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Vol 5., No. 1, Jan 2004 Contents
This quote is from video of a farmer who was removing hazards on his farm. He came across an old wooden ladder that they still kept --- it had been spliced, a rung was cracked, etc. When I show that video segment, the audience chuckles -- because we all know we have something similar at our home or workplace. How do we get around to cleaning up those hazards? We need to conscientiously take the time to identify hazards and take corrective action. Make up your own checklist and identify hazards in your home, farm, or workplace. There are four key items that need to be a part of that checklist:
Often people may think that someone else is responsible for seeing that corrections are made -- family members may assume Dad is going to do it; employees may assume that managers and supervisors are going to take care of it. Everyone is responsible for safety -- family members can point out the hazard to Dad and employees can point out hazards to their supervisors. Often hazards are 'left lying around' simply because "...nobody knew to throw it away!" For more information on 'hunting for those hazards' refer to the IMBY (In My Backyard) Hazard Identification booklet at <http://www.flagsafe.ufl.edu/imby/index.html> and download the IMBY Workbook. The essential item needed to get started can be found at: <http://www.bookwright.net/forfun/pages/roundtuit.html>! :-) So put on your SAFE-T-KAP* and start getting rid of those hazards! *Safety Awareness For Everyone - Through - Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice. Rhythm of the Seasons Video On-lineThe "Rhythm of the Seasons:A
Journey beyond Loss" video can now be viewed on the National
Agricultural Safety Database (NASD) at "Rhythm of the Seasons" tells the story of Marilyn Adams, who lost her 11-year-old son in a farm incident in 1986. Viewers are introduced to the son, the circumstances of his death, and the mother's first year of recovery. In this way, the audience learns about the grief and other experiences that accompanied this tragedy, and they also share in the inner world of the mother's healing as she finds a sense of purpose through this sad situation. Marilyn went on to establish Farm Safety 4 Just Kids. A lesson plan using this video is available on NASD and also at <http://www.flagsafe.ufl.edu>. Spanish Materials on NASDJust a reminder to keep checking NASD for New Materials. There have been several Spanish items added recently. Bilingual Tailgate Training Materials On-line from Ohio State UniversityMaterials that can be used for tailgate trainings are available at the farm safety Web site of The Ohio State University. Tailgate trainings are designed to be 5-7 minutes in length and delivered on a frequent basis. Many ag employers offer them to workers perhaps once a week (Monday morning!), when beginning a new task, etc. Tailgate trainings are well-received by employees because the sessions are held on the worker's turf, meetings are brief, trainings focus on one topic at a time, supervisors are involved, and employee and supervisor communication is enhanced. Currently there is an extensive list of 85 topics available in both English and Spanish. They can be downloaded from: Topics include welding, hand power tools, tractors, chemicals, trenching, electrical, eye protection, specific types of machines, jacks, ladders, livestock, materials handling, ponds, respiratory-related, skid steer loaders, etc. NIOSH Advances Innovative Rollover Protective Structure (ROPS)NIOSH UPDATE: December 11, 2003 HIGH-TECH SAFETY IN FIELDS AND ORCHARDS: NIOSH ADVANCES INNOVATIVE ROLLOVER GUARD -- The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is advancing the development and commercialization of a high-tech system to protect tractor operators from serious injury or death in a tractor rollover, the leading cause of occupational fatalities in agriculture. The system, called Auto-ROPS, consists of a sensor wired to a protective metal bar or rollover protective structure (ROPS), shaped like a squared, upside-down U and mounted behind the tractor seat. In normal circumstances, the Auto-ROPS bar sits no higher than the operator's head. However, its arms have the ability to telescope upward on compression springs when unlatched. When the sensor detects that a tractor is tilting on uneven terrain in a way likely to result in a turnover, the sensor signals the latches to release. This release deploys the rollover bar to a level higher than the operator's head. Instantaneously activated, the bar prevents the operator's head from fatally striking the ground or bearing the impact of the rollover. Rollovers account for more than 100 deaths in farming every year. Rollover fatalities can be prevented with the use of a ROPS and a seat belt. "ROPS are fundamental protective equipment for tractors, but the two traditional versions - fixed ROPS and manually adjustable ROPS - both pose complications that Auto-ROPS is designed to overcome," noted NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. "For example, farmers may find fixed ROPS, which remain elevated above the level of the operator's head, physically impossible to use in orchards and other settings where clearance is low," Dr. Howard said. "A manually adjustable ROPS provides some flexibility in that it can be lowered in such settings, then raised when the tractor moves onto open ground, but the farmer still needs to remember to raise it, and to take time to do so. The new Auto-ROPS prototype, which NIOSH developed in close partnership with the farming community and equipment manufacturers, represents an ingenious use of high tech to meet those challenges." NIOSH evaluated the prototype earlier this year in successful field tests that compared it with traditional ROPS. The tests involved simulations in which remotely controlled tractors without drivers were overturned in ways that could occur in actual operations. The tests showed that the sensors operated reliably, that the bars deployed to levels higher than those where most operators' heads would be positioned, and that the bars met industry standards for withstanding the impact and weight of overturns. NIOSH also asked a group of farmers to compare the Auto-ROPS with a manually adjustable ROPS system. The farmers said they believed that the Auto-ROPS was more effective than the manually adjustable version, and that it provided better protection. NIOSH and FEMCO, a McPherson, Kansas, ROPS manufacturer, are working with tractor and power equipment manufacturers to determine ways to bring the technology to commercial use through marketing in the agricultural industry. Further information on the technology is available from Tony McKenzie, Ph.D., safety research engineer, NIOSH Division of Safety Research. Telephone (304) 285-6064, or e-mail elm6@cdc.gov. For video clips showing Auto-ROPS in field tests, visit the NIOSH web site at <www.cdc.gov/niosh/updates/autorops.html>. Home Safety Management Systems (HSMS) Web SiteThe Web site address for Home Safety Management Systems is noted here. Check out their newsletters for informative safety tips. You can subscribe to automatically receive their newsletters. EDEN Web Site Maintains Most Current Info on BSE, Other Current ThreatsJust a reminder that the most current information relating to current disasters or threats can be found at the Web site of the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN). Find it at: <http://www.agctr.lsu.edu/eden/>. SAFETY NEWS & NOTES is an e-mail newsletter prepared by Carol J. Lehtola, Extension Agricultural Safety Specialist. Design Team FL 124: Prevention and Preparedness: Agricultural Safety & Disaster Management. Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, UF/IFAS. If you have safety- or disaster-related questions or ideas that you would like to share with other agents, please contact Dr. Lehtola. If you know someone interested in receiving this newsletter, we will gladly add them to the e-mail list.
Florida AgSafe Web site: http://www.flagsafe.ufl.edu The Disaster Handbook: http://disaster.ifas.ufl.edu National Agricultural Safety Database: http://www.cdc.gov/nasd |