Electrical co fined for putting employees at risk

A Victorian electrical company has been fined $40,000 for repeatedly putting workers at risk when working at height.

New Switch Electrical Pty Ltd was sentenced in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court on 22 April after being found guilty of three charges of failing to provide or maintain a safe workplace. The business was also ordered to pay costs of $3959.

In July 2022, WorkSafe inspectors discovered two New Switch Electrical apprentices installing solar panels on the roof of a Wandana Heights home with no falls protection in place.

The court heard the inspectors were told the sole company director was aware there was no falls protection on the 2.7-metre-high roof and had left the workers onsite unsupervised, telling them to “keep doing what you’re doing”. No safe work method statement (SWMS) had been prepared for the work.

This was not the first time the company had come to the regulator’s attention. In June 2021, after a New Switch Electrical apprentice was observed installing solar panels on a house with no falls protection or SWMS in place, WorkSafe took compliance action against the company.

In the more recent case, the court heard it was reasonably practicable for the company to provide safe systems of work to ensure fall protection measures, such as guardrails, were installed before any work was carried out; to provide adequate supervision to workers to ensure they did not commence work without fall protection measures in place; and to ensure an SWMS was prepared prior to high-risk construction work commencing.

WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Narelle Beer said failing to manage the risks of working at height was a tragedy waiting to happen.

“It’s incredibly disappointing to see the very well-known strategies to reduce the risk of falls continue to be ignored, and it’s even more frustrating that this employer had previously acknowledged they understood their safety obligations,” Beer said.

“The workers involved were young apprentices with their whole working lives ahead of them and it is awful to think their futures were knowingly put at risk because of this employer’s failure.”

To prevent falls from height, employers should follow the hierarchy of controls, where number 1 provides the highest level of protection and number 5 the lowest:

1. Eliminate the risk by, where practicable, doing all or some of the work on the ground or from a solid construction.
2. Use a passive fall prevention device such as scaffolds, perimeter screens, guardrails, safety mesh or elevating work platforms.
3. Use a positioning system, such as a travel-restraint system, to ensure employees work within a safe area.
4. Use a fall arrest system, such as a harness, catch platform or safety nets, to limit the risk of injuries in the event of a fall.
5. Use a fixed or portable ladder, or implement administrative controls.

Image credit: iStock.com/wesvandinter