Hard Strip Demolition SWMS

Hard strip demolition is the structural removal phase of a demolition program — concrete walls, suspended slabs, brickwork, structural steel and embedded services are mechanically broken down and removed in a pre-engineered sequence. The work combines jackhammers, hand-held and ride-on concrete saws, oxy-acetylene cutting, mechanical shears and rigging operations in a partially collapsed envelope where loadpaths are progressively altered. Under WHS Regulation 2025 the work is classified as High Risk Construction Work under multiple section 291 categories, including work involving the risk of a person falling more than two metres, demolition of an element that is load-bearing or otherwise related to the physical integrity of the structure, and work involving the disturbance of crystalline silica. A Safe Work Method Statement is mandatory before work commences, must be developed in consultation with workers, kept on site, reviewed when conditions change, and retained for at least two years after notifiable incidents.

Hazards identified

7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Elimination — Remove the element through mechanical machine demolition from outside the structure where reach permits, eliminating worker presence inside the collapse zone entirely.
2. 2Elimination — Isolate, lock out and physically disconnect all electrical, gas, water and communications services at the boundary prior to any hard strip activity commencing.
3. 3Substitution — Replace dry cutting and dry jackhammering with wet-cut diamond sawing and water-suppressed breakers to substitute high-silica dust generation with controlled slurry.
4. 4Substitution — Substitute oxy-acetylene cutting with hydraulic shears or cold-cut saws for structural steel removal wherever the section size and access permit.
5. 5Engineering — Follow the demolition engineer's documented sequence drawings, install temporary propping to AS 3610 and maintain exclusion zones equal to 1.5 times element height around drop zones.
6. 6Engineering — Install perimeter edge protection to AS/NZS 4994.1, scaffold-mounted catch decks, debris netting and hoarding to AS 4687 before commencing any above-ground hard strip.
7. 7Administrative — Conduct daily pre-start using this SWMS, hold a hazardous-substance toolbox before each new silica-generating task, and rotate jackhammer operators every 60 minutes to limit vibration exposure.
8. 8Administrative — Issue hot work permits valid for one shift, post a dedicated fire watch for 60 minutes after oxy cutting ceases, and verify air monitoring results before re-entry.
9. 9PPE — P2 half-face respirators for incidental dust and full-face PAPR with P3 cartridges for sustained silica tasks, fit-tested annually per AS/NZS 1715.
10. 10PPE — Impact-rated hard hats to AS/NZS 1801 Type 2, Class 5 hearing protection, cut-5 gloves, anti-vibration gloves for percussive tools, and Class H fall arrest harnesses near open edges.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

On a four-storey 1970s commercial building strip-out in a mixed-use precinct, the site supervisor opens the shift with a pre-start brief using this SWMS in front of the demolition crew gathered at the site office container. Walking through the hazards register, the supervisor confirms today's task is breaking down the level-two suspended slab edge back to the core wall. The crew identifies live hazards: an open edge after the perimeter wall came down yesterday, silica exposure from breaking the slab edge, and a residual conduit spotted during the previous shift. Controls are selected directly off the SWMS — temporary edge rail to AS/NZS 4994.1 is re-positioned before the saw starts, the wet-cut concrete saw is set up with water feed verified, and two operators are nominated for 60-minute jackhammer rotations with PAPR respirators fit-tested that morning. Each worker signs the SWMS sign-on register acknowledging they have read and understood the controls. Mid-morning the demolition engineer flags that an unexpected post-tensioned tendon has been exposed; work stops, the supervisor amends the SWMS in the field with a red-pen revision, re-briefs the crew, and all workers re-sign before cutting resumes under the revised sequence. The amended SWMS is photographed and uploaded to the project management system the same day.

Related legislation

• WHS Act 2011 (model)
• WHS Regulation 2025
• Crystalline Silica — National Strategy + CoP

Frequently asked questions