Completing and implementing farm-safety documents

HEALTH and Safety, like any other aspect of farm management, needs continuous assessment and active management for the benefit of all who live and work on the farm.

The Safety, Health & Welfare at Work Act 2005 places a legal duty on all farmers to prepare and implement a safety statement. However, farmers with three or fewer employees may instead follow the Farm Safety Code of Practice and complete the Risk Assessment Document.

The safety statement or risk-assessment document provides the farmer with knowledge of all farm health and safety issues, and allows them to advise all who work on the farm of the hazards identified and the controls in place to prevent accidents.

In the preparation of a safety statement or risk assessment for your farm, a commitment must be made to manage health and safety. These documents, when completed, are useless unless their findings are acted upon.

Identify key farm hazards known to pose a health-and-safety risk, and put measures in place to prevent a re-occurrence.

As we approach winter, the majority of a farmers’ time will be spent in the farmyard, so walk around the farm and examine all aspects from a health-and-safety point of view. Assess where control measures are inadequate, answer X on the risk-assessment document and then list suitable control measures on the action list.

Some hazards cannot be eliminated, so the next best option is to reduce the danger as much as possible; examples include improving cattle-handling facilities, using contractors to spread slurry and fencing off dangerous sections of land near cliffs. If you can eliminate a hazard, do so. Examples include use of artificial insemination instead of a bull, or demolishing an unstable old farm building. Farmers know their farms inside out but may not spot a danger until they complete a safety statement/ risk-assessment document, or if a neighbour points it out to them. What might seem safe could be very dangerous when assessed properly.

It is vital to ensure that your family members, employees, contractors and so on read and understand the contents of your safety statement or risk assessment. Put up hazard signs where relevant and make sure that everyone who works on your farm knows and accepts their role regarding health and safety. On the first page of the risk-assessment document, emergency telephone numbers should be included. These could also be added to the contacts list on your mobile phone for convenience.

Most farm holdings have been issued an Eircode which, if given to the emergency services, will provide them with your exact location. We all know how frustrating it can be giving road directions especially in a night-time emergency.

Farm structures, yards and equipment may change, legislation and standards may change, so it is important to review and update your safety statement or risk-assessment document and also to check that your current safety measures are working effectively. Your safety documents can be inspected at any time by a HSA Inspector.

At the end of the day, it is the farmer who has ultimate responsibility for ensuring that health and safety controls are implemented and maintained, and this is done through completion of a comprehensive safety statement or a farm risk assessment document, as the case may be.