Jan 19, 2012 - According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) fewer than 1.5 percent of the working population are employed in agriculture, yet the sector is responsible for between 15 and 20 percent of fatalities to workers each year.
Texas AgriLife Extension program specialist Ryan Gerlich said the agricultural accidents related to equipment alone each year are approximately 250 nationwide.
Of that, equipment rollovers account for 52 percent, runovers (which include the operator, owner or bystanders) is 24 percent, roadway collisions account for around 20 percent and entanglements in the P.T.O.s or driveline account for another 4 percent.
These numbers are from reports on agricultural operations employing more than 11 people, so number of fatalities occurring on smaller operations are not factored in to the averages because operations with less than 11 employees are not required to file reports with the United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
According to OSHA, most farm accidents and fatalities involve machinery. Proper machine guarding and doing equipment maintenance according to manufacturers' recommendations can help prevent accidents, and using protective equipment, such as seat belts on tractors, and personal protective equipment could significantly reduce farming injuries.
Many machinery-related deaths occur on mobile equipment, such as tractors, when the operator is not practicing within the recommendations of the manufacturer.
"The most common is rollovers, fatality wise," said Gerlich. "Tractors can rollover sideways. That can be cause by driving near an embankment, excessive speed, uneven breaking for having improper rotor height, having their bucket elevated too high with a load when they are turning."
When a tractor or other mobile farm equipment is involved in a rollover, the equipment can crush the operator or a bystander. So, paying attention to operational safety guidelines set by the manufacturer is extremely important.
"The next most common is rollovers to the rear," Gerlich explained. "You have no time to react. That can occur from improper rotating of the tractor, balance, driving up a steep slope"
With equipment rollovers being responsible for approximately 52 percent of agricultural fatalities, taking extra precautions is a must.
"There are rollover protection structures (ROPS) available for tractors that typically, when the tractor is overturned to 90 degrees, it prevents the operator from being crushed," Gerlich explained. "They are designed to work in conjunction with a seat belt. They are pretty much a cab or a roll cage type design... There are even for the older tractors that make rollover protection structures for the older tractors."
It is highly discouraged for people to try to make their own ROPS, as typically they are not strong enough or they are improperly mounted to equipment. The Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation provides a rollover protection structure guide plus manufactures and suppliers that make them for different tractors. The guide can be found by going to www.marshfieldclinic.org/nfmc.
"It is important to have this kind of safety features on your equipment," Gerlich said. "Small farmers or ranchers may not want rollover protection just because they don't want to be limited to going in certain buildings or work under trees. There are rollover protection structures that are capable of folding down so they can have the ability to work on some trees and in orchard situations."
Roadway collisions with farm equipment and other motor vehicles account for 20 percent of agricultural work related fatalities.
"I have seen a few of them in the newspapers this year that I know of, but the key is to stress with anybody driving a tractor on roadways that the key to preventing collisions is make yourself be visible, -- use your lights and your reflectors," Gerlich advised. "The headlights and taillights on a tractor are used just like they are on your vehicle if they situation requires it."
Days when farms were located on dusty, uninhabited dirt roads have changed. Many major roads travel right through prime farming country all over the U.S., making these accident more common. Therefore, operators should take extra care in ensuring all of their lights are in working order and safety reflectors are clean if they have to travel on a public roadway.
"Just like you would in the morning or at night or in a foggy situation, just like you would in your automobile, the same with your tractor," Gerlich said. "The only difference is when you are operating on a roadway with your tractor, you are required to have your flashers operating and then the slow moving vehicle (SMB) symbol is required."
The slow moving vehicle emblem is a reflector that is red and orange in color and shaped like a triangle. This emblem is a requirement on all equipment that has a maximum speed of 25 mph, which includes most agricultural equipment.
"One of the key things is to keep it clean especially in these dusty conditions," Gerlich said. "It is on the back of the equipment and I have come up behind equipment at night where you can barely see the SMB reflecting through, because of the dust. They are a replacement item and they only cost between $10 and $15, so when they get sun faded or damaged it doesn't cost that much to go ahead and replace them."
While equipment-related fatalities account for a high percentage of agricultural work-related deaths safety in all sectors of an agricultural operation should be of the upmost importance.
According to the National Safety Council (NSC) thousands of farm workers are injured and hundreds die in farming accidents. The council says that agriculture is the most hazardous industry in the nation.
Simple safety guidelines that OSHA suggests include:
Read and follow instructions in equipment operator's manuals and on product labels.
Inspect equipment routinely for problems that may cause accidents.
Discuss safety hazards and emergency procedures with workers.
Install approved rollover protective structures, protective enclosures, or protective frames on tractors.
Make sure that guards on farm equipment are replaced after maintenance.
Review and follow instructions in material safety data sheets (MSDSs) and on labels that come with chemical products and communicate information on these hazards to workers
For more information about farm safety, visit OSHA's website at www.osha.gov/SLTC/agriculturaloperations, or the National Safety Council at www.nsc.org/pages/home.aspx.
