Health and Safety

2020 Update

The IAgrE H&S Group held a Farm Safety Workshop in conjunction with the NFU - full details of the Agenda and a recording may be found here.

2018 Update

Read the Landwards Summer Journal 2018 Reflections of our CEO, Alastair Taylor, which focusses on Technology helping to make the Agricultural Industry a safer place for everyone.  His Reflections are a result of the Farm Safety Partnership setting targets to reduce farm fatalities by 50% by 2023.  Read the full story here.

Health & Safety Week 2016
July saw the fourth annual Farm Safety Week, an initiative launched in 2013 aimed at reducing the number of accidents which continue to give agriculture the poorest record of any occupation in the UK and Ireland. 
Access all the press releases

Agriculture is the most dangerous industry in the UK with an average of one person being killed each week on farms and many serious injuries and cases of ill health occurring across the land-based sector.  The Incident rates show no sign of reducing and this is reflected world-wide.  Read about the latest prosecution in our industry here.

The latest round up of news and activities from the Farm Safety Partnership from (Summer 2016) and (Spring 2016).

Read Alan Plom's recent article from Landwards about Farm Safety Week 2015

IAgrE's new Electrical Safety Management Course is currently under production and looking for sponsorship.  Alan Plom and Bill Bates are both experienced Health & Safety Professionals who have used their expertise to inform our industry, read their recent Landwards article about the course.  Bill has just been involved with the production of the IET's film about ESM, you can see the film below.

HSTG Advocates

About HSTG

In March 2013, IAgrE ran a conference on machinery safety entitled “Agricultural Engineering and Compliance – Thorn in the side or competitive advantage?” This event attracted a large audience who demonstrated their commitment to help the industry to improve from the current position. Since then, IAgrE has joined the Farm Safety Partnership and through HSSG want to bring together those IAgrE members, and others, with an interest in promoting Health and Safety.

A report “The Role of Agricultural Engineers in Improving Safety and Health in Land-based Industries” is available on-line at the IOSH website.  The presentations from the IAgrE Conference are available below:

Keynote: Agricultural machinery's role in safety
Andrew Turner, HM Principal Inspector of Health & Safety

Causes of accidents in the landbased industries - the human factor
Dr Mark Cooper, The Health and Safety Practice

Summing up and observations
Alan Plom, IOSH Rural Industries Group

Safe machines - case studies
Mike Whiting, Newmac Ltd

Risk Management Solutions - case study
Paul Reynolds, NFU Mutual Risk Management Services Ltd

As a consequence of this evident support from the membership, IAgrE subsequently signed up to support the industry’s Farm Safety Partnership (FSP).  We have agreed to work together with the other organisations and businesses involved in the industry who have signed the ‘Farm Safety Charter’ (currently around 45 signatories, including all of the main representative bodies and several major companies involved throughout the food chain).

Visit the Farm Safety Partnership website for more information, including its membership, aims and objectives, guidance and news updates on safety issues.

The land-based sector inevitably involves a diverse range of hazardous activities and operations and agricultural engineers have a key / pivotal role to play in improving safety and reducing risks to health, including exposure to noise and vibration, chemicals and dust, etc.

In addition to securing improvements by design of machines and improving operations to make activities inherently safe, the industry has agreed that a pre-requisite is the need to change the culture and attitudes of those working in the industry.  Every member of IAgrE has a role to play in this process, not just through improving and applying engineering technology but sharing information and promoting good practice.

Within the membership there are also many whose job involves specialising in ‘health and safety’ or can have a significant impact by sharing ideas and solutions.  HSTG is intended to encourage and facilitate that process.

Aims of the IAgrE HSTG

• To promote the principles of and share best practice in  ‘Health and Safety’ through the wide profession of ‘Agricultural Engineering’
• To make the Agricultural Industry more aware of the importance of health and safety and the contribution of agricultural engineers to its viability and future development.
• To improve communications on health and safety issues, campaigns and developments.
• To help increase awareness of health and safety issues and good practice amongst Agricultural Engineers and for ‘health and safety’ to be integral in the development their careers.
• To identify topics and opportunities for IAgrE members to make a positive contribution, individually or through their businesses or organisations.
• Offer CPD opportunities and sources of information relating to Health and Safety.

 Read the recent update from the FSP’s Machinery Safety Group and proposed ‘Workplan’