasks, including vibration)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 205 to 213 (plant)
• 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
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Work Health and Safety Consultation, Co-operation and Co-ordination Code of Practice 2021

What you get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (14 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
• 9 job steps for this work, each with its hazards, controls, initial and residual risk scores and the person responsible
• PPE listed for this job: impact-rated safety glasses with side shields; face shield worn over the glasses when the task could throw fragments; hearing protection suited to the measured noise level; safety boots
• Emergency arrangements for: hose whip or tool malfunction, compressed air injury to the skin or an eye and hand crush injury
• 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.