Textiles Rubber and Composite Material Processing SWMS

Product Overview

This SWMS covers processing textiles, rubber and composite materials, from work-area setup and chemical staging through production, cleaning, maintenance and shutdown. It supports work planning and risk management by addressing chemicals, moving plant, cutting, heat, dust, entanglement, stored energy and housekeeping hazards.

Activities & Specific Tasks Covered

This document includes task-specific risk controls for:

• Set up the work area and maintain access
• Receive and stage chemicals
• Complete plant pre-start checks
• Roll and cut fabric materials
• Carry out sewing and layer stringing
• Undertake resin and urethane casting
• Operate rubber compounding mills
• Extrude and mould press materials
• Granulate and rumble materials
• Cure and demould products
• Clean the area and handle waste
• Clear jams, perform maintenance and shut down

Who is this for?

For contractors, workers, supervisors and businesses processing textiles, rubber or composite materials.

Specific Job Steps & Hazards Covered

Legislation & References

The template includes references relevant to the documented work, including:

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (or corresponding state or territory WHS Act): ss 19, 27, 28, 47-49 — primary duty of care, officer due diligence, worker duties and consultation.
• Model Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 (as adopted in the relevant jurisdiction): rr 32-38 — management of risks to health and safety.
• Model Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011: rr 43-44 — emergency plans and personal protective equipment.
• Model Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011: rr 56-58 — noise risk management and audiometric testing; the exposure standard is LAeq,8h 85 dB(A).
• Model Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011: rr 60-61 — hazardous manual tasks.
• Model Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011: Chapter 5, Part 5.1 — plant and structures, including guarding, inspection, maintenance and control of risks.
• Model Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011: rr 147, 149, 150 and 164 — electrical risk management, isolation of unsafe equipment, inspection/testing and RCD protection in hostile environments.
• Model Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011: Chapter 7, Parts 7.1 and 7.2 — hazardous chemical registers, SDS, labelling, risk controls, exposure standards and health monitoring.
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice — identify hazards, assess where required, implement controls and review their effectiveness.
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice — textile fibres, hot rubber moulding, glues, combustible dust and hazardous chemicals require risk controls.
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice — assess noise exposure and implement engineering controls before relying on hearing protection.
• Safe Use of Reinforced Plastics Code of Practice — minimise airborne glass-fibre and resin emissions through process design and effective extraction.

---

Standard SWMS Features (Click to Expand)

• Task-specific job steps, hazards and control measures
• Initial and residual risk ratings
• Assigned responsible persons for each job step
• Plant, equipment and PPE requirements where applicable
• Permits, qualifications and high-risk construction work details where applicable
• Worker consultation, sign-off and review sections