HSE/EM/03. GNN140300P. 8 November 2006

Farmers warned about guarding all agriculture equipment after death of worker

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) are warning the farming community to ensure all farm equipment is properly guarded after a farmer died after getting tangled in a tractor shaft.

The warning follows the death of David Willott, 34, of Grantham on 30 November 2005 at Hillcrest EM Ltd, Church Farm, Normanton Lane, Normanton, NG13 0EN. He was using a pump driven by a tractor Power Take Off (PTO) to unblock a blocked slurry tanker. There was no Power Input Connection Guard. Mr Willott's clothing caught on the shaft and he became entangled, which resulted in the amputation of his arm and he later died from multiple injuries.

Today (Wednesday 8 November), at Melton Magistrates Court, Hillcrest EM Ltd, of Normanton Lane, Normanton, NG13 0EN, pleaded guilty to a breach of Regulation 11 (1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 for not ensuring that measures were taken to prevent access to a dangerous part of machinery. Also that under Regulation 3 (1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, that the company did not carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment. Magistrates at Melton fined the company £4,000. Costs were £2,232.

HSE Inspector Sian Tiernan said:

"This was a tragic accident which has killed a young man. Every year people are killed or seriously injured in accidents involving tractor PTOs and PTO drive shafts. Most of these accidents are preventable if the PTO and PTO drive shaft are fitted with guards of good design which are properly used and maintained."

"The people best placed to do that are farmers and their staff, working together to improve health and safety in this critical area."

Some simple points to remember are:

• Broken, damaged or badly fitting guards can be just as dangerous as no guard at all
• Protect the tractor PTO with a shield covering the top and both sides of the PTO so that it stops anyone making contact with it.
• Guard PTO drive shafts by enclosing them along their full length
• When buying a guard with a PTO drive shaft, make sure it has the CE mark on it and has a Declaration of Conformity, also check it has been made and tested to the appropriate standard and make sure it's the correct size and length
• Check all guards regularly, e.g daily when in use, for wear and damage
• Ensure no one is in danger before engaging the PTO drive
• Do not wear scarves, loose or damaged clothing which could be caught in moving parts
• Never try to clear blockages from a PTO-driven machine while it is moving. Always: disengage the power drive, stop the tractor engine, ensure the controls are in neutral and the hand brake is applied, remove the engine key, wait for all movements to cease before attempting to clear any blockage and use a tool to clear the blockage

Notes to editors

1. Hillcrest EM Ltd pleaded guilty to contravening Regulation 11 (1), that the company failed to ensure that measures were taken which were effective to prevent access to a dangerous part of machinery, namely the rotating parts of the PTO shaft and contravening Regulation 3 (1), that the company did not carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to health and safety of their employees to which they were exposed whilst operating the pump of the slurry tanker using the PTO.
2. Guidance on power take off and power take off drive shafts can be found from HSEs website at: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/as24.pdf
3. In 2004/05 across the agricultural sector as a whole in the East Midlands, two people were killed and there were a total of 144 reported injuries. In each county, these were:

County	Injuries	Deaths
Derbyshire	17	1
Leicestershire	15	0
Lincolnshire	70	1
Northants	21	0
Nottinghamshire	21	0
TOTAL	144	2

Public enquiries

HSE's InfoLine: 0845 3450055
Caerphilly Business Park, Caerphilly CF83 3GG

HSE information and news releases can be accessed on the Internet www.hse.gov.uk/