Farm safety app aims to cut down on accidents
A PHD student from Limavady has designed an app to cut down on accidents on the farm.
Carolyn Scott came up with the idea because her grandfather Jim was accidentally poisoned in the 1970s. He was using a potato sprayer when it burst, covering him in chemicals. Although he survived after being in hospital for several weeks, he had ongoing lung problems until he passed away.
“This is one of the reasons I wanted to develop this Farm Safety app,” she said. “I’m passionate about helping to cut down on accidents on the farm.”
Carolyn outlined how the app is designed to give advice, for instance about children on the farm and the risk of slurry.
“You’ll get a wee notification through to your phone and it’ll be a reminder and it’s all just to try to reduce farm accidents,” she explained.
Carolyn lives just outside Limavady and grew up on a sheep farm.
“There are children on farms, they live on farms and they are assigned small tasks on the farm – you don’t get that in other industries,” she said.
“Farmers also often work alone, they are working long hours with machinery and with animals, and these bring their own hazards.”
Carolyn said this meant a ‘bespoke approach’ to farming was needed which has not been explored in other industries. She said the app she is developing focuses on safety and trying to reduce farm accidents. It will also tackle the health and wellbeing of farmers.
Mary Hunter from the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) welcomed the initiative.
“It’s a huge concern in fact farm accidents happen because of hazards on the farm and these accidents can occur for example with tractors, machinery, falls, animals, electrocution, toxic gases,” she said.
“Anything that can avoid accidents on the farm would be extremely welcome indeed.”