AI Solar and Electrical Service Pty Ltd fined $35,000 for failing to provide safe working environment in Leopold

A solar installer must pay almost $40,000 after its workers were caught on a two-storey roof in Leopold without fall protection.

A solar company has been fined.

A solar company must pay almost $40,000 after its workers were caught on a two-storey roof in Leopold without fall protection.

AI Solar and Electrical Service Pty Ltd was convicted in the Geelong Magistrates Court on November 20, after pleading guilty to two charges of failing to maintain a safe workplace.

The company, based in Mount Waverley, was fined $35,000 and was also ordered to pay costs of $4678.

In late 2021, a WorkSafe inspector spotted two workers on the roof, about 5.5m from the ground, with no guard railing installed in late.

Only one of the workers was tethered to the roof with a loose lanyard.

To gain access to the roof, workers had climbed a ladder to a single-storey carport and then another from the carport roof up onto the home.

There was no lifting equipment to help haul the solar panels up.

WorkSafe’s inquiries revealed that guard railing was available on site, which had been highlighted in a safe work method statement (SWMS) – along with harnesses – as a measure to control the risk of a fall.

Neither the harnesses nor guard rails were being used.

The court heard it was reasonably practicable for the company to reduce the risk of a fall by using passive fall prevention or a work positioning system, such as guard railing or a travel restraint system, and to perform work in accordance with the SWMS.

WorkSafe’s executive director of health and safety Narelle Beer said employers had a responsibility to ensure they had SWMS for working at height and that they were followed.

“This year alone, 369 Victorian construction workers have been seriously injured falling from heights, with many left suffering life-altering injuries,” Dr Beer said.

“We know how to prevent falls, and we know the devastating cost of not preventing them, so it beggars belief that anyone would ignore safety when working at heights.”

AI Solar and Electrical Service Pty Ltd was fined $26,000 in 2021 for failing to adhere to safety protocols during an install in Drumcondra.

At the time, the court heard that a ­concerned member of the ­public made a report to WorkSafe when they saw two ­workers on a two-storey roof without fall protection in ­February 2019.

Originally published as AI Solar and Electrical Service Pty Ltd fined $35,000 for failing to provide safe working environment in Leopold