Agriculture has the highest fatality rate of all main industry sectors, so it’s essential to manage health And safety and that everyone who works in the industry knows the risks. Large items of machinery, poor weather working conditions, and the nature of the job all make farming one of the most dangerous industries. In 2017/18, UK farming and agriculture-related activities killed 33 people. However, it isn’t only farmers who are at risk: the general public can also be at risk of farming activities, including children.
First Aid
OHS Regulation First Aid Kit are designed for treating serious injuries that can happen on a farm from machinery, livestock, slips and falls. Farming is a dangerous occupation, not just in the number of deaths but also the high rate of injuries that occur on the job. Many injuries are the result of modern farm equipment that is more powerful and specialised to handle specific tasks. To deal with these dangers, farm workers must be prepared to handle medical emergencies.
How you respond to farm-related injuries is critical. Certain conditions exist on a farm that can turn a minor injury into a life-threatening situation before professional medical treatment is available. Agricultural injuries often occur in remote locations and go undetected for long periods of time. Being prepared for medical emergencies and knowing the basics of first response can help minimise the extent of injuries.
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Manual Handling
Transporting or supporting of a load (including the lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving thereof) by hand or bodily force.’ The weight of the load, the size and shape of it, the level of grip, the way that you handle the load and how long for, can all affect safety.
There are many farming activities included in this definition, from using heavy tools and machinery to carrying crops. Manual handling is dangerous if you don’t follow correct procedures, and can lead to a range of health complications like musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
How to Reduce the Risk
In order to reduce this risk, it’s essential that everyone who works in the farming industry has manual handling training. You should know what position to adopt and which factors to consider before you begin manual handling.
Before carrying out a manual handling activity, you should assess and plan it. Consider whether manual handling can be eliminated completely, such as by using mechanised systems. If it can’t, then think of alternative ways to carry out the activity. For example, splitting a 40kg load into four 10kg loads.
Working at Height
By law, you must properly plan and supervise any work at height. Only people who are competent to work at height should do so. Falls are the second highest cause of death in agriculture, with an average of 8 people dying every year from a fall from height, and even more injured. Falls can happen from roofs, ladders, vehicles, bale stacks, on work platforms or on fork-lift trucks, and any other environment at height.
Working at height also poses a risk to public safety. If you’re working at height and something falls, it could potentially hit somebody who is close by or passing. For example, if you’re stacking bales onto a trailer, if one falls then this could kill somebody. Always ensure the area is clear when unloading and stacking.
How to Reduce the Risk
To reduce the risk, the law says that you should avoid working at height where you can. If you can’t, then you should try to prevent falls and use equipment that minimises the distance and consequences of a fall, such as a harness. You should ensure that you have received correct training before you start any work at height and feel competent to do so. Use any machinery to help you reduce the need to work at height and the risk of injury.
Lifting Equipment
Lifting operations present a number of risks. Anybody who works with equipment or who is nearby is at risk of injury if lifting procedures are unsafe. Lifting equipment covers any work equipment that’s used for lifting and lowering loads, such as materials or animals. This can include hoists, cranes, power shovels, forklift trucks, and working platforms.
Incorrect use of equipment can lead to:
- Hazards related to the loads, such as loads falling because the wrong type of sling was used.
- Hazards from moving vehicles, such as being struck by a forklift or tractor.
- Falling from lifting equipment.
- Contact with overhead electrical cables (if the lifting equipment makes contact with them).
How to Reduce the Risk
Risk assessments are essential to reduce the risk from lifting equipment. They must consider the hazards for each lifting operation, who would be harmed by this hazard, and how to reduce the hazard. Everybody who uses lifting equipment should be trained in the equipment and be confident that they know how to use it safely.
Asbestos
Many farm buildings have asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) in them, such as asbestos-cement roof sheets, cladding, and rainwater gutters. Asbestos is most hazardous when it’s friable, which means that it’s easily crumbled by hand. Many ACMs aren’t generally harmful unless they release dust or fibres into the air, where they can be inhaled or ingested. Asbestos containing ceiling tiles, floor tiles, etc. don’t release asbestos fibres unless they are damaged or disturbed. However, if a ceiling tile gets broken, for example, then that would release fibres into the air. Water damage, ageing, drilling, grinding, cutting, and sawing can break the materials down and also release the fibres.
