A NATIONAL farm safety inspection campaign began this week, with Health and Safety Authority (HSA) inspectors to visit farms across the country.
The campaign is focusing on the safe use of tractors, machinery and other work vehicles on farms, with the HSA saying it is vital that farmers and contractors prepare for associated dangers, following 28 vehicle-related deaths over the last five years.
HSA statistics show that the majority of injuries and fatalities associated with tractors and farm machinery involve a combination of operator behaviour, poor maintenance and a lack of training, combined with the presence of children/elderly near the work activity.
In the five year period between 2020 and 2024, 28 people were killed in vehicle-related incidents on farms with twelve of those associated with tractors.
Excavators/loaders, trailers and quad bikes (ATVs) accounted for 11, and of the four child deaths in this five year period, all were associated with vehicles.
‘Our aim with this inspection campaign is to advise farmers to plan ahead for the safe use of tractors and machinery, and ensure all those working on farms have the necessary training and competence to do the job safely,’ said Ger Hartnett, senior farm safety inspector with the HSA.
‘Safe systems of work must be planned in advance. Training should take place if it hasn’t already, particularly for new operators, and any necessary maintenance or repairs, especially in relation to hitching, steering and braking systems, must be dealt with as a priority.’
Inspectors from the HSA will be checking the following during the inspection campaign: Is work activity planned in advance?; Have all drivers or operators received adequate instruction and training?; Are brakes, handbrakes and parking brakes working properly?; Are cabs, doors and steps in good condition?; Are tractor mirrors clean, not cracked and set correctly?; Do all operators of vehicles have the correct PPE (personal protective equipment)?; Is work organised to avoid the presence of young children or other vulnerable individuals such as elderly family members?
‘Serious injuries and deaths can be prevented if farmers plan their work in advance. We are asking all farmers and contractors to complete their safety risk assessment and implement the controls required,’ Hartnett added.
‘Crucially, all family members and visitors, especially young children, must be kept well away from work activity.’
For more information visit hsa.ie/farmsafety.
