HSE team short-listed for prestigious award

HSE Press Release: E042:05 31 March 2005

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) project team has been short-listed in the Public Servants of the Year Awards 2005 for developing free interactive software that helps farmers carry out their own risk assessments and raises levels of health and safety awareness in the industry. HSE beat tough competition from more than 240 teams working in the public services throughout the UK to be included among the three finalists for the Creative Solutions award for better regulation.

The awards, run by Public Finance magazine in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), the Cabinet Office and the Office of Government Commerce, are the most highly recognised awards for individuals and teams in the public services throughout the UK. Backed by Prime Minister Tony Blair, the awards seek to recognise and reward the vitality, commitment and determination of teams and individuals working hard every day to make a real difference to the general public.

HSE produced the free self-assessment software for farmers 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. The software provides step-by-step practical advice to farmers and farm managers about what they need to do to protect their own and their employees' health and safety and comply with the law.

Dr Roger Nourish, Head of HSE's Agriculture and Food Sector, said: "We're delighted our team has been short-listed for this award. This is enormously rewarding for HSE, and for the project team who worked so hard to design and deliver the software on time and within budget.

"We are committed to being a good partner - working with farmers to improve health and safety. The software simplifies the process of risk assessment and is intended to help farmers apply good health and safety practices. We have had a very positive response indeed from those who trialled the software in the pilot. We hope farmers nationwide will now use it to help improve their awareness of health and safety and so reduce the risk of traumatic and costly accidents on their farms."

An independent evaluation of farmers using the pilot software found:

• 98% thought the idea useful or very useful as a means of completing a risk assessment for their individual farms;
• 96% said the software covered all or most of their farming activities;
• 95% said that they would continue to use it as an ongoing management tool for health and safety;
• 99% said that they had recommended or would recommend this software to other farmers; and
• 86% had already taken action as a result of completing the assessment.

Some comments from farmers about the software:

• "I actually enjoyed completing this assessment - it was practical and directly applicable to me and what I do each day."
• "Excellent idea, not too long winded, we are busy people, short and to the point. Also provokes more thought and practical solutions in some areas."
• "This is a positive idea, it made one think. Would I have done a full risk assessment for my farm without it? I think not."
• "Very useful. For example I printed out the action list with the benchmarks, gave one to each employee then we had a meeting together to discuss them."
• "I am not a PC expert but I found it very easy to use."
• "I would recommend this to other farmers because the whole subject of risk assessment is very daunting to many farmers so they never get into it. This is easy to use and many such farmers would get on OK with it. "

Notes to editors

1. Public Finance , the business weekly of the public sector, is an independent magazine produced by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).
2. HSE's farming software was launched in late 2004. It can be 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.

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