HSE must scrutinise our ‘can do’ attitude

Well, it might seem an odd thing, but there’s been a bit of a stooshie in the industry about proposals to cut some farm inspections.

Now it’s a well-accepted thing the farming industry seems to be over-burdened by the number of inspections which it has foisted upon it, with a whole range of agencies often checking up on pretty much the same thing.

And the penalties and levels of disruption which can go hand-in-hand with these sometimes arbitrary checks has often been criticised for creating a culture of fear which has done little for farmers’ stress levels or indeed overall mental health.

But serious concerns have been raised over the apparent decision taken by the HSE to step back from carrying out the sort of routine farm safety inspections they’ve been doing for years – with the industry-led organisation which promotes farm safety expressing fears that such a move will pose significant risks to the health and safety of everyone in the sector.

It’s been reported the HSE recently told the Farm Safety Partnership (FSP) – the umbrella organisation backed by the leading farming bodies – it would no longer be running compliance inspections once the season finishes this spring.

Chairman of the FSP, English NFU deputy president David Exwood, stated the lack of public awareness surrounding this decision raises serious questions about the HSE’s prioritisation of safety in farming.

He said: “The lack of all regular inspections, training and events leaves a notable gap in proactive and preventative safety measures that could prevent accidents and save lives.”

He added it was a longstanding source of shame that agriculture had consistently recorded the highest rates of fatalities and serious injuries in any workplace – and to help bring this number down the whole sector had to work on changing its safety culture.

“This decision by HSE completely goes against that goal,” he stated.

The HSE said that despite intense efforts over several decades, there had been little sign of a significant drop in the fatality rate for agriculture. While the overall numbers of fatal injuries had fallen somewhat, the organisation said much of this could be attributed to a reduction in the numbers working in the industry since the 1980s rather than any marked change in thinking.

I guess this year has exemplified the fact that those working in the industry are often pushed to the limit to get jobs done in all-too-brief spells of decent weather, a fact that can lead to tired workers cutting corners – which they know perfectly well that they shouldn’t – simply to get a job finished. I remember a conversation with an HSE boss a number of years ago which summed things up quite nicely when he told me farmers had a “can-do” attitude which often bordered on recklessness.

But while it might not have been an over-riding consideration, I suspect even the slim chance of an HSE inspection might have prompted some of us to think twice about this overzealous “can do” attitude and maybe encouraged us to ensure machinery safety was at least a bit closer to being up to scratch or the occasional slippage into risky behaviour and practices didn’t become the norm.

I doubt very much if taking away the possibility of a surprise inspection will do anything to encourage the industry to focus on changing its mindset – and with farming’s injury rate running at 21-times the all-industry average, we need all the incentives we can get.

SAFETY FIRST: Farming machinery is dangerous and possibly fatal unless users stick to best practice in the field.