Published in AUSTRALIAN SAFETY NEWS May 1999
Farms may seem idyllic settings but they are often the site of some of OHS's most serious failings. In the second of our reader articles, Kevin Jones reports on the state of farm safety.
Metropolitan residents take food production for granted. As we drive through the countryside, we rarely see people working in the fields. Unless we see the harvesters, the mustering, the feeding, the irrigation and the spraying, the countryside is little more than a beautiful view. This beautiful view masks the fact that most of the countryside can also be considered a workplace. It is also the most dangerous of all workplaces.
Farms are unique workplaces. Few people live in their workplaces (although it may feel like we all do sometimes). Few include their children in job tasks. Few repair and maintain their workplaces. Weddings, parties, holidays are all conducted in farm workplaces. We enjoy tractor rides, bush-bashing on old bombs, riding the paddocks on ag-bikes without wearing helmets, our first horse-ride, sitting in the shearing shed and jumping off haystacks.
The potential for serious injury on farms is significant and yet, it rarely outweighs the enjoyment we receive from visiting farms or living in the countryside.
Fatalities
Over the last 10 years, safety on farms has attracted considerable attention from safety authorities, primarily due to the high level of fatalities. There is a wide variety of statistics available that all support agriculture as being the most dangerous of industries. Worksafe Australia reports that:
"A total of 316 people employed in the agriculture industry died in work-related incidents between 1989 and 1992 in Australia. This means that there were 20 deaths for each 100,000 workers in the agriculture industry . . . This figure is four times higher than the all industry average of 5.5 deaths for each 100,000 workers." (Worksafe News February 1999.)
Statistics can always be questioned for their depiction of reality. Indeed, Worksafe is endeavouring to expand its information base at the moment. In an industry that is so diverse and isolated, and which may have no obligation for workers' compensation premiums, the collation of the existing statistics is laudable.
Small business
It is useful, to some extent, to consider farms as small businesses. Traditionally, this comparison has not been used and as such farms have frequently been left out of small business initiatives. Part of this reason is that farming is such a diverse industry. If we consider some of the comments of Claire Mayhew in "Barriers to implementation of known occupational health and safety solutions in small business" (Worksafe, May 1997) and apply them to farms:
"The key structural constraints to improved OHS in very small business are the limited time and financial resources surplus after completion of core tasks."
"OHS is perceived to be just one of many government intrusions into personal affairs."
"The major individual constraint to improved OHS in very small business is that these are practical people focused on concrete tasks."
Although the small businesses in the Mayhew study were garages, café/restaurants, newsagencies and printers, the comments are particular pertinent to farming. Many farmers must wait several years for revenue to be allocated from government and semi-government bodies. Few small businesses would have sufficient bridging funds to cover this length of time.
Like most industries, farmers are not comfortable with inviting a government OHS adviser onto their properties when that adviser also has a prosecutorial role and duty. The Victorian Workcover Authority (VWA)is undertaking great efforts to change the public perspective of their inspectors as Field Officers. Whether this new image will be sufficient to open a welcome to the Field Officers is doubtful yet the change must start somewhere.
Mayhew's third comment reflects the difficulty of implementing performance-based legislation and regulations to small businesses. Not only is disposable income meagre or non-existent for farmers, spare time is just as rare. Industry acknowledges the benefit of reducing prescriptive legislation but rarely has sufficient time available to use the current Codes and advisory standards as they were intended. It would be rare indeed to find copies of codes of practice on the majority farms.
