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Solar · Australia

SWMS for solar battery installation

By SiteSortedBuilt from Safe Work Australia and state regulator guidance · How we write and check theseUpdated

Yes. Solar battery installation usually includes high risk construction work (work on or near energised electrical installations or services), so a SWMS is required by law before work starts.

It must list the hazards, the controls and how they will be put in place, monitored and reviewed, and the workers must be consulted and sign before starting. The main hazards are electric shock from live wiring, lifting and carrying heavy loads, fire and emergencies and stored energy.

Make this SWMS nowWord templatePDF

SWMS example: solar battery installation

This is a complete SWMS for solar battery installation, with 5 job steps. Open it in the builder to add your site, crew and signatures, change anything, and download a PDF. Or download the free Word template below and fill it in by hand.

Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
Home battery installation · Solar · Example
Document SWMS-001 · Rev 1

High risk construction work covered

Work on or near energised electrical installations or services

Job steps, hazards and controls

#Job stepHazardsRisk beforeControlsRisk after
1Check the location meets clearance and fire rules
  • Fire and emergencies
High
  • Provide fire extinguishers suited to the site, checked and easy to reach. Engineering
  • Keep exits and escape routes clear and signed. Engineering
  • Have a site emergency plan: alarm, exits, assembly point and emergency contacts. Administrative
  • Keep a stocked first aid kit and at least one trained first aider on site. Administrative
  • Know the site address and how emergency services get in. Call 000. Administrative
  • Go through the emergency plan with every worker and visitor at induction. Administrative
  • Keep flammable materials and rubbish away from exits and escape routes. Administrative
Medium
2Move and mount the battery with lifting aids, it is very heavy
  • Lifting and carrying heavy loads
High
  • Plan to avoid carrying: have materials delivered, and old items picked up, as close as possible to where they are used. Eliminate
  • Use lighter or smaller loads: order smaller bags and shorter lengths, and drain or break down old items before moving them. Substitute
  • Use trolleys, pallet jacks, hoists, vacuum lifters or plant instead of carrying by hand. Engineering
  • Use a two-person lift for anything heavy, long or awkward. Plan the route first and clear it. Administrative
  • Keep the load close, back straight and no twisting. Turn with your feet. Administrative
  • Rotate tasks and take breaks on long lifting jobs. Administrative
  • Wear gloves for grip and safety boots to protect your feet. PPE
Medium
3Isolate all sources, lock out and danger tag and prove dead
  • Electric shock from live wiring
  • Stored energy
Extreme
  • Isolate the power before any work. Do not do live work except in the limited cases the WHS Regulations allow (r.157; in Qld, the Electrical Safety Regulation 2013). Eliminate
  • Lock out and tag the isolation point with your own personal lock and danger tag. Isolate
  • Test before you touch: prove dead at the point of work with a voltage tester, proving the tester on a known live source before and after (AS/NZS 4836). Engineering
  • Only licensed electricians do electrical work. Administrative
  • Check for back feeds from solar, batteries and generators that can keep a circuit live after the main switch is off. Administrative
  • If live work cannot be avoided, use a permit, a safety observer and insulated tools. Administrative
  • Wear insulated gloves, arc-rated clothing and a face shield when testing or working near live parts. PPE
  • Release or block all stored energy before work: release the pressure in pipes, tanks and hoses, bleed hydraulics, release springs, lower loads. Eliminate
  • Lock out and tag all energy sources with personal locks. Isolate
  • Put mechanical blocks or props under raised parts like buckets, tipper bodies and doors. Engineering
  • Test that the system is dead and nothing can move before you start. Administrative
  • Follow the maker's procedure, for example for garage door and roller door springs. Administrative
  • Wear safety glasses and gloves. PPE
Medium
4Connect battery and inverter, treating battery terminals as always live
  • Electric shock from live wiring
  • Stored energy
Extreme
  • Electric shock from live wiring: see step 3 for the full controls Administrative
  • Stored energy: see step 3 for the full controls Administrative
Medium
5Commission, label and clean up
  • Poor housekeeping and waste
Medium
  • Order materials to size and send packaging back where you can. Eliminate
  • Put skip bins and waste chutes close to the work. Engineering
  • Clean as you go, and do a full clean up at the end of each day. Administrative
  • Keep exits, stairs and walkways clear at all times. Administrative
  • Stack materials neatly on level ground, away from edges. Administrative
  • Wear gloves when handling waste. PPE
Low

PPE

Steel cap bootsInsulated electrical glovesSafety glassesArc-rated clothing and face shieldWork gloves

Plant and equipment

Power drillElectrical test equipmentHand tools

Permits and plans

Electrical isolation permit

Emergency

Call 000. Add the nearest hospital, the assembly point and the first aider for your site.

