20th September 2016
The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD, has today (Tuesday 20th September) launched a new a ‘SAFE STOP’ disc-holder for tractor and farm vehicles at the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) exhibit at the National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly.
The new ‘SAFE STOP’ disc-holder can be fixed to the windscreen of any tractor or farm vehicle. It gives six, easy to follow, steps on how to stop safely and reduce the risks of serious and fatal crush injuries that occur when the driver has left the cab and the vehicle moves suddenly. It was produced by the HSA with the assistance of the Farm Safety Partnership and is aimed at anyone who regularly operates tractors on the farm or roadway.
To date in 2016 there have been 12 fatalities in the Agriculture sector. Seven of these have involved tractors and machinery, with crush injuries being prevalent.
Speaking about safety around farm vehicles, Minister Mitchell O’Connor said, “I would call on all farmers to become more aware of the many potential situations where they risk having, or causing, a fatal injury on their farms. Accidents involving tractors and farm vehicles have been the most common cause of death on farms for the last 10 years so this is clearly an area that we need to focus on. Also, many of the injuries that occur ruin the lives and livelihoods of farming families. By following the HSA ‘SAFE STOP’ procedure the risks can be reduced and we can make farms safe places in which to work and live.”
The six ‘SAFE STOP’ steps are;
- Reverse park safely
- Apply appropriate breaking system
- Put controls in neutral
- Lower all attachments
- Switch off engine
- Remove the key from the vehicle
Professor Jim Phelan, Chair of the Farm Safety Partnership, says that there are new resources regularly being made available to farmers on safety and health, “Over the last number of years the HSA and the Farm Safety Partnership have produced risk assessment tools, codes of practice, guidance, video content and run media campaigns aimed at reducing accident rates in the farming community. This new ‘SAFE STOP’ procedure can be followed at no cost and will prevent many unnecessary deaths and injuries occurring. I believe that farmers are very enthusiastic about safety but familiarity with large machinery does lead to complacency, we have to work against that and remember safety must be considered when carrying out all tasks on the farm.”
The new “SAFE STOP” disc-holder is freely available from the HSA at their exhibit at the National Ploughing Championships, stand no. 247, row 10.
According to the Health and Safety Authority another quite striking area of concern is the number and severity of accidents occurring when working at height on farm buildings.
In the last 5 year period (2011 to 2015), 9 people have lost their lives in Ireland while carrying out work at height in the agriculture sector. Many more have suffered serious injuries, some resulting in permanent life-changing disabilities.
Before carrying out any work at height around the farm involving minor repairs on sheds, on buildings or on silos, famers are encouraged to ask themselves, ‘are you competent and have you the right equipment to carry out the work safely?’
Copies of a new “Working at height in Agriculture” information sheet are available at www.hsa.ie and from the HSA exhibit at (stand no. 247, row 10).
Ends
For further information contact Mark Ryan, HSA Press Officer, 01 6147068 / 0868036141 mark_ryan@hsa.ie
Photo Editors
Photographs of launch will be available from O'Rourke Photo
Editors Notes
Further information on farm safety available at www.hsa.ie
Agriculture Fatalities
Statistics from the Health and Safety Authority show that you are [1]8 times more likely to die working on a farm in Ireland than in the general working population.
While the Agriculture sector represents approximately 6% of the working population it consistently has the highest proportion of fatal incidents of any sector generally ranging between 35% and 45% of all workplace fatalities in any given year.
Reasons for high fatality rate in Sector
- Many fatalities occur when farmers are doing jobs that are not part of their normal working day e.g. maintenance or adjustment of equipment, maintaining or working on a building.
- Financial Stress and pressure
- A culture of risk taking with the priority only on getting the job done
- Mixture of large machinery, unpredictable animals and long hours working outdoors in difficult conditions
- Rushing trying to do too much in a day
- Fatality rate is higher for self-employed workers regardless of sector as there is no outside day to day supervision
- Farm is a home as well as a workplace which places family members at risk
Practical advice for farmers
- Plan work with safety as a priority
- Be careful and have the right equipment when moving round bales as there have been a significant number of fatalities involving these bales
- Be aware how winter weather can make working on land more hazardous;
- Keep a charged mobile phone with you at all times
- Wear Hi-Viz clothing
- Wear appropriate footwear
- Take particular care when working at height which can be even more dangerous in winter
[1] The 2013 fatal accident rate in agriculture is 15.9 compared with an average of 2.1 fatalities per 100,000 workers across the general working population.
Back to Department News