Preventing Farm Machinery Preventing Farm Machinery EntanglementsEntanglements

OutlineOutlineAccident/incident analysisMachinery hazardsCase studiesAcceptable riskMaking changes

BackgroundBackgroundFarm machinery entanglements:

comprise one third of all farm machinery injuries.involve both sexes and all ages.cause an average of ten deaths per year.seriously injure another 275 people per year.

Farm Machinery Injuries Canadian Agricultural Injury

Surveillance Program: 1990 - 1995 (4,042 cases)

66%

34%

Other Machinery Injuries Entanglements

Entanglement injuries are among the most traumatic events seen in hospital emergency departments. – Major lacerations– Crushed or fractured

limbs– Amputations– Head and spinal cord

injuries– Permanent disability

Machinery hazardsMachinery hazardsEntanglement can occur

when a machine has one or more of the following hazards:

pinch pointcrush pointwrap pointpull-in pointshearing, cutting points

Pinch pointPinch point

Two or more parts move together with one moving in a circle.

Example:pulley belt

Crush pointCrush point

Two components move toward each other.

Example:three-point hitchhydraulic cylinder

Wrap pointWrap point

Exposed, rotating components. (Nicks, mud or rust increase wrap potential.)

Example:PTO shaft auger

Pull-in pointPull-in pointMechanism designed to

pull in crops or other material.

Example:baler pick-upcombinefeed grinderconveyor

Shearing, cutting pointsShearing, cutting pointsTwo parts move across

each other, or one part moves across a stationary object.

Example:cutter baraugerfeed mixerfan blade

Learning from experience: Learning from experience: Accident/incident analysisAccident/incident analysis

Immediate causePossible contributing factors– Human– Mechanical– Environmental

Basic, “systemic” causeWhat one thing could prevent a similar incident?

Case StudiesCase StudiesStories of real people injured in farm machinery entanglements. Why highlight injuries rather than fatalities?– For every entanglement

fatality, there are 2727 serious entanglement injuries.

– What survivors tell us can help prevent a similar incident.

Case Study 1Case Study 1

Erwin Lehmann

Approximately 125 people suffer serious head and/or spinal cord injuries in farm machinery related incidents every year.

Case Study 1: Case Study 1: Incident analysisIncident analysis

What was the immediate cause of the incident?What were possible contributing factors:– human– mechanical– environmental

What one thing could prevent a similar incident?

Case Study 2Case Study 2Doug Thoms

Over thirty people a year suffer injuries that require admission to hospital as a result of becoming entangled in a baler.

Case Study 2: Case Study 2: Incident analysisIncident analysis

What was the immediate cause of the incident?What were possible contributing factors?– human– mechanical– environmental

What one thing could prevent a similar incident?

Case Study 3Case Study 3

Bernard Bigoraj

Approximately 275 people a year are seriously injured when they become entangled or caught in a farm machine. Over 5% of all farm work-related injuries are initiated by a trip or fall.

Case Study 3 Case Study 3 Incident analysisIncident analysis

What was the immediate cause of the incident?What were possible contributing factors?– human– mechanical– environmental

What one thing could prevent a similar incident?

Case Study 4Case Study 4Clara Crawford

Almost sixty women a year are seriously injured in incidents involving farm machinery.

Case Study 4: Case Study 4: Incident analysisIncident analysis

What was the immediate cause of the incident?What were possible contributing factors?– human– mechanical– environmental

What one thing could prevent a similar incident?

Case Study 5Case Study 5Richard Polkinghorne

Approximately 50 people a year are killed or seriously injured when they become entangled in a power-take-off device.

Case Study 5: Case Study 5: Incident analysisIncident analysis

What was the immediate cause of the incident?What were possible contributing factors:– human– mechanical– environmental

What one thing could prevent a similar incident?

Case Study 6Case Study 6

Bob Ellenor

Most farm fatalities occur during daylight hours, and there are clear peaks during the afternoon, from 2:00 to 6:00 pm.

Case Study 6: Case Study 6: Incident analysisIncident analysis

What was the immediate cause of the incident?What were possible contributing factors?– human– mechanical– environmental

What one thing could prevent a similar incident?

Case Study 7Case Study 7

Charlene Gray

On average, every year three people lose all or part of an arm, another two lose a hand, and almost fifty lose a thumb and/or fingers in farm work-related injuries.

Case Study 7: Case Study 7: Incident analysisIncident analysis

What was the immediate cause of the incident?What were possible contributing factors?– human– mechanical– environmental

What one thing could prevent a similar incident?

Case Study 8Case Study 8Lorraine Klassen

On average every year nine children under the age of fifteen are killed, and over 100 are seriously injured in incidents involving farm machinery.

Case Study 8: Case Study 8: Incident analysisIncident analysis

What was the immediate cause of the incident?What were possible contributing factors?– human– mechanical– environmental

What one thing could prevent a similar incident?

Case Study 9Case Study 9Tony Potoreyko

Fewer than half of farm fatalities are witnessed; 36% are not discovered for more than an hour, which has a huge impact on the survival rate of the victims.

Case Study 9: Case Study 9: Incident analysisIncident analysis

What was the immediate cause of the incident?What were possible contributing factors?– human– mechanical– environmental

What one thing could decrease the trauma of a similar incident?

What can an entanglement cost?What can an entanglement cost?

Pain and sufferingGuilt, shame, loss of self-esteemProduction downtimeTravel and medical expensesChildcare expensesMachinery damage and/or replacement

Hired labour costs Increased farm work for spouse/childrenLess time for study and/or recreationDecreased income Lifetime disabilityFamily breakdownLoss of the farm

What is “acceptable risk?”What is “acceptable risk?”There is only one person who can decide what level of

risk is acceptable for you. Ask yourself :

– Is the comfort of a loose shirt on a hot day worth eleven weeks in hospital?

– Is saving a few bushels of grain worth losing an arm?– Are the family hassles you avoid by letting your child ride on

or play around equipment worth losing the child?– Is getting by on three hours sleep to finish harvest a day earlier

worth losing the farm?– Is the convenience of leaving the tractor running while you

repair or unplug equipment worth your family losing you?

Making changesMaking changesFarm Safety Audit

A management tool that can minimize the risk of injuries and maximize productivity and profitabilityCost/benefit analysis process: What will it cost - in terms of time,

money and convenience - to change equipment, the environment or a work procedure?

Is the potential benefit worth the cost?

ConclusionConclusionYou can work safely with farm machinery. Here’s how:

1. Guard or shield all moving parts.

2. Do a pre-operational safety check on yourself.

3. Disengage PTO, turn off engine and remove keys before dismounting tractor.

4. Turn off power before you repair, adjust or unplug machinery.

5. Walk around, don’t climb or reach over a rotating PTO.

6. Consider yourself a high-risk worker and dress for the job.

7. Communicate effectively when you work with another person.

8. Keep bystanders and children away from machinery.

9. You may want to invest in a Remote control engine shut-off and receiver remote control engine shut-off.