Solar company fined $40,000 after worker falls through three-storey roof
17 Sept 2024•BlueSafe Team•Source: WorkSafe VIC
Sams Solar Pty Ltd has been fined $40,000 after a worker fell through a brittle roof during asbestos removal at a three-storey Portland warehouse. The worker suffered a fractured wrist and severe bruising.
The company pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace. It was sentenced in the Portland Magistrates' Court on Tuesday 10 September and ordered to pay a further $6,026 in costs.
Sams Solar had been contracted to remove asbestos sheeting and install a replacement roof and solar system at a self-storage warehouse in April 2023. The court heard it engaged subcontractors for the asbestos removal and supplied equipment for the job.
Workers were taken to the roof by boom lift and provided with harnesses. They connected to an anchor point with ropes instead of retractable or inertia lanyards, and moved across the roof on unsecured lengths of timber.
When one worker's harness rope became tangled, he unclipped to untangle it. The brittle roof beneath the timber he was walking on cracked, causing him to fall through. He was airlifted to hospital with a fractured wrist and severe bruising to his body.
It was reasonably practicable for the company to have the asbestos removed from below using a scissor lift. If workers were to work from the rooftop, safety mesh or a catch platform should have been installed beneath the asbestos sheets, with temporary access walkways at least 450mm wide secured to the roof.
WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Sam Jenkin said the incident had left a worker with painful injuries and could easily have been fatal. "Falls from height remain one of the biggest killers on Victorian worksites and it is frustrating to see employers continue to put workers in situations where they are at serious risk of harm," Mr Jenkin said.
"As highlighted in this case, safety harnesses come with their own hazards and should only be considered in instances where greater risk control measures cannot be used." WorkSafe's release also advised employers to use the highest possible measures within the five-level hierarchy of controls to prevent falls.
How Blue Safe can help: Our free SWMS tool can help businesses document fall hazards and planned controls for high-risk construction work, including rooftop work. Create a free SWMS