following farm equipment photo

Sharing the road – farmers and motorists

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Now is the time for field crop harvest, and more motorists will be encountering farm equipment on rural roads, increasing the potential for accidents.

Harvest season generally brings a time when there is an increase in collisions between farm equipment and other vehicles.

Keep in mind the following safety tips for motorists as you share the road with farm equipment:

  • Farm machinery has a legal right to use public roads just as other motor vehicles.
  • Farm machinery can unexpectedly turn onto a public road from a field or driveway.
  • Farm machinery operators may not be able to see you because the large equipment or a load can block part of their rear view.
  • Slow-moving farm machinery traveling less than 25 miles per hour should display a slow moving vehicle emblem on the back of the equipment.
  • Extra-wide farm machinery may take up more than one lane to avoid hitting obstacles such as mailboxes and road signs.

Before passing farm machinery:

  • Look for left turn lights or hand signals. If the machinery slows and pulls toward the right side of the road, the operator is likely preparing to make a wide left turn.
  • Be sure there is adequate distance for you to safely pass.

Rural road rage can be negated if everyone takes the responsibility to have extra patience, careful driving habits, and use high-visibility markings and lighting.

Safety PPE gear

Eye injury and prevention

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Our eyes are one of our greatest assets. If we don’t protect our eyes from eye injury, we could quickly and easily lose our vision. It’s important to eliminate or engineer out the hazards that could pose hazards to our eyes. Farming can be a very dangerous occupation, so always keep safety in mind.

Most of the hazards to our eyes while working cannot be fully eliminated so proper eye protection is critical. Read more

Grain storage bins

Preparing silos and bins for harvest

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Be safe while preparing silos and bins for harvest

We all know that farming is potentially a very dangerous occupation if precautions and safety are not top-of-mind in everything we do. We may, or can easily take for granted every action we perform every day, working at the things we love. Harvest is an exciting time for everyone, but please, take the time to plan every step of the way and come home safe to your loved ones. Read more

forklift safety

Lifting and rigging safety

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Lifting and rigging work is considered a high hazard task.

Protect yourself, your coworkers and the people around you while performing any hazardous type of work–on the job or at home.

There are a lot of associated hazards that accompany lifting any loads with cranes or equipment. It is important to not only understand proper rigging techniques, but also the other hazards that accompany this type of work task.

Lifting and rigging incidents

The first type of incident regarding lifting and rigging is some type of breakage of a sling, wire rope, or chain resulting in a dropped load. While these type of incidents usually have the most severe consequences, there are often many other types of less severe incidents that cause the majority of injuries or property damage.

Some of the other injuries and incidents that occur are sprains, falls, crush injuries, electrocutions, and struck-by incidents.

Hazards such as swinging loads, manual handling of heavy rigging, holding on to tag lines, moving equipment, pinch points, working on elevated surfaces, trip hazards, slippery surfaces, etc. can all be present during lifting operations.

Safe work practices

  • Anyone in a work area where a lift is being performed should be properly trained on the work scope, hazards, and mitigations of the task.
  • Inspect all rigging prior to using it for a lift.
  • All rigging should be properly stored after lifting operations are complete. Proper storage helps prevent the rigging from being damaged.

Summary

Proper planning and forethought is important to eliminate hazards and avoid incidents.

Be aware of the hazards that affect you and your coworkers on each unique lift that is completed.

The safety of our employees, customers, contractors, suppliers, visitors and the community is of the utmost importance to us.

Work safe. Farm safe. Home safe.™

 

Prevent farm fires

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Did you know?

Faulty electrical systems cause approximately 40 per cent of farm building fires with a determined cause, making it one of the leading known causes of farm fires.

What can you do?

Regular inspections and maintenance are key to reducing the risk of a fire. We recommend that you work with a professional to inspect and monitor your farm buildings. Read more

back pain photo

Day-to-day work around the farm doesn’t have to be painful

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Here are some tips to avoid injury by evaluating activities and preparing for them

Farmers take their aches and pains as part of their work, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Understanding factors that contribute to on-farm injury can be a start to reducing risk of getting hurt.

Why it matters: Farmers are busy, especially in certain seasons of the year, so reducing risk of injury when they need to be at their physical best can have important farm business implications.

Julie Anceriz, Syngenta Canada’s territory health and safety manager, told a recent Whole Farm Health seminar put on by the Ag Women’s Network, that there are ergonomic factors that affect risk of injury no matter what type of work one does, whether sedentary at an office chair or in a combine or tractor, or active, lifting and doing heavy work. Read more

tractor safety

Back to safety basics – operating a tractor

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Safe operation of the most used equipment on the farm – the tractor

With a new year comes resolutions. This year, instead of making a resolution to do something you’ve never done before, what if you made a resolution to perform daily tasks properly and safely? Something like operating a tractor?

