After exposing two young apprentices to the risk of falling from a height of almost six metres, HQ Solar and Electrical Pty Ltd have been fined just $8,000 with no conviction recorded.
In April 2024 WorkSafe inspectors observed people working on the roof of a two-storey home installing solar panels. Upon direction to come down safety from the roof, the director of HQ Solar and Electrical came down with two first year apprentices.
The Inspectors noted that no guard rails had been erected on the roof where the work was being performed. A ladder had been set up from the backyard to the first-floor roof, and then another ladder had been set up on from the first roof to the second-floor roof. Both ladders were strapped off to the roof and extended approximately 900mm above the landings.
A Safe Work Method Statement had been ‘prepared’, but it appeared to have been used multiple times as previous job addresses had been covered with correction fluid and the sign-off section was dated October 2023.
It was also noted that although a harness and rope kit was on site in the back yard it was not being used.
The Inspectors issued a Prohibition Notice requiring fall protection to be installed before the panel installation work could continue. Less than four hours later the HQ Solar and Electrical director contacted the Inspectors to inform them that they were ready for an inspection to remove the Prohibition Notice.
An Inspector attended the site the following day and confirmed that guard railing and harness sliding anchor points had been installed on the second-storey roof.
HQ Solar and Electrical were aware of their requirement to provide a safe system of work for work at heights, having previously been visited by WorkSafe at three different worksites in 2021, 2022 and April 2024.
Employers have easy access to information and resources about managing the risks associated with working at heights, including via WorkSafe’s many publications including Working Safely At Heights During Solar Installations and their pages on Fall prevention | WorkSafe Victoria
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