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Serious injury and death from electrocution, crush injury, fire and explosion is occurring in farm workshops.
Twenty percent (20%) of farm injury presenting to hospital Emergency Departments is caused by farm maintenance work. More than 30% of these are eye and hand injuries. Whilst these injuries are generally not life threatening, they result in significant downtime, workers compensation claims and reduced farm productivity. The following checklist can be used to help you identify and manage some workshop hazards and safety risks on your farm.
Guarding
Replacing and maintaining guards on workshop equipment, particularly bench grinders, is
one way that farmers can reduce the risk of eye and hand injury to people working in farm
workshops.
- Replace bench grinder guards and broken/ pitted spark deflector shields
- Check and replace all power tool guards. Keep them well maintained
- Guard the air compressor belts and pulleys
- Wear eye protection when grinding and using cutting power tools
Safeguarding electrical equipment
Workshop electrocution is caused by faulty wiring, electrical installation, damaged power
leads and water in the workshop.
- Fit a Residual Current Device (RCD) to the electrical circuit board to prevent electrocution
- Routinely test the RCD to check that it is working
- If no RCD is fitted to the electrical circuit board, use a portable RCD
- Check and test all electrical cords and extension leads regularly for wear and damage
- Use a licensed electrician to carry out all electrical work
Maintenance
Workers and visitors to the workshop are at risk of slip and trip injury if access to the
workplace is cluttered. Serious injury and death can be caused being crushed under
farm machinery and vehicles during service and maintenance.
- Clean and tidy the workshop. Keep floors free of slip/ trip hazards including oil, tools, extension cords and rubbish
- Support vehicles and machinery with stands before working under jacked vehicles, utes, tractors and machinery
- Inflate split rim tyres in a safety cage
- Store fuel, oil and flammable material away/outside the workshop from welding and grinding to prevent fire and explosion
Personal protective equipment
There is a wide variety of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) currently on the market to help protect against hazards in the workshop.
- Make sure personal protective equipment (PPE) is available for all work including eye goggles, welding helmet, hearing protection, gloves and work boots
- Wear hearing protection where there is loud noise
- Train and instruct all farm workers to use, store and maintain PPE
- Have a First Aid Kit in the workshop
Visit our website www.farmsafewa.org |
