Food Processing Knife Work SWMS
Knife work in food processing and food manufacturing including boning, portioning, filleting, trimming, and general cutting. Covers cut-resistant glove selection and daily pull-test (EN 388 minimum Level D for boning), chain mail for high-force boning operations, knife-sharpening station access and steel technique, blade guard requirements during knife transport, absolute no-knife-in-apron-pocket policy, knife-and-holder inventory and end-of-shift count, and ergonomic assessment for repetitive-cut stations.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Knife work in food processing and manufacturing environments — including boning, portioning, filleting, trimming, and general cutting — is one of the highest-incidence injury sources in the Australian food sector. Safe Work Australia injury data consistently identifies hand and forearm lacerations from cutting tools as a leading cause of lost-time injuries in meat, poultry, seafood and ready-meal production. The combination of sharp blades, repetitive high-throughput motions, wet/cold environments, and time pressure on production lines creates a workplace where a momentary lapse can result in tendon damage, partial amputation, or fatal arterial laceration.
Under the model Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the WHS Regulation 2025, a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) must manage risks to health and safety in accordance with Part 3.1 (Managing Risks to Health and Safety). While knife work in food processing does not fall within Schedule 3 High Risk Construction Work, sections 19 (primary duty of care) and 20 of the WHS Act, together with the Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice and the Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice, require documented risk assessment and control where workers handle hazardous cutting equipment and perform repetitive forceful tasks.
This SWMS provides the documented evidence required to demonstrate that knife-related risks have been identified, assessed, and controlled through a hierarchy-of-controls approach. It addresses cut-resistant PPE selection to AS/NZS 4501.1 and EN 388, chain mail requirements for boning, sharpening discipline, blade transport, knife inventory control, and ergonomic assessment for repetitive-cut workstations — and it integrates FSANZ Food Standards Chapter 3 hygiene requirements so that safety and food-safety controls are not in conflict.
Hazards identified
8 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Deep laceration, tendon and nerve severance, partial finger amputation, permanent loss of grip function
Major haemorrhage, femoral artery transection, fatality
Penetrating cut to hand despite PPE; false sense of protection leading to higher-risk technique
Carpal tunnel syndrome, lateral epicondylitis, rotator cuff injury, long-term occupational disease claims
Laceration to forearm or thumb, eye injury from metal fragments
Fall onto own blade causing penetrating chest, abdominal or thigh wound
Foreign object contamination of food product (FSANZ breach), product recall, injury to downstream worker
Reduced control of knife, higher rate of cut injuries, contributory factor in cumulative trauma disorders
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Issue cut-resistant gloves to AS/NZS 4501.1 and EN 388:2016 Level D minimum (ISO 13997 cut resistance ≥15 N) for all boning tasks; minimum Level C for general portioning and trimming. Document glove level against task in the hazard register.
- 2Conduct a documented daily pull-test and visual inspection of cut-resistant gloves before shift start; replace any glove showing wear, cuts, thinning, or contamination. Record inspection on the daily PPE check sheet.
- 3Mandate stainless-steel chain mail glove worn over the cut-resistant liner on the non-knife hand for all high-force boning, hand-pulling and aitch-bone removal operations.
- 4Enforce an absolute no-knife-in-apron-pocket policy. Knives off-line must be in a scabbard, knife holder, or magnetic strip — never on the person except in-hand or in a belt-mounted holder with retention.
- 5Require blade guards or scabbards for all knife transport between workstations, sharpening room, and storage; knives carried point-down with cutting edge away from body.
- 6Restrict access to the sharpening station to trained, authorised sharpeners only; require cut-resistant gloves and safety glasses (AS/NZS 1337.1) when using bench grinders, and document steeling technique training (steel held vertical, blade drawn away from body).
- 7Implement a knife-and-holder inventory system: numbered knives signed out at shift start, signed in at shift end, with an end-of-shift count reconciled by the supervisor before the line is released. Any unaccounted knife triggers immediate line stop and metal-detector verification of product.
- 8Conduct ergonomic assessment of all repetitive-cut workstations in accordance with the Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice — assess cutting board height (elbow height ±50 mm), knife handle ergonomics, cycle time, and rotation/job-rotation schedules. Implement micro-pause regimes and task rotation every 90–120 minutes.
- 9Maintain knives in sharp condition — a sharp knife requires less force and is statistically safer than a dull knife. Provide structured steel/sharpening intervals and remove dull knives from service immediately.
- 10Provide cut-injury first aid response: bleeding-control kits at every line, trained first aiders to HLTAID011, and a documented escalation procedure for arterial bleeding (tourniquet application, emergency services).
- 11Induct all knife users to a documented knife-handling SOP before first use; verify competency by observed practical assessment and re-verify annually or after any cut incident.
- 12Provide thermal under-gloves and scheduled warm-up breaks for workers in chilled boning rooms below 10°C in line with the Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Establishes the duty to identify hazards, assess risk, and apply the hierarchy of controls — the legal foundation for this SWMS.
Specifies selection criteria for cut-resistant gloves and protective clothing for cutting tasks.
Defines the cut-resistance Level A–F rating system; Level D minimum is industry benchmark for boning operations.
Applies to repetitive cutting motion, sustained wrist deviation, and high-force boning — requires risk assessment of postures, forces, and duration.
