HSE launches farm self-assessment software

HSE Press Release: E001:05 - 4 January 2005

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has released a free interactive software package to help farmers carry out a risk assessment of their farms and to raise the levels of health and safety awareness in the industry.

The software is aimed at all farmers and farm managers who are responsible for health and safety. It provides a step-by-step route into learning about what farmers need to do to protect their health and safety and to comply with the law, without being overwhelmed.

Roger Nourish from HSE’s Agriculture and Food Sector said: “HSE has produced this self-assessment software to help improve the health and safety record of an industry that has one of the worst fatal accident levels. In the ten-year period from 1994/95 to 2003/04, 489 people were killed as a result of agricultural work activities and several thousand more were injured or became ill.

“This software simplifies the process of risk assessment and is intended to help farmers apply good health and safety practices. We hope farmers will find it a useful tool to help improve awareness of health and safety and so reduce the risk of costly accidents on their farms.”

Features of the self-assessment software include:

• an application which can be installed on a computer and completed off-line at leisure;
• a configuration screen that tailors the questions to those which are relevant to the farm business;
• a series of questions on key health and safety topics;
• a benchmark for each question detailing the minimum standards which should be reached to comply with legal requirements, and the reasoning behind the benchmark;
• the ability to order relevant free HSE guidance;
• a facility to add additional risks to the assessment on issues and hazards which are either not covered by the questions or which are unique to the farm;
• a facility to allow separate assessments to be produced if more than one farm or holding is managed or owned;
• printouts in the form of a prioritised list of identified actions; and
• an optional facility to submit the completed assessment to HSE.

The software can be obtained on CD-ROM from HSE Books, or downloaded from the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/assessment/. The website provides further details of the software as well as information on how to get the best use from the package, step-by-step instructions to use it and a forum where users can share good practice and obtain support.

The software will also be accessible via DEFRA's Whole Farm Appraisal, an electronic communication link between farmers and Government that will reduce form filling and red tape. The DEFRA package is currently under development and will be introduced from September 2005.

Notes to editors

1. The self-assessment software was developed with funding of £90,000 secured from the Treasury’s Invest to Save Budget (ISB).

2. The CD-ROM version of the software also contains the full suite of HSE’s free agricultural leaflets and associated guidance. 106,000 copies of the CD-ROM were included as an insert in the New Year edition of Farmers Weekly.

3. A version of the software was piloted in late 2003/early 2004. The subsequent evaluation included views from the farmers who took part and showed that the pilot was a success that should be nationally implemented. The evaluation also led to a series of recommendations and enhancements, which have been incorporated into this new version. Further details of the evaluation and results can be found on the HSE website above.

4. The software is designed for off-line use but has a facility to allow the farmer to electronically submit their completed assessment to HSE. The submit facility is entirely optional; experience from the pilot showed that a considerable number of farmers downloaded and used the software but most were reluctant to submit the assessment. HSE does not wish to deter farmers from using the software and has therefore made submission optional. If a farmer does choose to make a submission it will be assessed by HSE staff and may be discussed by phone or at a future visit.

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