HSE/NW/136/07 12 November 2007

Farmers to flock to HSE Cheshire safety event

Reducing farm accidents will be the theme of a free half-day safety awareness event held by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) at Chelford Auction Mart between Knutsford and Macclesfield on Friday (16 November).

Around 200 local farmers are expected at the free half-day event - with lunch and refreshments provided – which will focus on agriculture as one of the worst industries for incidents in the UK.

There were nine agricultural fatalities in the North West in 2006-7 – four to self employed farmers and five to members of the public. There were 12 major injuries and 15 minor ones – more than one a fortnight on average – reported in Cheshire’s agricultural industry during the year.

HSE Principal Agricultural Inspector Andy Gay said: "The day is designed to make farmers take health and safety matters more seriously. An alarming number of incidents take place in this industry, many of which could be avoided with a few sensible precautions.

"We will be looking at a range of scenarios and farmers have the opportunity to discuss these safety issues with our experts in an informal setting as an alternative to receiving an HSE inspection visit."

The day will feature six safety scenarios that highlight the risks of certain work activities and offer practical advice for safe practice. These include working on fragile roofs, animal handling, hydraulics and maintenance of machinery, working with chemicals, manual handling and workplace transport, including telehandlers.

HSE is running the day in partnership with Lantra, the Skills Council for Environmental and Land-based sector.

Although attendance at the event is by invitation only, last minute requests to attend can be made via Damian Hilton at HSE’s Manchester office on damian.Hilton@hse.gsi.gov.uk or by telephone on 0161 952 8327

For those with Internet access, health and safety information and guidance can be found on the following websites: hse.gov.uk and www.hsedirect.com. HSE Books also has a website: http://hsebooks.co.uk.

Notes to editors

Similar events in previous years have been extremely successful in encouraging farmers to appreciate the health and safety risks they face whilst going about their everyday work.
Safety awareness days are an important part of HSE’s intervention strategy with the Agricultural industry. Their principal aim is to contribute to accident reduction targets in the Government’s and the Health and Safety Commission’s ‘Revitalising Health and Safety Strategy’ that was launched in 2000.
HSE Inspectors make visits to agricultural and horticultural premises to check on compliance with the Health and Safety at Work Act. The Act applies to employers, employees and the self-employed. These visits may be made without prior notice and, in some cases, result in enforcement action.
Attending the event will give a valuable insight into the main hazards in the industry and the standards inspectors expect to find. It will also reassure HSE that farmers are interested in taking positive steps to manage health and safety at their workplace.
Farmers have been invited to this event because their business is among the list of those from which will HSE make its selection of places to be inspected in the coming 12-month period. Attendance at a Safety Awareness Day is one of the factors considered when making our selection.
An independent assessment of Safety Awareness Days has shown that 95% of farmers found them valuable and would recommend them to others.
Chelford Auction Mart is at Dixon Drive, Chelford, near Macclesfield SK11 9AX

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