Wednesday 10 July 2013

Rural Health and Safety

Having attended one of our regular Health and Safety audits, the dangers of working in the countryside and the responsibilities of farmers, contractors, landowners and land agents were once again brought home to me.

Agriculture is one of the most dangerous industries in which to work – there were 34 fatalities on farms last year representing an annual death rate of 9.9 per 100,000 workers. This compares to 50 people killed in the construction industry representing a death rate of 2.3 per 100,000 workers and an overall average rate of 0.6 per 100,000 workers across all forms of employment.

There are a number of reasons for this huge disparity but I would suggest some of the most obvious are that farmers often work alone, the costs involved in dealing with health and safety matters are often high and farmers have a “have a go” attitude to almost everything they encounter. As a result of this combination of factors farmers and farm workers will often do things which would simply not be allowed in a factory or on a building site for example.

The most common cause of problems is working at height where falling from ladders or through roofs are the most common issues to consider but accidents with machinery are also very common.

I work in a variety situations and see the difference in approach taken on health and safety measures in the rail industry and construction industries for example as compared to those often seen on farms. As a result it is no surprise that there are so many more deaths and serious injuries in the agricultural industry as compared to the rail or construction industries.

The construction industry used to have a similarly poor record to agriculture but in recent years there have been significant improvements. This was exemplified by the fact there was not a single fatality during the construction of the whole of the Olympic Park in London. However, on smaller scale building and refurbishment works there are still too many incidents and many of these will be found on farms.

The devastation that death or serious injury can bring to the individuals and families involved is terrible to see. In the twenty or so years I have worked in the farming industry in this area I have known a number of people affected by such incidents. This brings home the fact that however much hassle it may be to carry out a risk assessment and implement a safe system of work, whether that be for clearing gutters or replacing a tile on the roof, farmers and all those involved in carrying out work on a farm need to take the issue of health and safety more seriously.

Accidents will always happen but with a bit more thought many of these could be prevented and the agricultural industry needs to give it more than lip service, directing real energy and resources towards it.


James Stephen MRICS FAAV
Partner
Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor, Wells

T: 01749 683381
E: james.stephen@carterjonas.co.uk

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