Tractors are essential to farm operations. From field work to feeding the livestock to cleaning snow, tractors are the most used machine on the farm. Firing up the tractor is pretty routine on the farm and operation seems pretty straightforward. As simple and as commonplace as using these machines are, the fact remains that the majority of agriculture machinery-related fatalities involve tractors. Reminders on basic safety while operating tractors can help everyone stay safe.

Did you know that the majority of deaths on Canadian farms involve a tractor? Runovers and rollovers are the top two ways people are killed on the farm. Unmanned machine runovers account for approximately half of all runover fatalities. This means that half of all runover deaths happen when no one is even driving the machine! Passengers and operators who fall from the machine are also killed in runovers all too frequently.

Bystanders are also in danger of being runover, unfortunately, most killed in bystander runovers are children under the age of nine. Runovers are easy to prevent if basic tractor operating procedures are followed. Before mounting the tractor, walk around the machine to check for obstructions, bystanders and to check the general condition of the tractor. If any systems are faulty, do not use the tractor.

Before starting the tractor, make sure that all controls are in their neutral positions, the parking brake is applied and the clutch and PTO are disengaged. Do not start or operate any of the controls from anywhere other than the seat. Be sure to drive at a speed slow enough to keep control of the tractor, especially over expected hazards like railroad crossings. Do not drive the tractor on ground that may collapse, like near ditches or embankments.

When coming to a stop, make sure you are parked on even ground, disengage the PTO (if connected), and lower any implements that are attached. Be sure to place all controls in the neutral position, apply the parking brake and turn off the engine. Remove the key. Never dismount if the tractor is still moving.

It cannot be stressed enough that tractors are not passenger vehicles. Except for those built with instructional seats, they are built for one person. There are far too many stories of extra riders being killed or injured. Keeping extra riders off the tractor is an easy way to prevent tragedy.

To sum up, watch for bystanders (keep kids in supervised, safe play areas), do not try to start the tractor from anywhere but the operator’s seat, drive cautiously and never, ever allow extra riders. Operating a tractor safely is one New Year’s resolution that will pay off in reduced injuries and fatalities.

Source: Grain News and The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association

Driving become hazardous in winter

Safety Insights – Winter Safety Tips

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The winter season brings cold temperatures and often severe weather that create many hazards for individuals working in these conditions. Even if you work indoors, winter weather still poses many dangers for you such as driving into work in lousy weather or walking through an icy parking lot or yard to get to your building. It is essential to recognise and address the hazards winter brings with it.

Winter driving

One of the main issues winter poses in many parts of the country is poor driving conditions. The hazards created by winter weather make it hard for even the most experienced drivers to operate a vehicle safely.

Slips, trips, and falls are one of the leading causes of injuries and fatalities in the workplace. Snow, sleet, and ice significantly increase the chances for slip, trip, and fall incidents to occur.

Winter safety tips when driving

  • Monitor weather for any incoming snow storms or icy conditions and plan your travel around those conditions. Do not put yourself in a situation where you are stuck on a roadside
  • Do not drive in wintery conditions if possible. Eliminating driving eliminates your chances of being in an accident
  • Be a defensive driver. Stay clear of other drivers and maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you, in case you need to brake or turn to avoid an accident
  • Slow down. Winter weather conditions necessitate having to reduce your speed. Reducing your driving speed will give you more time to react as well as help to avoid losing control of your vehicle

When walking on icy/ snowy surfaces

  • Remove trip hazards before snow or ice conditions are present
  • This eliminates someone tripping over a buried object after the snow or ice hits
  • Shovel and salt parking lots and walkways before work begins in that area
  • Have walkways addressed before workers get on site in the morning
  • Take your time when walking across slippery surfaces
  • Taking smaller steps lessens your chance of losing your balance
  • Wear proper footwear for the weather condition. Wear shoes with solid tread on the soles

Preparing grain bins for harvest

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Preparing grain bins for harvest should be done to maintain the quality of grain and to make sure the areas around bins are ready for the busy season ahead. It is also a good time to inspect any mechanical components and clean up around the bin. Simple maintenance and safety rules will make sure we don’t experience any difficulties in the season ahead.

A key reason why people become entrapped in grain is because grain stored in bins is spoiled. Making sure that the bins are ready to be loaded with newly harvested grain reduces the risk of spoilage. If the grain is in good condition, people don’t have to enter the bin, reducing the risk of entrapment. Read more

Heat stress

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Heat stress can be a killer on the job site. Outside of the direct consequences such as heat stroke, heat stress can cause incidents due to loss of focus or excessive fatigue on the job.

Heat-related illnesses

Heat cramps

 

Heat cramps are painful, brief muscle cramps. Muscles may spasm or spasm involuntarily. Heat cramps can occur during exercise or work in a hot environment or begin a few hours later.

Heat exhaustion

There are two types of heat exhaustion. Read more