Solar Farm Tracker and Module Installation SWMS

For solar farm installation crews and contractors who fix tracker structures, torque tubes, drives and PV modules in large ground-mounted arrays. It follows the job from site briefing and plant movement through unloading, tracker assembly, module fixing and the handover to the electrical crew.

Powered mobile plant working among the rows and live modules mean items 14 and 10 are ticked. Tick other items that apply: a trench deeper than 1.5 metres (item 6), a fall of more than 2 metres (item 0), a road in use beside the work (item 13). Rooftop solar is covered by the Solar Panel Installation SWMS, and connecting, earthing and testing modules must be done by a licensed electrical worker.

Learn More: What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?
Have you ever been asked to provide a SWMS on a project in Queensland? Read our guide to what a Safe Work Method Statement is and when you need one.

What Is Covered In Our Solar Farm Tracker and Module Installation SWMS?

The job steps run in the order the work is done, from pre-start checks to finishing up. The hazards and controls include:

• Powered mobile plant striking workers among the rows
• Overhead power lines and underground cables
• Falling loads when unloading and lifting
• Crush injuries when fixing torque tubes and drives
• Strains from repeated module handling
• Glass cuts and broken modules
• Live modules and unlicensed connections
• Heat stress, sun and fatigue
• Snake bite and Q fever
• Storms, wind and lightning
• Noise from tools and generators
• Remote site emergency response

High Risk Construction Work

These high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are already ticked because they are part of this work. Tick any others that apply to your job:

• Is carried out on or near energised electrical installations or services
• Is carried out in an area at a workplace in which there is any movement of powered mobile plant

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and a site induction that covers snakes, heat, live modules and emergency contacts
• Electrical work, including connecting or disconnecting PV module cables and plug-in connectors, earth connections and testing, only by a worker holding an electrical work licence for it, or an apprentice performing it in their calling (Electrical Safety Act 2002 ss 18 and 55)
• Person holding the dogging licence class where loads are slung or a crane operator is directed (WHS Regulation Schedules 3 and 19); crane operators hold the licence for their crane class
• Forklift truck operators hold the forklift truck high risk work licence class (WHS Regulation Schedule 3); operators of telehandlers, utility vehicles and excavators are trained and assessed as competent for the make, model and attachments (no high risk work licence applies to earthmoving machinery or telehandlers in general; check Schedule 3 for the plant used)
• Training in hazardous manual tasks, the tracker and module supplier’s installation method, and heat illness
• Remote first aid training, including snake bite, for trained first aiders
• First aid equipment, facilities and trained first aiders (or access to them) as the work needs (WHS Regulation s 42)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Construction and Operation of Solar Farms Code of Practice 2024
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Excavation Work Code of Practice 2021 (footings, trenches and underground services)
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024 (where a crane lifts)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld): s 18 (electrical work) and s 55 (electrical work licence)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead exclusion zones (ss 10 to 13, Sch 2) and underground lines (ss 14 and 15)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (15 pages), laid out on A4 landscape pages
• Business, client, job and document details typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• The high risk construction work checklist, worded as WHS Regulation s 291, and the construction project question (s 292)
• A worker and health and safety representative consultation record
• Qualifications, plant, PPE, hazardous chemicals, safety equipment, permits, references and emergency arrangements filled in for this work
• A 5 x 5 risk matrix, and job steps with initial and residual risk scores and the people responsible
• Implementing, monitoring and review requirements, an additional controls log, revision history and a worker sign-on sheet

Review and adjust it for your site, your plant and the way your crew does the job, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. If you have any trouble downloading this SWMS, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.