Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with special responsibility for Farm Safety, Martin Heydon T.D. launched a video ‘Work Organisation for Farmer Health and Safety’ at the Moorepark Dairy Open Day in Fermoy on Tuesday, 4th July.
The video was produced by Teagasc health and safety specialist advisors in association with FBD Insurance and the Farm Safety Partnership advisory committee to the Health and Safety Authority.
The video focuses on approaches to cut workload on farms to prevent working in a hurry and tiredness on farms, which is a major contributory factor in farm workplace injuries and ill health. The production is part of a Managing Farm Health and Safety series of 18 videos which outline best practice for farm health and safety topics.
Production follows recent research which revealed that farmers believe that farm work organisation causes tiredness and hurry and is a major contributory factor in workplace causation. Further research, using Teagasc National Farm Survey (NFS) data, indicates that dairy farms where work-load has increased during the 2012 to 2017 expansionary period, had over double the level of farm workplace injuries.
Additionally, a review conducted by a DCU research team funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), found that, internationally, farmers experience higher levels of burnout and exhaustion compared to non-farmers.
BEST PRACTICE
The work organisation for farmer health and safety video sets out best practice approaches to implementing best practice strategies to manage work organisation for health and safety on farms. The video also includes a case-study featuring Jimmy and Anne Cotter, who operate a dairy farm in Coachford, Co Cork.
Jimmy and Anne outline the importance for them of managing work organisation for health and safety, lifestyle and farm business reasons.
Speaking at the launch, Minister Martin Heydon said: “Work organisation has an important role to play when it comes to protecting health and safety on the farm. Working long hours under pressure and rushing from job to job can lead to fatigue which is a major factor in many incidents on farms.
“This video not only highlights the damaging effects that poor work organisation can have on farmers’ health and safety, but it also highlights the many benefits of managing work organisation. Good work organisation can contribute to not only improved health and safety but also time efficiencies and a better work/life balance.”
Teagasc Director, Professor Frank O’Mara stated that “Teagasc strongly recognise the importance of work organisation for farmer health and safety, lifestyle and farm business reasons. In addition to the video being launched and research being undertaken, a work organisation advisory tool for use with farmers has been developed, and is currently being evaluated as a component of the DAFM Funded Be Safe research grant.”
The video can be viewed at: https://www.teagasc.ie/rural-economy/farm-management/farm-health–safety/videos/
