Concrete Grinding & Polishing SWMS

Concrete grinding and polishing is the grinding, honing and polishing of cured concrete floors and surfaces. It is high risk construction work under the WHS Regulation because it is carried out on or near energised electrical installations (three-phase machines and leads on wet or conductive floors), it can create a contaminated or flammable atmosphere where solvent-based coatings are removed indoors, and it involves the movement of powered mobile plant including ride-on grinders (s291), so a SWMS is mandatory (s299). The dominant hazard is respirable crystalline silica: grinding, honing and edge-grinding cured concrete generates RCS that exceeds the 0.05 mg/m3 workplace exposure standard many times over when uncontrolled — the defining health hazard of the trade. Around it sit hazardous chemicals (alkaline lithium/silicate densifiers, and solvent vapour and epoxy dust from coating and adhesive removal), the contaminated or flammable atmosphere risk when removing solvent coatings in poorly ventilated indoor areas, ride-on grinder plant-pedestrian interaction and disc kickback, electrical hazards from leads and machines, falls when edge-grinding at mezzanines and edges, and very high noise from grinders and extraction. The SWMS controls silica extraction and RPE, atmosphere and ventilation, electrical safety, plant separation and fall protection. It supports the specified finish and does not replace it. It is supplied in eight jurisdiction editions, each citing its own Act, Regulation and regulator.

Hazards identified

8 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.

1. 1Elimination — Specify a pre-finished or mechanically-abraded surface, or off-site coating removal, so on-floor dry grinding and solvent removal are avoided where possible
2. 2Substitution — Substitute water-borne densifiers and mechanical coating removal for solvent-based systems to remove the flammable-atmosphere risk
3. 3Engineering — H-class (HEPA) on-tool dust extraction on every grinder and edge tool, with shroud seals maintained, for silica control
4. 4Engineering — Forced ventilation and atmospheric monitoring when removing solvent coatings indoors, with ignition sources excluded
5. 5Engineering — RCD-protected supply and inspected leads to AS/NZS 3012, kept clear of water, and disc guards on grinders
6. 6Administrative — Silica exposure monitoring and health monitoring for silica-exposed workers, with respirator fit-testing
7. 7Administrative — Ride-on grinder traffic-management separating machines from workers, and a fall-protection plan for edge work
8. 8Administrative — SDS-based chemical handling procedure for densifiers and removal products, and noise exposure management
9. 9PPE — Fit-tested P2 (P3/PAPR for enclosed or heavy grinding) respiratory protection, plus Class 5 hearing protection
10. 10PPE — Chemical-resistant gloves, eye/face protection and fall-arrest where edge-grinding at height

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

At 7:00 am a polishing crew from Lustre Floors starts grinding a warehouse slab for a polished finish. Silica is the first control: every grinder and edge tool runs on H-class HEPA extraction with the shrouds sealed, and the crew are in fit-tested P2 respirators and on health monitoring — the supervisor notes that unshrouded grinding blows past the exposure standard many times over. Part of the job involves removing an old solvent-based coating indoors, so for that stage they switch to a mechanical strip, run forced ventilation, monitor the atmosphere and keep ignition sources out, having flagged that legacy mastic under it could contain asbestos and testing it first. The three-phase machines run on RCD-protected supply with leads inspected and kept out of the wash water. A ride-on grinder is kept separated from the hand crew by a marked path. When edge-grinding at a mezzanine, the operator is on fall-arrest. Densifiers are handled to the SDS with chemical gloves and eye protection, and everyone wears hearing protection. The floor is finished to spec with exposure controls verified throughout.

Related legislation

• WHS Act 2011 (model)
• WHS Regulation 2025
• Working with Silica and Silica Containing Products Code of Practice
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice