Windscreen Replacement SWMS
Automotive windscreen removal and replacement — isocyanate urethane adhesive handling, cold-knife and wire-cut removal, ADAS sensor recalibration, mobile-onsite fitment hazards.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Automotive windscreen replacement combines hazardous chemical exposure, sharp-tool manual handling, ergonomic strain and increasingly complex Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) recalibration into a single task often performed in uncontrolled mobile environments. The work involves cutting out a bonded laminated glass panel using cold knives, fibre line or oscillating wire systems, then applying isocyanate-based polyurethane urethane adhesive after priming with methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) blackout primer — both designated hazardous chemicals under the Globally Harmonised System (GHS). Under the Model WHS Regulations Chapter 4 Part 4.5 (Plant) and Chapter 7 (Hazardous Chemicals), the PCBU must identify, assess and control these risks before work commences. Because the task uses section 291 category hazardous chemicals and involves powered cutting plant, a SWMS is mandatory and must be prepared in consultation with workers under WHS Regulation 2025 section 38. The document must be accessible on site, reviewed at each pre-start, and retained for the regulator-prescribed period following any notifiable incident.
Hazards identified
7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Respiratory sensitisation, occupational asthma, dermatitis and irreversible airway hyper-reactivity with lifelong workers' compensation exposure
Central nervous system depression, mucous membrane irritation, headache, dizziness and chronic hepatic damage on repeat exposure
Deep tendon and arterial lacerations to forearms requiring surgical repair, permanent grip loss and lost-time injury
Acute lumbar disc injury, rotator cuff tears and cumulative musculoskeletal disorders meeting hazardous manual task thresholds
Penetrating eye injury, facial laceration and corneal abrasion requiring ophthalmic intervention and potential permanent vision loss
Falls causing fractures, head strikes against vehicle bodywork and adhesive cartridge contamination of fresh wounds
Autonomous emergency braking and lane-keep assist failure causing third-party road collision, product liability and PCBU prosecution exposure
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Elimination — Where vehicle damage permits chip repair under AS/NZS 2366.1, eliminate full replacement to remove adhesive, cutting and recalibration exposures entirely.
- 2Elimination — Reject jobs on vehicles parked on gradients exceeding 5 degrees or in active traffic lanes, removing fall and struck-by hazards at source.
- 3Substitution — Substitute high-VOC MEK primers with low-monomer, pre-applied glass-activator wipes that reduce free isocyanate and solvent vapour emissions.
- 4Substitution — Replace traditional cold-knife removal with cordless oscillating wire systems reducing blade-slip laceration exposure and forearm tendon load.
- 5Engineering — Use vacuum lifting cups and windscreen setting stands compliant with AS 4991 to mechanically support glass during alignment and bonding.
- 6Engineering — Provide local exhaust ventilation or position vehicle so cabin doors and bonnet are open with cross-flow ventilation during primer flash-off.
- 7Administrative — Conduct documented pre-start SWMS briefing identifying SDS locations, ADAS calibration requirements per OEM bulletin and Safe Drive-Away Time (SDAT).
- 8Administrative — Restrict isocyanate work to trained operators with health surveillance under WHS Regulation 368 and rotate manual handling tasks across the crew.
- 9PPE — Wear nitrile chemical-resistant gloves (EN 374), wrap-around safety eyewear to AS/NZS 1337.1 and long sleeves during all adhesive and cutting tasks.
- 10PPE — Use a half-face respirator with organic vapour cartridges to AS/NZS 1716 when priming inside cabins or during extended adhesive dispensing operations.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Requires labelling, SDS register, manifest where thresholds met, health monitoring for isocyanate handlers and air monitoring on reasonable request.
Sets duty to identify, assess and control polyurethane adhesive and MEK primer risks through hierarchy of controls and worker consultation.
Triggers risk assessment for windscreen lifting due to high force, awkward posture and sustained grip exceeding the Code's risk thresholds.
Prescribes minimum bonding bead geometry, primer cure time and Safe Drive-Away Time governing crashworthiness of the completed installation.
