A culture of safety protects workers and profits

From policies aimed at maximising quad safety to insurance cover that protects farms financially in the event of an unforeseen accident, agribusiness owners are well aware that they need to approach farm safety and hazards at all angles to keep their workers safe and reduce risks to their operations.

The week of July 20 was National Farm Safety Week, and the theme of the event highlighted another key aspect of maintaining safe practices and vigilant behaviour: Not only do organisations that prioritise these principles avoid costly injuries and devastating deaths, they also tend to be more profitable.

Safety and productivity

Each year, Farmsafe Australia holds National Farm Safety Week to highlight the importance of addressing potential hazards and to remind farm operators of the widespread value of giving safety a central place within their strategies and practices. This year, the theme was Safe Farms = Better Productivity.

Commenting on the event, Primary Industries Health and Safety Partnership Advisory Committee Chairman Gordon Gregory noted that better health and safety can reduce absenteeism and lost time, ultimately improving returns. At the same time, a culture with safety at its core can lead to better communication and more fluid operations.

"The development of a 'safety culture' - where safety is a fully integrated part of the farm business - pays off, and not just by reducing incidents on-farm and minimising working time lost," he said.

"There are several studies that show a safety culture improves the quality of communication between management and the rest of the company. It also pays by reducing time and paperwork devoted to checking whether elementary safety-related actions are carried out ??€“ what costs money is not safety, but bad safety management."

Building a culture of safety

According to a media monitoring report from the Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety and the University of Sydney, which collated reported deaths and injuries taking place on Australian farms January to June of this year, there have already been a significant number of harmful incidents. Fatal on-farm cases number 24, exceeding the 2014 January to June figure by one.

Tractors and quads were the leading agents of injury that led to death in 2015, though other farm vehicles and machinery also claimed some lives. Animals were involved in non-fatal injuries while bees, lightning and snakes were a few of the other factors.

This is all to say that the causes of injury or death on farms can come from varied and unexpected sources. That's why it's all the more important not just to establish clear policies and ensure protective measures are in place, but to build a whole culture of safety where everyone is aware of possible risks and watching for hazards.

Having an emergency plan in place along with cover to mitigate financial implications are important components of a risk management strategy as well, but with a proactive, comprehensive approach hopefully these steps will never come into play.