We all know the poorsafety record that ourfarming community has.67 work-related fatalitiesin the last 10 years(2004-2013); five ofthese were childrenunder 11 years old.

This represents adisproportionate numberof deaths, across all agegroups, compared to allother industries.

The Farm SafetyPartnership was launchedin May 2012 by MinistersFoster and O’Neill.

It brings together keystakeholders with aninterest in farm safety inNorthern Ireland.

The Partnership recentlylaunched the 2014 - 17action plan at an event inthe Stormont hotel.

Chair Jimmy Fenton andSecretary Ernie Spenceattended the launch.

What was clear from thislaunch was the fact thatthere are a number ofinterested parties(including the SafetyGroup) who are willing toassist coupled with adesire from the FarmSafety Partnership toembrace those willing tohelp improve the safetyrecord in agriculture.

Is a cultural changeneeded? Frankly theanswer is yes. Is thisachievable? Again theanswer is yes. Will it beeasy? Unfortunately, theanswer here is no.

However, if theconstruction industry canimprove their safetyrecord then why not thefarming sector.

Readers should bereminded of a commentmade by Safety GroupPresident Wilson Lambeon the video clip for the

60th Conference. Talkingabout construction in thepast he answered therhetorical questions : didyou ever see a hard haton a construction site?No. Did you ever see ahi-vis vest? No.

But now these arecommon place.

The obvious question isHOW CAN WE HELP?

The answer is probablymore simple than wethink.

The Partnership arecommitted to promotingkey farm safety messagesand to continue to do allthey can to inform,

influence, coerce,enforce, motivate andadvise rural communities.

Our challenge as safetyprofessionals is to feedinto this.

It all starts with ideas, nomatter how small.

So the first step is if youfeel you’d like to getinvolved or you’ve anidea that you feel wouldbe of use to the farmingcommunity then get incontact with SecretaryErnie Spence (028 93368928 or info@nisg.org.uk)and start a conversation.

SAFE & SOUNDNewsletter Vol 14 Issue 4

SAFE & SOUND

SAFETY GROUP STANDS WILLINGTO ASSIST IN ANY WAY WE CAN

A very informativepack has beenproduced by the IrishHospice Foundation.

Covering a range ofsituations from ‘whatto say/how to tellsomeone through tothe developing of abereavement policy’

these free resourcesare invaluable foremployers dealingwith employees goingthrough this difficulttime. The resourcepack can bedownloaded at theweb site addressbelow.

Resource pack for helping bereaved colleagues:

http://hospicefoundation.ie/what-we-do/bereavement/grief-at-work/

Contact NISGinfo@nisg.org.uk028 9336 892807938 049270

experts in safety

Safety Group Patron:

F o l l o w i n g a d e t a i l e dr e v i e w o f w o r k p l a c ed e a t h s , t h e H e a l t ha n d S a f e t yA u t h o r i t y h a se x p r e s s e d s e r i o u sc o n c e r n a t t h e h i g hn u m b e r o fw o r k p l a c e f a t a l i t i e st h a t h a v e o c c u r r e di n r e c e n t y e a r s i nC o u n t y C o r k .

D u r i n g 2 0 1 2 t h e r ew e r e n i n e p e o p l ek i l l e d i n w o r k -r e l a t e d a c c i d e n t s i nC o r k ; f i v e i n t h ef i s h i n g s e c t o r , t w oi n c o n s t r u c t i o n , o n ei n a g r i c u l t u r e a n do n e i n p u b l i ca d m i n i s t r a t i o n .

L a s t y e a r , 2 0 1 3 , s a wa w o r s e n i n g p i c t u r ew i t h t w e l v e p e o p l ek i l l e d i n w o r k -r e l a t e d a c c i d e n t s i nt h e c o u n t y ; s i x i na g r i c u l t u r e , f o u r i nc o n s t r u c t i o n , o n e i ne d u c a t i o n a n d o n ei n f i s h i n g .

S p e a k i n g a b o u t t h ea l a r m i n g n u m b e r o fd e a t h s , B r i a nH i g g i s s o n , A s s i s t a n tC h i e f E x e c u t i v e o ft h e H e a l t h a n dS a f e t y A u t h o r i t ys a i d t h a t t h ef a t a l i t y n u m b e r s i nC o r k h a v e b e e nc o n s i s t e n t l y h i g h e rc o m p a r e d t o a n yo t h e r c o u n t y f o r t h el a s t n u m b e r o fy e a r s . “ W e h a v e as i g n i f i c a n t p r e s e n c ei n t h e c o u n t y a n d

o u r i n s p e c t i o n sc o v e r a l l s e c t o r s ,w e p l a n t o c a r r y o u ta d d i t i o n a li n s p e c t i o n s a c r o s st h e c o u n t y t h i sy e a r .

