Hampshire farmers urged to work safely during harvest season

Date:

12 August 2011

Release No:

COISE120811

A Hampshire farmer is encouraging other farmers to stay safe during the harvest season after an incident left one of his workers with a broken hand and off work for ten and a half weeks.

James Hewetson-Brown operates an arable farm in Overton, Basingstoke. In addition to the normal farm activities, he grows and harvests a unique product of soilless turf which is grown on a plastic membrane.

In November 2009, during one of the turf cutting runs, a worker was driving a specially designed turf harvester when an employee who was assisting got his hand and arm caught between the drive shaft and the frame while he was attempting to free a blockage after his coat and glove snagged on a protruding screw. The dangerous parts were not guarded and the drive hadn't been disengaged.

Mr Hewetson-Brown said:

"Harvests of all kinds present a busy period for farmers. Everyone is under pressure and may overlook things or take shortcuts in order to finish jobs on time. But they need to review whether their machinery is properly safeguarded and whether safe systems of work for dealing with blockages and maintenance have been agreed and properly communicated to staff. Where finances allow, farmers should look to invest in modern technology that should be designed not only to keep everyone safer but increase productivity too. But where this is not an option older machinery may need guarding replacing or improving. In addition reminding machine drivers of the importance of following "safe stop" procedures before anyone accesses any dangerous parts is very important.

"I am keen to run a safe and efficient operation and invest heavily in modern machinery and training for my staff. However, unfortunately for us, although we had recognised that the machine we used was old and in need of improvement, in the time between commissioning a new machine and it being built the accident occurred."

The new machine, now in operation, is hydraulically driven with all dangerous parts properly safeguarded.

HM Inspector of Health and Safety, Michael Baxter, said:

"This is a case of where a proper assessment of the risks of working with a bespoke piece of equipment had not been carried out. It resulted in a worker suffering unnecessary and painful injury and the well-intentioned employer being left a member of staff down and having to cover unforeseen costs. Farmers should ensure that wherever practicable dangerous parts of machinery are properly guarded and drivers of agricultural vehicles should always ensure that the drive is isolated before leaving the driving position or when anyone else approaches.

"Every year there are serious incidents, especially during harvest, where workers are carrying out operations like unblocking machines. I would urge all employers and workers using machinery to make sure they are aware of the risks associated with their equipment and pay heed to HSE's advice and guidance."

Advice on using machines safely can be found on the HSE web site (www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/hsagriculture.htm) including:

• You should be able to recognise dangerous parts and think about how to prevent injury when you do your risk assessment.
• If you provide safeguards which are inconvenient to use or which can be too easily removed, you may inadvertently encourage your employees to risk injury and break the law.
• You should have a system to check that machinery is safe to use.
• Inspect equipment regularly for deterioration. Keep records of all inspections.

Make sure you and your workers:

• use machines according to the instructions supplied with them;
• keep guards in position and effective;
• 'safety check' all equipment and put right all defects before each use;
• check that controls are clearly marked to show what they do and which machine they control, and are designed so you cannot operate them accidentally;
• are trained to work safely and are provided with and use necessary protective clothing;
• ensure guards are always in place covering dangerous parts of machinery, e.g. chain and sprockets, vee belts and pulley drives on all machines, including augers and graders;
• never wear loose clothing, remove any dangling jewellery and tie back long hair;
• take a few seconds to think before you act. Many accidents are caused by rushing to get the job done, particularly trying to make up lost time caused by spells of bad weather.

Notes to editors

1. James Hewetson-Brown and Inspector Michael Baxter are available for interview
2. Images of the old turf cutting machine are available on request.
3. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement.

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Issued on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by COI News & PR South East