Roof Tile Cutting SWMS

For roof tilers, roofing contractors and builders who cut concrete or clay roof tiles on site. It follows the job from the silica assessment and cutting station set-up through saw and grinder checks, cutting at the ground and on the roof, to wet clean-up and waste.

Cutting roof tiles for a roof is construction work. Work with a risk of a fall of more than 2 metres is high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 291(a)). Cutting concrete or clay tiles with a power tool is processing of a crystalline silica substance under chapter 8A, and the Queensland silica code treats work with respirable crystalline silica risk as the contaminated atmosphere item (s 291(l)), so both items are ticked. A SWMS is required by law for high risk construction work (s 299). Cutting tiles on the ground away from the roof is a different task; you may then untick the falls item if no one could fall more than 2 metres.

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 Roof Tile Cutting SWMS?

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

• Silica dust from cutting tiles
• Blade breakage and kickback
• Flying chips and eye injuries
• Noise from saws and grinders
• Electric shock from wet leads and saws
• Slippery tiles and wet slurry
• Falls from roof edges while cutting on the roof
• Cuts from sharp tile edges
• Slurry entering stormwater
• Dust carried home on clothes
• Heat and sun at the cutting station
• Strain from carrying tiles

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:

• Involves a risk of a person falling more than 2m
• 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 construction work
• Site induction
• Tile cutting experience, or work under the direct supervision of someone who has it, with training in the saw and grinder used
• Training in silica dust controls, the wet cutting system and fitting and wearing a respirator (fit-tested where the respirator needs a seal)
• Competent person to assess the silica risk, approve walkways and anchor points, and inspect edge protection
• Training in the fall protection used and in the rescue plan
• Boom-type elevating work platform licence where the boom length is 11 m or more (Schedule 3)
• 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 the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks 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)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones in schedule 2 and construction electrical equipment
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (distances come from the 2026 Regulation)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (15 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.