Windscreen and Auto Glass Replacement SWMS

Suits auto glass technicians and mobile glass businesses who cut out and fit windscreens and side and rear glass. It follows the job from the safe work position and airbag and sensor precautions through cutting out, glass handling, priming and bonding, sensor calibration and the safe drive-away time. Glazing in buildings and general vehicle servicing need their own SWMS.

Replacing vehicle glass is not high risk construction work, 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 job is part of construction work, tick the reg 291 items that apply. Otherwise this document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment that you tailor to your vehicles, adhesives and sites.

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

What Is Covered In Our Windscreen and Auto Glass Replacement SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the job and choose a safe work position” to “Waste, clean-up and pack-up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Traffic striking a technician at the roadside
• Working alone away from base
• Airbag and pretensioner deployment
• Cuts from broken and toughened glass
• Glass dropping during lifting and fitting
• Isocyanate vapour from urethane adhesive and primer
• Skin and eye contact with primer and adhesive
• Flammable solvents and wipes
• Strains from heavy glass and awkward postures
• Driver-assistance sensor damage and recalibration
• Adhesive not cured at drive-away
• Vehicle rolling or falling from a stand

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

• Glass technician trained and assessed as competent in removing and bonding vehicle glass with the adhesive system in use, to the adhesive maker’s instructions and the vehicle maker’s repair procedure
• Worker trained in the hazards of isocyanates and the SDS controls for the urethane adhesive and primer used (WHS Regulation s 39 duty to train and instruct)
• Technician trained on the vehicle’s supplemental restraint system (airbags and seatbelt pretensioners) and on driver-assistance sensors before working near them
• No high risk work licence class in Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation covers this work, and vehicle glass work needs no construction induction training card because it is not construction work
• For mobile work, a worker who holds the driver licence for the work vehicle and is trained in setting up a safe work position beside traffic
• First aid equipment and facilities, and the person appointed as the job’s first aider (WHS Regulation s 42); a mobile technician working alone has a first aid kit in the van and a check-in arrangement

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 49 and 351: exposure standards and managing hazardous chemical risks
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 341, 344 and 346: labelling, safety data sheets and the hazardous chemicals register
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 368 and Schedule 14: health monitoring, including isocyanates
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 60: hazardous manual tasks
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 52 and 53: ignition sources and flammable liquids
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 48: remote or isolated work
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 56 to 58: noise
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Preparation of Safety Data Sheets for Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021 (heat and remote work)
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (14 A4 landscape pages). Type your business, client and job details once and they fill in on every page, with a space for your logo
• 10 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 boots; cut-resistant gloves (cut level suited to glass) for glass handling and cutting out; nitrile or other chemical-resistant gloves, checked against the SDS, for adhesive and primer
• Emergency arrangements for: serious glass cut and primer, adhesive or glass in the eye
• 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.