Make sure that you are not a tragic farm accident statistic
The ‘Zero Fatalities’ programme in Denmark has been highly successful in reducing accidents and fatalities. The Teagasc Safety Officer sees interest and engagement by farmers as the really important issues. About 90% of all accidents have a human behavior element, so farm safety prevention programmes cannot succeed unless they connect with farmers.
Over the months from October to March, as part of the Teagasc-Health and Safety Authority Initiative, farmers are invited to attend half-day courses on completing and implementing the legally required Farm Safety Risk Assessment document. By completing a Risk Assessment and acting on it, farmers are reducing the risk of injury and fulfilling their legal duty and actively managing the risk on their farms.
Dates and venues should be available from local Teagasc Offices and they are usually held in every county.In some countries, there was a 48% reduction in accidents when farmers attended a half day training course and carried out a farm safety check.
The rate of fatal farm accidents per 100,000 farmers in Ireland is 60% higher than in the UK and double that of some EU countries. Over 40% of fatal accidents in the Irish work place occur on farms despite t only 6.5% of the Irish workers being engaged in agriculture. In addition there are up to 3,000 people injured on farms each year — 50% up in the past 10 years.
The Health and Safety Authority and Teagasc greatly appreciate the strong support of farm leaders in promoting farm health and safety.
European Campaign for Safe Maintenance 2010 -2011.
In October 2010 a year-long European Campaign on Safe Maintenance 2010-2011, commenced across all industries. The campaign is led by the European Agency of Safety and Health at Work who estimate that 15-20% of all accidents are connected with maintenance. Farming is a sector where maintenance is particularly important due to the wide array of vehicles, machinery, equipment, buildings and facilities involved.
Safety during Maintenance.
Accidents often occur when doing maintenance work. The European Health and Safety Agency emphasise the following five rules for safe maintenance work: 1, planning the maintenance task; 2, making the area safe; 3, using appropriate equipment, 4, sticking to the work plan and avoiding short cuts and 5, checking the maintenance work before recommencing normal work.
Teagasc has produced a booklet on ‘Safety in the Farm Workshop’ to assist farmers with machinery maintenance. This along with other Teagasc health and safety publications can be found at: www. Teagasc.ie/ health_safety/
A systematic evaluation of the mechanical safety of agricultural vehicles was conducted in the UK a few years ago which gives important pointers about maintenance of farm tractors and vehicles.
The evaluation indicated that those safety mechanical problems occur in the range from 11.6% for faulty doors to 17.8% for wear of trailer hooks and locks. Tractor braking adequacy was reported for 95.3% of tractors and handbrake function and cables were satisfactory in 88% of cases. Faulty hydraulic hoses were noted in 31% of cases. The failure rate for mechanical items increased with tractor age, and somewhat more for dairy farm tractors.
Many Irish farmers have a “banger” for doing handy jobs around the yard. These old bangers can be a great source of danger if brakes or other parts are neglected.
Farming seems a very risky occupation and unfortunately a lot of farmers don’t seem to realise it.
However, farming can be a safe, healthy and satisfying occupation if proper care is taken. Farmers are unlikely to be less safety conscious than the rest of society but obviously there are more risks working around farms than in places like shops and offices. However, with due care and attention these risks can be minimised.
Unless there are big changes, there will be about 20 fatal accidents and 2,000 to 3,000 serious accidents on farms every year.
You can make sure not to be involved.
