Lack of farm safety could cost you your life!

During Farm Safety Week (19-23 July), HSENI is urging the farming community to use the appropriate equipment for all jobs, as it might just save a life.

Figures show that farming has the poorest safety record of any occupation in the UK.  Far too often injuries and fatalities are caused due to the lack of proper equipment and machinery. HSENI is encouraging the farming community to consider that the cost of a fatality is much more than the cost of using the correct equipment, even if it means hiring additional plant. Falls from height remains one of the main causes of fatalities and major injuries on our farms and many are due to the lack of the proper equipment being used.

HSENI Chief Executive Robert Kidd said: “Falls from height can lead to life-changing injuries or even death. It is important that the equipment used when working from heights is correct, up to the appropriate standard and free from any defects. Hiring the correct equipment can be costly, but it could prove to be a life-saving investment. 

“Many of the incidents on our farms are avoidable. I am urging the farming community to consider those risks, carry out a risk assessment, and then, if necessary, hire the proper equipment for the job. It could just save a life.”

You must be suitably competent to work at height and the correct equipment must be used for the job. External scaffolding and internal fall protection must always be implemented if there is a chance someone could fall internally or externally when working on the roof structure. 

Further information on working at heights can found on the HSENI website at https://www.hseni.gov.uk/essentials

Notes to editors: 

1. Farm Safety Week 2021 is supported by the Farm Safety Foundation, Farm Safety Partnerships, the Health and Safety Executive, the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland and the Health and Safety Authority, Ireland.

2. The Farm Safety Partnership comprises the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI), the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU), NFU Mutual (NFUM), the Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster (YFCU), the Farm Safety Foundation, and the Northern Ireland Agricultural Producers Association (NIAPA). It is tasked with assisting Northern Ireland’s farming community to work safely and tackle the problem of work-related fatalities and injuries on farms.

3. The Farm Safety Partnership’s ongoing ‘Stop and Think SAFE’ farm safety campaign focuses on the four main causes of death and injury on our farms – slurry, animals, falls and equipment (SAFE).

4. For media enquiries please contact HSENI Press Office on 028 9024 3249 or email media@hseni.gov.uk. For out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer on 028 9037 8110.

5. HSENI is the lead body responsible for the promotion and enforcement of health and safety at work standards in Northern Ireland.

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