Farm transport and machinery safety

22 June 2023

Transport and machinery are the biggest contributor to the high fatality rate that agriculture endures. Here are some simple ways you can reduce the risk and keep you, and others, safe.

One of the easiest ways of keeping yourself safe is by ensuring all the equipment you require is properly maintained and therefore suitable for the intended tasks. This can apply to any piece of equipment you run, for instance tractors, trailers, ATVs, towed appliances, farm vehicles, handheld machines etc.

By completing daily checks before commencing use of the machine or vehicle, you are more likely to notice any possible defects that could prevent the task being carried out safely.

In addition to this, regular maintenance checks completed by a dealership are also recommended to ensure any defects that are not highlighted on daily checks are addressed. This can ensure that small issues are repaired before they escalate and have a bigger financial and safety impact.

Ensuring your machines and transport are well maintained will also ensure it is running efficiently and therefore likely to reduce long term costs associated with the machine, while also having the potential to increase its longevity.

A well-maintained vehicle or machine is more likely to be complaint with what is considered roadworthy. As such, if an incident should occur (that is not your fault), you are likely to be in a more favourable position if your vehicle or machine is well maintained.

For further guidance and examples of vehicle health checks, visit: Code of Practice: Vehicle Health Check Scheme

An example of equipment that should be regularly maintained and replaced when damaged are PTO shaft covers.

Some designs of PTO shaft covers make it harder to grease points on the PTO shafts. If possible, replace this type of cover with one that is more practical to manage.

The potential risk associated with a missing or damaged PTO cover is high and can result in a life-changing or fatal injury. Therefore, a missing or damaged cover should be replaced as soon as possible, and the PTO should not be used until an appropriate cover is fitted.

Further information on safe use and maintenance of agricultural machinery, review the HSE guide.

Code of Practice: Vehicle Health Check Scheme

How a PTO accident changed a life forever

Using and maintaining lifting equipment – what does the law say?

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