The agricultural industry has a higher incident of injury and fatalities than any other employment sector in Ireland.
Despite publicity and awareness campaigns, the incidents of farm accidents are not decreasing. In fact, the Health and Safety Authority state that farmers only implement safety procedures AFTER they have had a serious accident.
It is time to take action and to reduce these distressing statistics and clearly the responsibility and the motivation for such action lies with farmers themselves.
Risk Assessment:
For all farming families, it is wise to make a risk assessment of the hazards and areas which might cause problems on your farm. This is just common sense. A risk assessment is a pretty fancy name for making a list of all the awful things that you think could happen. It’s not a nice job, as no one wants to even contemplate the horror of a farm accident at their own door. But, it could mean averting potential tragedy for you and for your loved ones. The website http://www.farmsafety4kids.net/ offers a useful checklist for families and an easy to follow risk assessment questionnaire for you to fill in relation to children and farm dangers.
The Health and Safety Authority offer a general farm risk assessment form paying particular attention to livestock or grain farming. http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Your_Industry/Agriculture_Forestry/Overview/Online_Risk_Assessment_FAQs/.
Once you have identified the problem areas, you can tackle them with a view to reducing and eliminating the chance of accidents.
Machinery:
Over a quarter of farm accidents involve machinery and a whopping 67% of those accidents involve crushing or rolling. In this day and age, all of these accidents are absolutely preventable.
Take no chances with heavy machinery.
The temptation to bring the kids in the tractor cab must be avoided.
Remember that children never travel without a seat belt in the car, so there is no excuse for a gaggle of children bouncing around inside a tractor cab.
No fitted seat and no fitted belt means no travelling in the tractor.
Familiarity brings contempt, but be warned that a third of all child fatalities on farms involved tractors.
Don’t be a statistic:
Take no chances in your work place.
Make it safe for yourself and for others.
Cover or fence off all water sources and drainage areas, such as slurry pits, wells etc.
Consider the dangers around animals, particularly rams and bulls.
All harmful substances such as chemicals, pesticides and veterinary medicines should be locked away out of reach of the inquisitive hands of the younger generation.
Take no chances with your own life.
Falling from Heights is a common cause of injury and death on farms.
Ensure that your ladders are in good order and don’t attempt risky tasks without the backup of another person.
The well being of the farming sector is as important as any other industry in Ireland.
So have a strong word with the boss about safety in the workplace. If you are that boss, then pay particular attention and treat yourself as you would any valued family member. Your family cannot manage without you so make safety on the farm a priority and let’s make those statistics reflect a positive change for farmers in 2017
To hear some moving survivor stories from Irish farm accidents visit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVnccHZ6a-xwlFVM_OK8Q8g
