With year-round sunshine and high temperatures, the Gold Coast is well-placed to take advantage of renewable energy systems, especially solar. Installing solar power systems in medium-density residential developments makes even more sense as an easy way of reducing residents’ carbon footprint.
RISSafety recently delivered a safe and compliant roof access system for the installation and maintenance of a photovoltaic system in Southport, Queensland. Discover how they delivered to scope and budget.
Delivering an invisible height safety system
The Smith Collective Townhouses is on the former site of the Athletes’ Village of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. It is now a community of apartments and townhouses in a vibrant setting with landscaped gardens, resident-only gyms, walking tracks and a sports oval.
Energus, an Australian commercial solar installation brand, was engaged to deliver a 180kW photovoltaic (PV) system across four buildings at The Smith Collective. The system included a large array of linked solar panels and supporting equipment such as inverters, mounting frames and wiring.
With no existing height safety systems on the rooftops, RISSafety was engaged to create a safe, compliant solution for maintenance workers. The client requested a discreet height safety system with minimal visual impact while ensuring full compliance and safe access.
The benefit of low-profile arrest systems
Visual impact of height safety systems is an important consideration in residential settings. While traditional guardrails excel at keeping workers safe at heights, they are often obtrusive. For this project in a community residential setting, the RISSafety team needed to consider aesthetics when designing the roof access and safety system.
The low-profile solution blended into the rooftops, creating less visual disturbance for residents. The discreet anchor points also had minimal impact on the surroundings. The low-profile fall-arrest systems preserved the building’s aesthetics while allowing safe installation without the need for scaffolding.
Delivering the solution
RISSafety’s engineering team designed and installed a low‑profile fall‑arrest system that provided compliance and fall protection with minimal visual impact.
Installation of the height safety systems were required before the PV system to allow safe access for installers and eliminate the need for scaffolding. This not only reduced overall project costs but also reduced the visual clutter of the site during works.
The solution included:
- Horizontal lifelines along access routes to keep workers continuously attached while moving across the roof
- Certified roof anchor points for safe, reliable lanyard or rope connections
- Fixed ladders with integrated brackets and cables for secure ground‑to‑roof access.
As part of project delivery, the team had to ensure that all access pathways remained unobstructed, and that safe and independent access to each townhouse was provided. The system’s compact installation footprint ensured that entry to homes and shared walkways were always clear.
Height safety for solar installation
By installing the corrosion-resistant height‑safety infrastructure before the PV system, RISSafety created safe rooftop access.
Fully compliant to AS/NZS 1891 and AS/NZS 5532 standards, the system provides continuous fall protection for anyone accessing the roof for cleaning, inspection, or maintenance.
We are experts in in creating safe, compliant systems for solar installation – get a quote today.