Our bodies can’t remove asbestos fibres once they’re in our lungs or body tissue. As a result, they remain in our bodies and lead to health complications such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.
How to Reduce the Risk
Well-sealed and undamaged asbestos is usually best left alone, but it is better to remove them if they are damaged. Don’t do this yourself – asbestos is dangerous and you should always consult a specialist before you disturb any asbestos-containing materials. Everybody on the farm needs to be aware of the presence of asbestos and the possibility of unidentified ACMs.
Electricity
Contact with electricity can lead to damaged equipment, burns, serious injury, and death. In the agriculture and farming industry, many injuries are caused because of contact with overhead power lines. Farming machinery can be very tall, which makes the chance of a cable strike likely. Further hazards include poorly maintained hand-held equipment, faulty machinery and extension cables, and poorly installed equipment. These can cause fires, which can lead to a loss of buildings, equipment, and livestock, as well as death.
How to Reduce the Risk
You need to carefully plan any work near overhead power lines to prevent contact. You also need to regularly inspect all equipment, including both machinery and hand-held devices, to ensure that it’s safe to use. Never use equipment if you’re unsure whether it’s safe or not. Always unplug and isolate any appliances before cleaning them.
Livestock
One of the biggest risks in agriculture is livestock. Being trampled or attacked by an animal is common on farms, especially when an animal has young that it’s trying to protect. In August 2018, a farmer was found dead at Pinstraw Farm in Sussex. The police concluded that he had been trampled to death by his own livestock after a bull, which was born and reared on the farm, was found next to his body.
Animals present a high level of risk, even if they don’t attack. Playful bulls, cows, sheep, or pigs can kill or severely injure, and diseases from animals can be passed onto humans. Child safety on farms is at risk when it comes to livestock, as their playful and inquisitive natures make them keen to explore and play without knowing the associated dangers.
How to Reduce the Risk
It’s your responsibility to keep yourself, anybody who works for you, and the public safe from livestock. Ensure that members of the public can’t enter any yard or pen that dangerous animals occupy. You should also make sure that they don’t look after any animals without supervision and they don’t have access to any chemical or veterinary medicines.
If you have fields on your farm that have rights of way or permitted public access, then make sure:
- You don’t keep bulls of dairy breeds in fields where there are footpaths.
- You assess the temperament of all cattle in those fields. Remove any from the group that are aggressive or may be aggressive because of illness or protecting their young.
- Suitable signs are displayed to warn the public of dangers.
Additionally, you should consider whether you need to put fencing up for rights of way so that they can’t be accessed by cattle.
Lone Workers
While your farm may have lots of people working on it, there may be many times when you are working by yourself. Lone working has a number of physical hazards associated with it as well as loneliness and mental health difficulties.
How to Reduce the Risk
If you are a lone worker, then it’s essential that you consider a number of factors in order to keep yourself safe. This involves checking your own capability, individual ability and health, the risks that are present to you (such as the risks from machinery you’re using), and how you will alert someone in case of an emergency.
Our Top 10 Farm Tips To Manage Health And Safety
Use this farm safety checklist to ensure that your farm is as safe to yourself, your staff, and the public as much as possible.
- Carry out a risk assessment on your farm. Make sure you recognise who might be harmed by each hazard and then implement suitable control measures to reduce the risk of harm.
- Keep a first aid kit on hand
- Ensure that all staff are properly trained in the equipment they use, such as lifting equipment and dangerous machinery.
- Don’t allow anyone to operate tools and machinery if they are underage.
- Ensure staff have appropriate general health and safety training, such as manual handling training.
- Make sure that the public, especially children, can’t enter a yard or pen that contains dangerous animals.
- Assess the temperament of cattle in fields where there’s public access or rights of way.
- Check all electrical appliances before you use them to ensure they’re in good, safe working order.
- Get a specialist to check for asbestos on your farm and ask them what you should do about it. Never check or disturb it yourself.
- Try to reduce the need for a dangerous activity, such as working at height, as much as you can. If you can’t remove the activity then implement control measures to reduce the risk, such as a harness.
resource: https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/health-safety-on-farms/