Covers cold-room work environments, lighting, and floor conditions in food processing facilities.
Mandates the hierarchy of controls applied throughout this SWMS.
Hygiene requirements for cutting equipment, knife sanitisation, and foreign-object control that must be integrated with safety controls.
Eye protection requirements during knife sharpening and grinding operations.
Who this is for
- →Meat processors, abattoirs, and boning rooms (red meat, poultry, smallgoods)
- →Seafood processors and filleting operations
- →Fruit, vegetable and ready-meal manufacturers with hand-cutting stations
- →Commercial kitchens, central production kitchens and catering manufacturers
- →Butcher shops and retail meat preparation areas under WHS jurisdiction
- →WHS managers, production supervisors and line leaders responsible for cut-injury prevention
What you receive
- ✓Fully editable Microsoft Word (DOCX) SWMS template tailored to food-processing knife work
- ✓State-specific legislation schedule (NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, ACT, NT) referencing the correct WHS/OHS Act and Regulation for your jurisdiction
- ✓Pre-populated hazard register with all 8 hazards, consequences, risk ratings, and aligned controls
- ✓Worker sign-on register for documented toolbox talk and SWMS acknowledgement (meets WHS Reg consultation evidence requirements)
- ✓Daily cut-resistant glove inspection and pull-test record sheet
- ✓End-of-shift knife-and-holder inventory reconciliation form
- ✓Ergonomic assessment checklist for repetitive-cut workstations aligned to the Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice
- ✓Cut-injury emergency response flowchart including arterial-bleed escalation
- ✓Free lifetime updates when WHS Regulations, AS/NZS standards, or FSANZ requirements change
Worked example
A regional poultry processor operates a boning line with 14 boners working 7.5-hour shifts in a 4°C room. After a near-miss in which a boner's knife slipped from a frozen drumstick and contacted his chain-mail glove (no injury), the WHS coordinator deployed this SWMS. She populated the site-specific fields, ran a toolbox talk, and had every boner sign the worker register. The daily glove pull-test sheet was added to the shift start-up routine, and the end-of-shift knife inventory was reconciled by the line leader before crews could leave the floor. Two weeks later, an end-of-shift count came up one knife short. The SWMS escalation procedure was triggered: the line was held, all product from that shift was diverted through the metal detector, and the missing knife was located in a bin of trim destined for rendering. No product reached customers, no FSANZ breach occurred, and the SafeWork inspector who attended a routine audit the following month accepted the SWMS, the inventory log, and the documented response as evidence the PCBU was meeting its primary duty of care under section 19 of the WHS Act.
Related legislation
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (model) — sections 19, 20, 28
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 — Part 3.1 Managing Risks; Part 3.2 General Workplace Management
- Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (VIC) and OHS Regulations 2017 — Victorian equivalents
- Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA) and WHS Regulations 2022
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 and Food Standards Code Chapter 3
- AS/NZS 4501.1:2008 — Occupational protective clothing
- AS/NZS 1337.1:2010 — Personal eye protection
- Safe Work Australia Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice
- Safe Work Australia How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice
Frequently asked questions
Is knife work in food processing classified as High Risk Construction Work (HRCW) under the WHS Regulation?
No. HRCW under Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation 2025 applies to construction work only. However, knife work is high-risk hazardous work that still requires documented risk management under Part 3.1 of the WHS Regulation, and the PCBU's primary duty of care under section 19 of the WHS Act 2011 obliges you to identify, assess and control these risks — which is exactly what this SWMS documents.
What cut-resistance level should I specify for boning gloves?
EN 388:2016 Level D (ISO 13997 cut resistance ≥15 N) is the Australian industry benchmark for boning. Level C is acceptable for lighter portioning and trimming. Always select against the specific task, document the rationale in the hazard register, and verify gloves carry both the AS/NZS 4501.1 and EN 388 markings. Level A or B gloves are not appropriate for boning.
Do I need a chain mail glove on top of the cut-resistant liner?
For high-force boning, hand-pulling, and aitch-bone removal — yes. Stainless-steel chain mail provides the puncture and severe-cut protection that fabric cut-resistant gloves cannot. The combination of an EN 388 Level D liner plus chain mail is the established control hierarchy for these operations and is reflected in this SWMS.
How often does this SWMS need to be reviewed?
Under WHS Regulation 2025, a SWMS must be reviewed when the work changes, after any incident, when a control fails, or when a worker raises a concern. As best practice for a knife-work SWMS we recommend formal review every 12 months, after any cut incident or near-miss, and whenever you change knife type, glove specification, or workstation layout.
Does this SWMS cover mechanical cutting equipment such as bandsaws, dicers and slicers?
No. This SWMS is specific to hand-knife operations. Mechanical cutting equipment requires separate SWMS covering machine guarding (AS 4024), isolation and lockout, and plant-specific risks. We publish dedicated SWMS for bandsaws, dicers, and slicers.
How does the knife inventory system protect food safety as well as worker safety?
An unaccounted knife is both a worker-safety risk (downstream injury) and a foreign-object contamination risk under FSANZ Food Standards Chapter 3. The end-of-shift reconciliation in this SWMS triggers an immediate line hold and metal-detector sweep of product if any knife is unaccounted for — protecting both workers and consumers and demonstrating due diligence to food-safety auditors.