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July 26, 2017

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Agriculture

Farm Safety Foundation promotes safety week with hard-hitting stories

The Farm Safety Foundation has continued to promote its annual safety week in an attempt to make one of the UK’s most dangerous occupations safer.

It has released a story specifically about falls from height, showing statistics that the risk of falling from heights or being struck by a falling object account for nearly 30% of all farming fatalities – demonstrating falls must remain high on the list of farming risks to be managed.

The campaign also said transporting and stacking large hay bales has resulted in numerous injuries to and deaths of some operators of the machinery or people near the scene of operations in recent years.

Jack Fisher, a young farmer from Norwich and former student at Easton & Otley College lost his father Peter on 11 February this year when the 54 year old suffered an accident while he was unstrapping a load of straw on his lorry.

Crushed by the impact

A stack of four Heston bales collapsed off the side of the lorry while he was rolling up a strap beside them. He was crushed by the impact and died at the scene.

Fisher said: “Dad was a very experienced and heavily qualified driver who had been doing this job for many years.

“Unless you’ve lost someone close, it’s impossible to describe how this feels.”

“We were devastated to lose Dad in such a freak accident but that’s what it was – an accident and, this Farm Safety Week, we have agreed to share our story to highlight the impact an accident like this can have on the whole family.

“Friends and family have been so supportive with an attendance of nearly 500 people at his funeral and have helped raised just over £2,600 for the Farm Safety Foundation (via funeral donations) to help them continue to deliver practical training for the next generation of farmers and hopefully change this poor safety record we have in farming.

“As a family, we have to carry on and hope that someone reading this will stop and think twice before taking a risk. That would be the best legacy for Dad.”

‘It won’t happen to me’

Farm Safety Foundation’s Stephanie Berkeley said: “It is human nature to think ‘it won’t happen to me,’ but unfortunately it can, especially if we continue to take risks, whether major or minor.”

“Taking preventative, proactive measures is one of the best things we can do for our farm and workers. Most preventative practices are common sense. Tragically, most accidents are caused by simple factors such as habit, haste, fatigue, and improperly maintained machinery. This week, we hope that by hearing from families like the Fisher family about their experiences, we can persuade farmers of all ages that this week, and every week, farm safety is a lifestyle, not a slogan.”

She also said: “Any fall from height can lead to long term injuries and make it difficult to keep on farming. Most accidents of this type happen either because the work is not properly planned, the risks are not recognised, proper precautions are not taken, or the equipment used is either defective, not appropriate, or used incorrectly.

“According to Voice of the Farm research carried out this year half of all farmers claim to take risks. I am sure many believe it will ‘only take a few minutes’, and take risks in the hope that simply being very careful will be enough. But as Jack Fisher knows, it rarely is.”

Arm loss story

The organisation has also released a video featuring farmer James Chapman who lost his arm following an incident when he was just twenty-three years old.

His story has been told previously on the Health and Safety Executive website.

Follow #FarmSafetyWeek for the latest updates on the campaign.

Approaches to managing the risks associated Musculoskeletal disorders

In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, we hear from Matt Birtles, Principal Ergonomics Consultant at HSE’s Science and Research Centre, about the different approaches to managing the risks associated with Musculoskeletal disorders.

Matt, an ergonomics and human factors expert, shares his thoughts on why MSDs are important, the various prevalent rates across the UK, what you can do within your own organisation and the Risk Management process surrounding MSD’s.

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