I w o u l d e n c o u r a g es e l f - e m p l o y e dp e o p l e t o g i v ep r i o r i t y t o s a f e t y i nt h e i r w o r k a c t i v i t i e sa n d I w o u l d a s ke m p l o y e r s a n de m p l o y e e s t o w o r kt o g e t h e r t o m a k e a l lw o r k p l a c e s s a f e r . ”

T h e r e i s a h i g hc o n c e n t r a t i o n o fd a i r y f a r m s i n C o r ka n d r e s e a r c h s h o w st h a t t h i s t y p e o ff a r m i n g i s h i g h l yp r e s s u r i s e d a n dp o t e n t i a l l yh a z a r d o u s . A l s o ,f i s h i n g a n dc o n s t r u c t i o n a r ei m p o r t a n ti n d u s t r i e s a n d a r ei d e n t i f i e d a s h i g hr i s k a c t i v i t i e s .

T h i s y e a r t h eA u t h o r i t y w i l l r o l lo u t s p e c i f i ci n s p e c t i o n a n da w a r e n e s sc a m p a i g n s t a r g e t e da t t h o s e s e c t o r s .

T h e r e h a v e b e e nt w e l v e f a t a l i t i e sn a t i o n a l l y s o f a rt h i s y e a r , w i t h t w oi n C o r k ; o n e i na g r i c u l t u r e a n d o n ei n c o n s t r u c t i o n .

A r t i c l e f r o m H S Ap r e s s r e l e a s e

Safety Advice Centre LtdSafety Health& Environmental Consultants

NewsletterSponsor

Check out our new website for your safety training needs atwww.safetyadvicecentre.com

HSENI UPDATE/HSENI UPDATECork has the highest numberof workplace fatalitiesoccurring in Ireland

Re-appointment of Chairman of the Healthand Safety Executive for Northern Ireland

Enterprise Minister ArleneFoster has announced there-appointment of MrGeorge Lucas as Chairmanof the Health and SafetyExecutive for NorthernIreland for a second three-year term.

Mr Lucas’s re-appointmentto the Board of the Healthand Safety Executive forNorthern Ireland, (HSENI) iseffective from 1 April 2014.

Commenting on the re-appointment, the Ministersaid: “I am pleased Mr Lucashas agreed to serve asecond term as HSENIChairman and that he willcontinue to provide theexcellent leadership and

strategic direction to theBoard demonstrated duringhis first term.”

The re-appointment hasbeen made in accordancewith the Code of Practice ofthe Commissioner for PublicAppointments, NorthernIreland.

KEEP THIS DATE FREETuesday 11th November 2014

IN ASSOCIATIONWITH

a.m. - Musculoskeletal disorders

p.m. - behavioural safety

Those who regularly do'homers' and do not plan thejob to consider the presenceof asbestos, may be playing'Russian Roulette' with theirand your health!

Asbestos Kills!

Disturbing or damagingAsbestos ContainingMaterials (ACM's) putseveryone at risk of breathingin potentially fatal fibres. Themore often you do this, thebigger the risk of developingasbestos related illnesses.

Those who do 'homers' on aregular basis and carry outwork on houses or otherpremises built or renovatedbefore November 1999, areat significant risk of asbestoscontaining materials beingpresent which can harmthemselves and others.

Asbestos materials in good

condition and leftundisturbed are relativelysafe; however, using hand orpower tools on this materialwithout taking adequateprecautions is potentiallylethal.

Some work activities aremore likely to create asignificant concentration ofasbestos fibres into the airand increase the risk ofexposure. An example of thetype of work is;

● Use of power tools (todrill, cut etc) on mostACMs

● Work that leads tophysical disturbance(knocking, breakingsmashing) of an ACM.(HSE state that thisshould only be handledby a licensed contractor.)e.g. sprayed coating,lagging, AIB)

● Manually cutting ordrilling AIB

● Work involvingaggressive physicaldisturbance of asbestoscement e.g. breaking orsmashing.

Any building includingdomestic premises, built orrefurbished before November1999 may contain asbestos inmany forms

The asbestos mineral iscontained in manyconstruction materials suchas cement, insulating board,roof tiles, floor coverings,acoustic boards, toiletcisterns, lagging, sprayedcoating ….

Take a little bit of advice;

Those who undertake'homers' such as electrical,plumbing, roofing, paintingand maintenance work etc.on domestic or commercialpremises built or renovatedbefore the year 2000, beaware and take precautions.Step by step advice is free andavailable at HSE’s and HSENIwebsites below:-

Article from Nicola Penman,Training Solutions NI

SMALL BUSINESS SAFETY - SEMINAR 2nd JUNE - GET INVOLVEDSME’s and microsizedbusinesses account for 99.9%of all businesses in NI andemploy 347,000 peopleaccording the FSB in NI.

Yet they are the toughest nutto crack when promoting theH & S message.

The reason for this is fairlysimple - lack of time andresource, perceived cost anda view that it will alwayshappen to someone else.

We are trying again this yearto promote safety into theSME sector and has set up aseminar. We need your help .

This year we have the supportof Antrim Enterprise Agencyand Mallusk Enterprise Park.

Details are on the eventssection of our website.

We hope you will pass detailsto your smaller suppliers/subcontractors etc.