Sign-off

Supervisor and every worker sign to confirm they have read and understood this SWMS.

Free SWMS template for solar battery installation

Word (.docx) and PDF, A4 landscape, no email needed. Fill in your site details, then print or send it.

Word template (.docx)PDF template

Make yours in 2 minutes

Same document, filled in for your job. Answer a few yes or no questions, the crew signs on the phone, and you send the PDF.

Start this SWMS

Pre-start checklist for solar battery installation

Tick these off before work starts. They come from the hazards, permits and equipment in this job.

The safe sequence of work

  1. Check the location meets clearance and fire rules
  2. Move and mount the battery with lifting aids, it is very heavy
  3. Isolate all sources, lock out and danger tag and prove dead
  4. Connect battery and inverter, treating battery terminals as always live
  5. Commission, label and clean up

Hazards to watch on solar battery installation

The hazards most specific to this job, and the step where each one comes up.

Step 1Fire and emergenciesA fire, injury or other emergency happens and workers cannot get out, raise the alarm or get first aid in time.
Step 3, 4Stored energyEnergy left in springs, hydraulics, compressed gas, raised loads or capacitors releases suddenly and crushes or injures workers.
Step 3, 4Electric shock from live wiringContact with live wires, switchboards or equipment gives an electric shock or arc flash burn that can kill.
Step 2Lifting and carrying heavy loadsLifting, carrying, pushing or twisting with heavy or awkward loads strains the back, shoulders or knees.
Step 5Poor housekeeping and wasteRubbish, offcuts and materials left lying around cause trips, cuts and fires, and block exits.
Almost certainLikelyPossibleUnlikelyRareHow bad it could be: Insignificant to CatastrophicBA
Highest risk on solar battery installation: Extreme before controls (B), down to Medium after controls (A), on the Australia 5 by 5 risk matrix (possible and catastrophic becomes unlikely and moderate).

What changes on your site

This example covers the job itself. Your site may add more. Add controls for any of these that apply (the builder asks you these as yes or no questions):

  • Will anyone work more than 2 metres off the ground?
  • Will anyone use a ladder or stepladder?
  • Will anyone work on a roof?
  • Is there a skylight, clear sheet, fibro or other fragile roofing?
  • Will you use a scaffold or mobile tower?

Licences and legal requirements in Australia

This task can involve these high risk construction work categories under the WHS Regulations:

  • Work on or near energised electrical installations or services

A SWMS must be prepared before any high risk construction work starts. It must list the high risk work, the hazards and risks, the control measures, and how those controls will be put in place, monitored and reviewed. It must be easy for the workers to read and understand.

Rules that apply: WHS Regulation 2011, regulation 43 (emergency plans); WHS Regulation 2011, Part 4.2 Hazardous manual tasks; WHS Regulation 2011, Part 4.7 General electrical safety.

Each state has its own regulator and some extra rules: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Australian Capital Territory.

Why SWMS get rejected

Principal contractors send documents back for these reasons. This example avoids them, but check yours too.

  • It is generic: another site address, tasks that are not on this job, or no sign it was reviewed for this site. WorkSafe WA says a generic SWMS may not meet the regulations unless it is reviewed and amended for the workplace.
  • The HRCW boxes are not ticked, or the ticks do not match the tasks (for example a roof job with no falls box ticked).
  • Falls are controlled only by "be careful", training or a harness, with no edge protection or scaffold and no reason why higher controls are not reasonably practicable.
  • Workers will clip on to a harness but there is no rescue plan for someone left hanging.
  • The "how controls are implemented, monitored and reviewed" part is missing, or it says the same thing on every row.
  • No worker sign-on, no person responsible for compliance, or a date given to the principal contractor that is before they actually received it.
  • Licence or White Card details are missing for workers operating plant or doing licensed high risk work.

Questions

Do I need a SWMS for solar battery installation?

Yes. Solar battery installation usually includes high risk construction work (work on or near energised electrical installations or services), so a SWMS is required by law before work starts.

Who signs the SWMS?

The person conducting the business (PCBU) or their supervisor prepares it with the workers, and every worker doing the high risk work signs to show they were consulted and understand it. Give a copy to the principal contractor before work starts.

How long do I keep it?

Keep this SWMS, and every revised version, until the high risk construction work is finished, where workers and inspectors can see it on site. If a notifiable incident happens during the work, keep it for at least 2 years after the incident.

What PPE is needed for solar battery installation?

Usually Steel cap boots, Insulated electrical gloves, Safety glasses, Arc-rated clothing and face shield, Work gloves. The site rules may add more, so check with the principal contractor.

More solar SWMS

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Toolbox talks for this job

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Blank SWMS template: free SWMS templates. Also for other countries: United Kingdom (RAMS) · United States (JHA) · Canada (FLHA)

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