Figure 1:
Agricultural Health and Safety Guidance Notes
Tractor Rollovers
Tractor Runovers
Tractor Power Take-Offs (PTOs)
Noise on Farms
Farm Machinery
Ergonomics and Manual Handling on Farms
Children on Farms
Horses on Farms
Farm Motorcycles
Animal Handling
Workshop Safety on the Farm
Organic Farm Dusts
Farm Chemicals
Firearms Safety on Farms
Heat Stress on the Farm
Sun Safety on the Farm
Woolshed Safety
Available from Australian Agricultural Health Unit - Moree NSW Ph: 02 6752 8210
Education initiatives
The Farmsafe Alliance has a considerable library of safety guidelines. A list is included below. However, there is the difficulty of communicating that type of information to small business and encouraging them to apply the safety practices. When I asked the Co-ordinator of Farmsafe Victoria, Ron Ruff, of the availability of these guidelines, he said that participants in the Managing Farm Safety course would obtain a set. Ruff also acknowledged that attendance at farm safety seminars is low. Consequently, the awareness of such guidelines is not widespread.
According to Mayhew:
"The levels of uptake of known OHS solutions - seen in codes of practice and other regulatory instruments, and the various information products and advice sources - is predicated upon small business owners and managers having time and energy for what are seen to be non-core activities - or 'luxuries'. They do not have surplus time and energy. Making OHS understandable, and directly, cheaply and easily applicable is of central importance." (Page 5)
There is an underlying acceptance by the farm safety educators that it is near impossible to teach an old dog new tricks, and as such, a considerable effort is being spent on educating the younger farmers and operators of "corporate" farms. Statistics of farm fatalities indicates that it is those "old dogs" which are at the most risk of farm fatality. (Statistics for Victoria show a an alternative picture with child fatalities. This will be identified below). In acknowledgement of the difficulty associated with educating a farmer who has worked for decades outside any safety culture, some programs have operated to influence farmers indirectly, often through organisations such as the Country Women's Association.
Recently, the Victorian Minister for Workcover, Roger Hallam, opened the Victorian Farm Safety Training Centre. According to the Manager of Rural Studies Dept at the University of Ballarat, Andrew Sullivan, this centre has been established as a clearinghouse for the co-ordination of safety training throughout Victoria. A major worry for Andrew was the uncoordinated an ill-informed farm safety training that has occurred in the past. The Centre will be providing training for Farm Safety Instructors to ensure that information is current, well grounded and uniform.
For several years, Victoria has been running a two-day Managing Farm Safety course. This course "is designed to deliver the knowledge and skills necessary to implement a risk management approach to occupational health and safety on Australian farms and thereby increase productivity and aim towards a reduction in Workcover premiums". This course is now available nationally and is supported through an extensive farm safety network. Andrew Sullivan explains that the course focuses on farm managers and owners who operate small and corporate farms.
This course complements other initiatives that focus on other target groups. Recently there has been a general increase in the role of OHS in trade courses and TAFE instruction. Safety programs are also in place for children, and not just those from farms. Kidsafe promotes farm safety through various programs and has an excellent "A Parent's Guide to Kidsafe Farms" booklet that has recently been reprinted.
Children on farms
As mentioned earlier, the high rate of child fatalities on farms is atrocious. Roger Hallam mentioned the following statistics recently:
"In Australia, one child dies every 13 days on a farm. In Victoria 4 out of 10 victims of farm fatalities are under 15 years of age."
Figure 2 provides a good summary of the type of hazards that exist for children on farms. Those familiar with the agricultural environment will not be surprised by these figures. What is of greater concern is the inordinate number of child fatalities as mentioned by Hallam. Deaths of children under 4 years is almost twice that of the nearest age group 45 to 49 years. It is this variance of statistics from the South Australian figures earlier that is an indication of the lack of a co-ordinated database. And without such a database it is difficult to convince some quarters of the severity of the farm safety problem.
There are simple control measures that farms can introduce, such as a secure "house yard". This fenced are surrounds the farmhouse and provides a secure area in which to conduct the majority of play activities. Many farms already have such a structure but, where in the past it has been to keep stock from the farmhouse vegetables, nowadays the yard needs structuring for children's security needs and to increase the degree of supervision provided.
The Kidsafe guide is an excellent source of workplace risk control measures.
