From Farm Research Group
October 2013
Health & Safety Update
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Welcome to Strutt & Parker’s Farm Research Group Health & Safety Update. The quarterly Health & Safety Update is designed to make you think about Health & Safety matters on your farm and/or estate. Health & Safety is a vital part of any business operation. This year’s harvest has been protracted for many, and with combining still to complete in a good number of areas everyone is still under pressure to get the harvest finished and next year’s crop in the ground. It is during these times of increased pressure, long hours and as a consequence tiredness, that accidents are more likely to occur. Therefore greater effort must be made to ensure that thorough daily checks are made on machines and that staff are checked upon on a regular basis throughout the day. For further assistance on these or any other issues please call your nearest Strutt & Parker office.
1. Reporting of Accidents Any injury at work, including minor injuries must be recorded in the 'accident book' which all employers must keep. Recording accidents helps to assess what is going wrong and take action to stop accidents in occurring in the future. All serious work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous incidents must be reported to the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) under the ‘Reporting of Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995’ (RIDDOR). In addition, any accident that requires a member of the public to be taken straight to hospital must be reported. All incidents can be reported online. Employers can phone the Incident Contact Centre, but only to report fatal and major injuries. Employers must report accidents or incidents including;
Major injuries e.g. a broken arm or ribs; Dangerous incidents, e.g. the collapse of scaffolding, people overcome by gas; Any injury that stops an employee from doing their normal work for more than seven days; Disease; Death.
Employers must record accidents or incidents including; Any reportable death, injury, occupational disease or dangerous occurrence; All occupational accidents and injuries that result in an employee being away from work or incapacitated for more than three consecutive days (not counting the day of the accident, but including any weekends or other rest days). Reporting and recording is a legal requirement. Reporting informs the enforcing authorities (HSE and local authorities) about deaths, injuries, occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences so they can identify where and how risks arise, and whether they need to be investigated. It further allows the HSE and local authorities to target their work and provide advice about how to avoid work-related deaths, injuries, ill health and accidental loss. It also helps employers identify how an individual task can be more safely carried out if it regularly results in an accident.
2. Working at Height The Work at Height Regulations 2005 applies to all work at height where there is a risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury. The regulations require that working at height is avoided wherever possible, but where essential that the appropriate equipment is selected and used. Where the risk of a fall cannot be eliminated, the use of work equipment that will enable the task to be carried out as safely as possible must be employed. When working at height, consider the following;
Properly plan and organise all work; Take account of weather conditions that could endanger health and safety; Ensure those involved are trained and competent; Ensure the place where work at height is done is safe;
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Ensure all equipment for work at height is appropriately inspected prior to use; Risks from fragile surfaces are properly controlled; Risks from falling objects are properly controlled.
Where possible always avoid working at height. Where it is essential, ensure that equipment used (particularly safety equipment such as harnesses) are inspected to meet other appropriate legislation for example Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER).
3. Shooting Employers and people who use guns have a legal duty to ensure that they take all reasonable practical measures so that no one is put at risk. This duty extends to farm staff, gamekeepers, beaters, pickers-up, guest volunteers, and members of the public. Guns are lethal weapons and should be treated with utmost care, suitable training should be given to those who have no or limited experience of using a gun and they should be accompanied by an experienced user. At the start of a shoot day the shoot captain should provide a thorough safety briefing before the days shooting begins. The briefing should include; safe shooting areas, what can and cannot be shot or shot at, what signals will start and finish a drive, that guns should be sleeved between drives, who are the first aiders, where first aid kits are kept and any other matters that are pertinent to the day. Whenever carrying a gun it should be broken and preferably unloaded so that it is obvious to others that it is safe, only load it when necessary. If a rifle is being used, the breech should be clear and the magazine only inserted when required. Ensure that the correct calibre or bore of ammunition is used at all times. Good judgement and awareness are required when shooting, ensure that you and others are not fatigued or your senses affected by alcohol. Keep your finger away from the trigger until you are sure what you are shooting at. Extra care should be taken when shooting at night. Bullets and pellets can ricochet on their way to a target so always ensure that there are not any obstacles in the line of fire. If a gun misfires take extreme care. The gun should be kept pointing in a safe direction and only opened when sufficient time has passed that no further detonation is likely to occur. Hearing protection should be worn at all times as gunshot can cause instantaneous damage to hearing.
