Farmers are being reminded they must change their attitude towards safety as Britain’s workplace regulator readies itself for a wave of inspections in the coming months.
The latest inspection focus
Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will visit farms across England, Scotland and Wales as part of a push to change the culture in the industry and check for compliance with long standing legal requirements.
People on farms are 21 times more likely to be killed in a workplace accident than other sectors.
In total, there have been 161 deaths on Britain’s farms over the last five years – an average of 26 people each year. This includes members of the public and children.
Falls from height one of the key focus areas
The visits, which started mid October and will run to next April, will focus on the main causes of death in farming, including working with cattle, operating and maintaining vehicles and falls from height.
Autumn and winter are traditionally times when farms may need to carry out building maintenance, for example to repair leaking roofs, replace damaged roof sheeting or repair storm damage.
Further information
You can read the full HSE press release here: https://press.hse.gov.uk/2023/10/25/hse-to-visit-farms-as-part-of-national-inspection-campaign/
Read the HSE ‘Work at Height: preventing falls’ guidance for agriculture >>
