HSE to launch inspection blitz during potato harvest season
Despite–or perhaps because of–this year’s protracted tat tie harvest, the Health and Safety Executive( H SE) is reminding farmers who grow pot atoe soft he importance of managing risks to workers during this busy spell and the subsequent grading and processing work.
The organisation’s head of agriculture, Rick Brunt, said that HSE inspectors wouldbe visiting farms across the country that grow, pick and process potatoesto ensure risks during the harvesting season were being controlled and that measures were in place to protect farmers and their workers.
The initiative comes after the latest HSE statistics show that there have been 30 deaths on farms in Great Britain over the last 12 months.
Brunt said that incidents during potato harvesting season remained a com- mon cause of serious and fatal injury, and recurring causes included entanglement with dangerous parts of machines, being struck or run over by vehicles and falls from height.
He highlighted the range of free resources available on the HSE website which offered guidance and advice for what he admitted could be a hectic time for workers.
He said that throughoutthe inspection blitz, inspectors would be checking that haulm and clod rollers were properly guarded; PTO guards were in good condition; harvester operators had been trained; that all drivers followed “Safe Stop” advice; that work equipment was adequately maintained; that moving vehicles were segregated from pedestrians; and that risks of falls from trailers and in potato stores were adequately managed.