Challenge for many farmers

been ‘reasonably expected’ in preventing a serious injury or worse happening on your farm?

The training sessions got a litmus test here when trainers attempted to show my Romanian staff why there was a right way and wrong way to lift a box weighing less than a kilo.

And while I fully accept that many will choose to ignore some if not all the training, it started a conversation here about little things, like how high is too high for people to be lifting crates, and what can be done to modify kit to prevent accidents in the future. That’s the start of a change of culture.

It was the working at heights session that left me feeling a bit dumbfounded, though.

Given that falls are one of the biggest causes of deaths on farms, I thought it would be a useful module.

However, I came away from it more disheartened than enlightened.

As an employer, I am not allowed to have somebody working on a ladder.

In order for them to have ‘three points of contact at all times’ (basically two hands and feet always on the ladder), you can’t send an employee up a ladder to change as little as a light bulb.

Controls

And the option that many farming operations rely on — the steel box mounted on the front of the loader — won’t do either.

The law says that the person up in the air must be able to control their own movements. So now we’re talking about a cherry-picker with remote controls.

Not only that, but the operator has to prove that they were trained by a certified trainer, the machine has to be tested by a certified inspector every six months AND the operator has to be trained in wearing a harness.

This in turn has to be certified and inspected every six months... all to change a bloody light bulb!

This is why I feel that safety may become one of the biggest cost challenges ahead for farms to overcome.

The Health and Safety Authority has a big push on farm inspections planned for the coming year.

Both they and farmers have a difficult road ahead.