Farmers are being encouraged to attend a free safety awareness
event in Herefordshire to get to grips with health and safety in
one of Britain's most dangerous industries.
The Safety and Health and Awareness Day (SHAD) which has been
organised by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), will take place
at Herefordshire College of Technology's Holme Lacy campus on
Tuesday 14 February.
Nearly 8,000 places are being made available at SHADs across the
country, with the aim of cutting the number of deaths and injuries
in future.
Ninety-five per cent of the 1,300 farmers surveyed after
attending one of last year's safety events said they would
recommend them to others. Around three-quarters also said the
events had greatly increased their understanding of the potential
causes of accidents and the actions they could take to prevent
deaths and injuries.
Fatalities in agriculture accounted for one in five workplace
deaths in 2010/11, despite there being less than 1.5 per cent of
the population working in the industry.
Practical demonstrations at the two half-day sessions at Holme
Lacy will focus on safe use and maintenance of farm vehicles and
machinery, working at height, manual handling, and safe handling of
livestock.
Harvey Wild, HSE principal inspector for agriculture in
Herefordshire and Worcestershire, said:
"Many farmers are self-employed or run small family businesses
and we want to make sure they're not putting themselves and their
livelihoods at risk.
"We'll be offering simple tips that won't cost a lot to put into
practice and could even help to boost productivity. The free events
are also an opportunity to catch up with other local farmers and
share industry knowledge.
"It's an alarming statistic that farmers are ten times more
likely than most workers to be killed while at work. I'd encourage
them to give up half a day of their time to come along to the event
at Holme Lacy."
There are still some places available for the morning session,
which starts at 8.45am. To book your place, please contact Belinda
Hall on 01905 743600 or email
formsadmin.worcester@hse.gsi.gov.uk