Printing Web Threading & Splicing SWMS

Web threading and splicing on offset and flexographic printing presses is one of the highest-risk routine tasks in the commercial printing sector. Operators must feed paper, film or foil substrates through multiple in-running nip points, rotating idler rollers, dryers and chill drums — often at inch or crawl speeds with guards opened or interlocks bypassed. Splicing introduces additional hazards from sharp knives, double-sided tape application near rotating plant, and the potential for sudden web tension release. Under WHS Regulation 2025, this work constitutes plant interaction with rotating machinery and entanglement risk, both of which require a documented Safe Work Method Statement before work commences. The PCBU must ensure the SWMS is developed in consultation with operators, reviewed at each shift handover, and kept available at the press for the duration of the activity. This SWMS aligns threading and splicing tasks with AS 4024 machinery safety requirements and the Plant Code of Practice.

Hazards identified

7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Elimination — Where press design allows, use automatic web-up systems or rope-threading devices so operators never place hands between rotating cylinders during the threading sequence.
2. 2Elimination — Schedule all splice preparation (tape application, tail squaring) on a dedicated offline splice table rather than at the running unwind stand.
3. 3Substitution — Replace open utility knives with self-retracting safety blade cutters compliant with AS/NZS ISO 12100 risk reduction principles for splice trimming tasks.
4. 4Substitution — Use water-based or low-VOC wash solvents in place of high-aromatic hydrocarbons to reduce inhalation and dermal exposure during threading near inkers.
5. 5Engineering — Fit fixed and interlocked movable guards on all nip points to AS 4024.1601, ensuring inch-mode is only available with two-hand control held continuously.
6. 6Engineering — Install emergency-stop pull-wires the full length of each press unit and verify monthly that activation drops power within the AS 4024.1502 stopping-time requirement.
7. 7Administrative — Apply lock-out tag-out per AS 4024.1603 before any threading task requiring guard removal; each operator applies a personal lock on the main isolator.
8. 8Administrative — Conduct a documented pre-start brief using this SWMS, confirm crew sign-on, and verify inch-speed limits are set before energising the press drive.
9. 9PPE — Wear close-fitting cotton coveralls without loose cuffs, tie back long hair, remove rings/watches, and use cut-5 rated gloves only during knife handling — never near rotating rollers.
10. 10PPE — Use safety glasses to AS/NZS 1337.1 and half-face respirator with A1 organic vapour cartridges when threading adjacent to active inker or solvent wash-up units.

Applicable Codes of Practice

Worked example

At a regional packaging plant, a flexographic press crew is preparing for a 6:00 am shift changeover requiring a full web-up of a 1.2-metre BOPP film through eight print stations and a hot-air dryer. The lead operator opens this SWMS at the press-side document station during the pre-start brief and walks the two assisting operators through the hazard register. The crew identifies that today's job requires threading past an inker that was washed up with solvent thirty minutes prior, so the SWMS prompts them to add A1 cartridge respirators to the standard PPE selection. The lead operator applies a personal lockout to the main isolator and each crew member adds their own lock before any nip guard is opened. Inch-mode is set to the SWMS-specified maximum of 5 metres per minute using the two-hand control. Mid-task, a substrate tail tears and requires re-splicing — the operator stops the press, moves the splice preparation to the offline table as the SWMS controls require, uses a self-retracting safety knife for the square cut, and only re-energises the drive once all crew confirm hands-clear. Each operator signs the SWMS register, and the document is filed against the job number for the two-year retention period.

Related legislation

• WHS Act 2011 (model)
• WHS Regulation 2025
• AS 2550 — Cranes, hoists and winches; AS 1418 series

Frequently asked questions