Out of sight – out of mind?

With an average of 20 fatalities each year over the past four years, the agriculture and farming industry has officially been named as the most dangerous job in Ireland. Farm fatalities in 2013 alone accounted for over half of all workplace deaths, despite agricultural workers comprising less than 6% of Ireland’s total workforce. The scale of these figures is remarkable, particularly in comparison to the construction industry which is ranked as the second most dangerous industry in Ireland but recorded over four times fewer fatalities in the same period. 

The most common types of injuries recorded in the farming and agricultural industry are as a result of contact with moving machinery, injury from moving vehicles and livestock.

Lone workers are defined as 'those who work by themselves without close or direct supervision'. The long hours spent by farmers working alone mean that they are more vulnerable to serious injury or fatal accidents in the workplace. If an incident occurs without a co-worker nearby to help or to call for assistance conditions can worsen rapidly, leading to serious illness or even death.

Assessing the risk

Currently there are no specific legal requirements on employers in relation to lone working. However, the duty to maintain safe working arrangements in the workplace is governed by the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. This requires safe working practices and procedures, safe equipment and machinery and the use of personal protective equipment where necessary. Despite this legislation, the accident frequency rate in this industry continues to rise steadily year-on-year.

Changing attitudes and behaviour around safeguarding worker safety in farming and agriculture, traditionally a hereditary vocation with practices passed down through the generations, poses a challenge. The harvest season also increases the risks associated with farming as already heavy workloads increase while farmers rush to complete work before the autumn rain arrives. Feeling increasingly tired, distracted and stressed, farmers are more likely to have an accident, and working alone increases the potential severity of the resulting consequences. 

Once lone working has been identified, the next step is to assess the risks that each worker faces. This involves looking at the danger that livestock may pose, the local environment and the risks from the task itself. Areas to be assessed in relation to lone working, as part of a wider risk assessment, should include whether potential hazards of the job can be adequately controlled by one person, whether regular contact by phone or radio can be accessed, if the person is medically fit and suitable to work alone, what training is required to ensure the person is competent and can work safely and what happens if a person becomes ill, is injured or there is an emergency.

Be alarmed

Open communication with and between lone workers at all times provides the reassurance that widely dispersed individuals can quickly and effectively be located and assisted in the event of an incident. Of course, additional workers could be employed to work alongside each farm labourer on high risk jobs however, this is often unrealistic and expensive. Safety devices such as lone worker alarm systems are often used to provide protection instead.

There is a lot to think about when selecting the correct lone worker personal protection. Lone worker alarm systems are often selected based on suitability in relation to functionality, design, layout, installation, alarm notifications to response personnel, electrical work and most importantly cost. Arco supplies and provides expert advice on a range of lone worker alarm and communication systems. This includes GPS-based positioning systems, mobile phone platforms such as apps, and site-based systems which use wireless technology. Our SBES Lone Worker Alarm units are capable of raising the alarm manually or automatically should the worker become incapacitated and are permanently switched on. They do not require charging and have a battery life of approximately 18 months. 

Making a small investment in equipment that’s easy to use and requires little maintenance is a reasonable price to pay for saving a life or preventing serious injury.