Figure 2
Age-Group Associated Injury
Adapted from NSW Farmsafe Committee Discussion Paper 1994
Age Group Major Injury Problem Severity of Injury
0-4 years Drowning in dams/creeks Major cause of death
5-14 years Horse-related injury Hospital admission or treatment
5-14 years Ag-bike related injury Hospital admission or treatment
5-14 years Bicycle-related injury Treatment at hospital
5-14 years Farm machinery including Death or hospital admission
tractors/equipment
0-14 years All other farm vehicles Death, hospital admission or treatment
0-14 years Damaging noise levels Permanent hearing loss
Noise
Although there are a considerable number of OHS issues that pertain to farms, noise, as in all workplaces, can be a hazard that easily accumulates damage. In small workplaces where people work in isolation, it is difficult to gauge when noise is creating damage. In farms, where workplaces are considerable distances apart, there is less likelihood of excessive noise generating complaints. However, this position may simply expose the operator of plant, particularly, to excessive noise.
Traditionally, dampeners do not surround tractors, power take-offs and equipment in workshops as the noise only affects the operator and on a farm, the operator is, frequently, the decision-maker. In this circumstance, the small farmer may choose PPE rather than complex noise-reduction strategies and equipment. Until recently, the users of shotguns rarely wore hearing protection. Frequently the shotguns are discharged at night-time from the backs of moving utilities. This workplace situation would not be permitted in most workplaces, yet it happens frequently on farms. Figure 3 identifies common farm activities that can generate considerable noise. The corresponding exposure times are a clear indication of the severity of the potential damage. When we consider that safety on farms has been promoted predominantly over the last 10 to 20 years, and that the average age of a farmer is around 58 years, there are a large number of people who are suffering occupational deafness in areas that are least serviced by the OHS advisers and services.
Figure 3
Typical Farm Noise Levels and Maximum Exposure Times
Source: AgHealth Fact Sheet: Noise and Hearing Loss, 1994.
Farming OperationTypical noise level in dB(A)Max. exposure time at operating distancebefore damage occurs*
Quiet countryside 35 No limit
Conversation 70 No limit
Tractor - idling 80 No limit
Tractor with cab - working 85 8 hours
Chainsaw idling 90 3 hours
Shearing shed 90 3 hours
Header 95 1 hour
Grain auger 95 1 hour
Angle grinder 95 1 hour
Motor cycle 95 1 hour
Tractor without cab - working 100 15 minutes
Pig shed at feeding time 105 6-7 minutes
Chainsaw - cutting 100 15 seconds
Shotgun 140+ Immediate damage
*Based on upper noise levels
Conclusion
Farming is an evolving industry. Small traditional farms, and farmers, are changing to corporate farms or properties of such size that designated managers are appointed. Through new training programs, these managers are provided with contemporary skills, often in the broad-ranging and multi-disciplinary area of risk management.
But even with these developing programs agriculture is still the leading industry for workplace fatalities. Is attrition going to reduce the level of fatalities through the eradication of bad work practices? The ROPS programs have had considerable success in reducing tractor-related deaths and injuries. But this program has been compatible with the traditional farming practices. It has introduced a physical control barrier on plant rather than addressing administrative controls that may threaten the traditional farming practices. The fact that in Victoria a rebate was offered to offset the cost acknowledges Mayhew's point about OHS costs and small business.
There are many support networks, research programs and education programs now in existence intended to reduce the high level of workplace fatalities on farms. The combination of these programs, when embraced by the farmers and farm managers, will have a positive effect on fatalities. The biggest handicap is, as it has always been, that the farm is the most complex and diverse of workplaces and that there is no single solution.
Further information on the MANAGING FARM SAFETY course can be obtained from Andrew Sullivan on 0419 874 636.
Farmsafe can be contacted on 02 6752 8210 or through the website www.aghealth-farmsafe.nsw.gov.au/
Kidsafe's A PARENT'S GUIDE TO KIDSAFE FARMS booklet is available through the local Kidsafe offices. The national office number is 03 9427 1008.
Reproduced with permission © Australian Safety 1999