4. Carriage of Passengers on Farm Trailers With the shooting season now underway, many farms and estates will be transporting guns, beaters and dogs around the countryside in modified farm trailers. It is important to ensure that both the trailer and the towing vehicle are in good working order; effective brakes, good tyres, working lights should be in working order, sound towing eye and hook, any securing pins must be in place. The deck of the trailer should be in good condition without any holes or rotten timbers; it should not be possible for any passengers to be able to make contact with the wheels when traveling. Traveling on a public highway with passengers may be an offence under road traffic legislation and should be checked with the police to ascertain any additional precautions that may be required. Using trailers to carry passengers should meet with the following standards as a minimum;
Passengers should be able to sit down; There should be a headboard, tailboard and sides to prevent passengers from falling; No-one should stand when the trailer is in motion; No-one should ride with their legs hanging over the sides; A safe means of access should be provided that is both rigid and able to be secured to the trailer; A responsible person should ride on the trailer to ‘control’ and help any passengers as required, the driver cannot carry out both tasks; There should be an effective method of communication between the driver and the responsible person. The driver should drive at speeds that will not jolt passengers and that is appropriate to the terrain, any sudden
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speed changes should be avoided.
5. Vibration Vibration is frequently overlooked within the agricultural industry but has the ability to cause adverse effects ranging from annoyance and discomfort, through to ill health effects such as headaches, nausea and abdominal pain. Vibration is the movement of the body back and forth around a fixed point. This may be associated with Whole Body Vibration (WBV) or Hand-Arm Vibration (HAVS). Exposure to vibration may result in a range of health effects, collectively known HAVS. Prolonged and repeated exposure to hand-arm vibration can lead to a condition known as vibration white finger (VWF). The first signs of VWF are usually temporary numbness and tingling of the fingers which often pass unnoticed. Symptoms resulting from damage to either the vascular or the neurological systems in the hands include:
Acute: tingling or pins and needles in the hands and extremities; Chronic: numbness and blanching of the fingers, swollen painful joints, reduction in manual dexterity, reduction in the sensation of touch, ulceration and gangrene in extreme cases.
If any of these symptoms are identified the individuals GP should be consulted in the first instance and reduced exposure to the vibration will be essential. Health and safety measures for WBV limits introduced in 2005 are set to become mandatory from July 2014 for farm machinery built before 2007. The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations was passed in July 2005 with the aim of protecting workers from risks to health from vibrations. Agricultural businesses have unique challenges, and consequently were given nine years to conform to the legislation. The regulations, based on a European Union directive to protect workers from risks to their health and safety from vibration, introduce action and limit values for hand-arm and whole-body vibration. Guidance issued by the HSE on whole-body vibrations, should allow most farmers to comply with the regulations. It is less of a problem in newer equipment due to improved suspension models for the cab, it is mostly equipment built before 2007 that will not meet vibration guideline levels. With agriculture needing to complete different activities at different times of the year which require long periods of time spent on machines it will be a challenge for those with older machinery to adhere to the guidelines as they currently stand. Each business is different and each activity will have a different level of vibration associated with it. Limiting time and job rotation including breaks, as well as investing in new machinery are examples of how exposure to whole-body vibration can be reduced.
6. Trees With the onset of autumn it is a good time to review the farm tree survey; trees that have died or become damaged during the previous year may need some attention to ensure that they are not a hazard; particularly where they are near any public rights of way or highways. A tree survey, which involves inspecting all trees on a property should be carried out on a regular basis. Trees that are close or next to public rights of way or highways are of particular importance; such a survey may require the expertise of a qualified aboriculturalist. Trees may be subject to statutory controls i.e. Tree Preservation Orders (TPO) and their status should be checked with the local authority before any works except emergency works are carried out. It is important to remember where your liabilities sit in relation to dangerous trees. An accident arising from a fallen tree can lead to a civil claim for damages brought by the injured party against the landowner – any claim is likely to sit with the insurers of the property. However, where a work activity is involved a separate criminal prosecution could be brought – this could happen where a property is open to paying guests.
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Every effort has been made to ensure the information provided within this document is fully accurate. However Strutt & Parker LLP accept no responsibility if recipients should act upon any of the information without seeking the appropriate professional advice.