If you’ve got some timeplease contact us tovolunteer as a mentor.

For further details contactthe Secretary: Ernie Spenceon 028 93368928 or emailinfo@nisg.org.uk

NewsletterSponsor

Safety Advice Centre LtdSafety Health

& Environmental Consultants

Sign up for City and Guilds NVQ level 5 Diploma in Health and Safety,contact bill@safetyadvicecentre.com

Safety failings putFinchley worker in

burns coma

A warning to trades-persons who do 'homers'

© Keith Williamson

© Michael Coghlan

© Plumber James

© Brandt Kurowski

http://www.hse.gov.uk/ASBESTOS/essentials/index.htm#a3http://asbestos.hseni.gov.uk/

A North London labourerreceived life-threatening burninjuries in an explosion whenhe severed a 415-volt electricalcable, unaware it was still live,a court has heard.

Mr Vlatko Milenkov, a 31-year-old agency worker fromFinchley, hired by Dray BuildingLtd, was among a teamstripping out a property inWestminster prior torefurbishment. He wasremoving electrical equipmentfrom a basement wall on 1August 2012 believing it all tobe safely disconnected, whenthe explosion happened.

The worker suffered severeand extensive burns to hislimbs, body and face, was in aninduced coma in intensive carefor two weeks, and in hospitalfor several more. He still haslong-term psychologicalproblems and persistent pain.

The Health and SafetyExecutive investigated andprosecuted Acton-based DrayBuilding Ltd for safety failingsat Westminster Magistrates’Court.

They were fined £10,000 andordered to pay £9,882 in costsafter admitting a breach of theConstruction (Design andManagement) Regulations.

HSE Press release

Training is good for business; CITB-ConstructionSkills NI Grant Schemeoffers support for a wide range of training and qualifications from

apprentices through to the existing workforce including management andadministration. Claim whilst you train www.citbcsni.org.uk/grants

Workplace compensation claims have dropped by 50 per cent in the last decade

Once again the terrificgenerosity of Safety Groupmembers was shown at therecent Safety Quiz.

This year the money raisedwent to ‘Energy for Children’,a Charity set up by Phoenix Gasfor disadvantaged children.

The organisation focuses onthose needy causes that areslipping through the net of themore established Charitynetwork. By doing this thefunding can be spread into theheart of local communities.

To date it has helped over6000 children from all cornersof the Province.

The charity was chosenbecause 100% of the donationwill go to the cause. There areno administration or othercosts to be met by the Charityas this is all covered byPhoenix.

"We chose this Charity because100% of the money raised goesto the cause" said JimmyFenton. He went on to say

"Children are our future andwe feel the amount we haveraised will be well spent".

ADVANCED WARNING

The 2015 All Ireland QuizFinals will be held in Belfast.The Safety Group is keen toensure that next year’s NI quizfeatures more teams thanever. So, all you budding teammanagers have a year to selectyour team members!!!!!!!

You have been warned.

Peter Dixon, Chairman, Energy for Children Charitable Trustand Jimmy Fenton, Chair, NI Safety Group.

£800 raised at Annual Safety Quiz for disadvantaged childrenNISG WELCOMES

NEW MEMBER

WILLIAMCOATESMECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS

Workplace compensation caseshave fallen by more than 50per cent in the last decade,

reveals a newjoint report

published bythe TUC

and the

Association of Personal InjuryLawyers (APIL).

It is common to hear storiesthat the UK is rife with acompensation culture and isbecoming risk averse as aresult of compensation claims.However, The CompensationMyth – which tackles sevenmyths about compensation –smashes this misconceptionand finds that there were183,342 compensation claims

in 2002/03 but only 91,115 in2012/13, a fall of more than50 per cent.

In spite of this decline thegovernment is making it evenharder for workers to pursueclaims of employer negligenceby taking the burden of proofaway from the employer andincreasing the costs employeeshave to pay to have their caseheard.

The report also finds that morethan six out of seven (85.7 percent) of workers who areinjured or made ill at work getno compensation whatsoever.Each year around 500,000people are made ill as a resultof their job and a further

110,000 are injured whilecarrying out their daily duties.The most common injuriesinclude musculoskeletaldisorders such as backproblems or repetitive straininjury, injuries from slips andfalls, skin diseases and hearingproblems. However, onlyaround 90,000 workersmanage to gain anycompensation from theiremployer following an injury oraccident in their office orworkplace.

TUC Press release

Accidentsin theStates

Worker killed as clothingsnags on automatic door

pulley

A North Minnesota worker hasdied in an accident at BagleyHardwood Products in Bagleywhen his clothing snagged inthe pulley of an automaticdoor which pulled himupwards as it rose.

Saw blade cut intoarborist's neck

A 21-year old arborist of AdlerTree Service of Gibsonia,Pennsylvania, successfullyunderwent emergency surgeryin Allegheny Hospital after achain saw blade becameembedded in his neck as heworked at height. Colleagueshelped him down and he wasrushed to hospital, the bladehad missed vital arteries andhad cut into muscle tissue.