Who this is for
- →Mobile auto glass technicians servicing fleet and retail clients
- →Automotive smash repair workshop managers and supervisors
- →Insurance assessor authorised windscreen replacement contractors
- →Dealership service department glazing and ADAS calibration technicians
What you receive
- ✓Editable DOCX template — Microsoft Word compatible
- ✓State-specific WHS legislation schedule (NSW/VIC/QLD/SA/WA/TAS/NT/ACT)
- ✓Hazard register with risk ratings + hierarchy-of-control mapping
- ✓Worker sign-on register, pre-start checklist, and incident escalation flow
Worked example
A mobile windscreen technician arrives at a suburban office car park to replace a fractured laminated screen on a late-model SUV equipped with a forward-facing ADAS camera. Before opening the urethane cartridge, the technician retrieves the Windscreen Replacement SWMS from the tablet mounted in the service van and runs a pre-start brief with the apprentice assisting the lift. They walk through the hazard register: confirming the vehicle is parked on level bitumen (eliminating slope risk), positioning witches hats to create an exclusion zone, and verifying the SDS for the polyurethane adhesive and MEK primer are accessible. The control matrix directs them to don nitrile gloves, wrap-around eyewear and a half-face organic-vapour respirator before priming, because the cabin doors will be closed against light rain reducing ventilation. During wire-cut removal the apprentice's blade angle starts loading the technician's wrist awkwardly; referencing the SWMS hazardous manual task control, they pause, reposition the vacuum cups and swap sides. After bonding, the SWMS recalibration checkpoint reminds them ADAS dynamic calibration is required per the OEM bulletin before vehicle release. Both workers sign the SWMS sign-on register on the tablet, and the technician notes the cartridge batch number and Safe Drive-Away Time advised to the customer in the job record retained against the SWMS for traceability.
Related legislation
- WHS Act 2011 (model)
- WHS Regulation 2025
- Code of Practice — Hazardous Manual Tasks
Frequently asked questions
Is windscreen replacement high risk construction work?
No. Replacing glass on a vehicle in a workshop, a driveway or an office car park is not construction work, so the categories in section 291 of the WHS Regulation are not engaged and section 299 does not mandate a SWMS. The duties that do apply are real enough: Chapter 7 Part 7.1 for the isocyanate adhesive and MEK primer, the hazardous manual tasks duty for the lift, and the plant duty for cutting equipment. Fleet operators, insurers and dealership principals routinely require a SWMS-format document before authorising work on their sites, which is what this template provides.
Do technicians using urethane adhesive need health monitoring?
Yes, where they are working with the diisocyanate in the adhesive. Isocyanates are listed for health monitoring under the hazardous chemicals provisions, and the trigger is respiratory sensitisation — once a technician is sensitised, a trace exposure that never bothered anyone else can put them in hospital, and the effect does not reverse. The SWMS restricts adhesive work to trained operators, sets a half-face respirator with organic vapour cartridges to AS/NZS 1716 for priming inside cabins and extended dispensing, and pairs it with nitrile gloves and long sleeves because dermal contact contributes to sensitisation as well.
Does this cover ADAS camera recalibration?
Yes, and it treats it as a safety-critical step rather than an add-on. A forward-facing camera bonded to the new screen sits a few millimetres from where the old one did, and autonomous emergency braking and lane-keep assist will act on that error. The document carries a recalibration checkpoint that requires the manufacturer's bulletin for that vehicle to be followed — static, dynamic or both — and the result recorded before the vehicle is released. Skipping it does not fail visibly in the workshop; it fails on the road, which is why it is in the hazard register as a high priority item.
What is Safe Drive-Away Time, and does the SWMS cover it?
It is the period the urethane needs to cure before the bond can carry crash loads, and the windscreen is structural — it supports the roof in a rollover and backs the passenger airbag. The replacement procedures standard governs bead geometry, primer flash-off and cure time, and the SWMS requires the adhesive batch number and the calculated drive-away time to be recorded in the job record and advised to the customer. Temperature and humidity change that figure, so it is read off the product data for the conditions on the day rather than quoted as a habit.
Does it work for mobile jobs, and what do I actually receive?
It is written for mobile fitment as much as workshop work. That is where the site controls matter: rejecting vehicles on gradients over about five degrees or in live traffic lanes, coning an exclusion zone, and recognising that closing the doors against rain removes the cross-ventilation the primer flash-off relies on, which is exactly when the respirator becomes non-negotiable. You receive an editable Word document, purchased once, with a state legislation schedule for NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, TAS, NT and ACT, the hazard register, a pre-start checklist, a sign-on register and an incident escalation flow.