Prevention of professional risks when using farming machinery
10 Junio 2021 | Blog
Although most of the developed countries have experienced a decrease in the number of accidents related to the use of farming machinery, still it is left much to do in this sense. Throughout the last half-century some implementations, such as safety cabs on tractors, have helped to improve the safety for those who carry out their labour on farming areas.
Nowadays a set of rules exist which regulate the prevention of risks in farming, but they consist of guidelines difficult to apply by those managing farms. Some particularities and the close bond between family and work on this sector could be the reason for this difficulty.
Considering some figures, it can be said that 3 % out of the farming workers suffer from a severe accident per year. These are statistical data provided by the Spanish Ministry of Farming, Fishing and Food which proves the importance of following strict safety protocols and rules for manufacturing farming machinery. These regulations could contribute to reduce the number of such accidents and their impact on worker's health.
There many different causes for these accidents. The farming staff usually works in an isolated environment. Moreover, most of the times the farmer lives all his/her lifetime with machinery, so he/she does not see any danger on this. In addition, the intensity of the daily work is another risk factor.
The so-called "Safety Directive on Machines" (Directive from European Parliament and Committee on 17/05/2006, reference 2006/42/CE) is the present frame regulated by European rules which concerns the EC homologation of the machinery. In the article num. 2 it is determined that one can only market those machines that do not endanger the safety of their users or do not put into risk some side elements such as goods or animals.
Therefore, no homologation on administrative terms is needed to commercialize a machine. Only for certain cases, in which the machine is considered to be extremely dangerous, an inspection of this kind must be passed.
The way in which we as manufacturers of farming machinery guarantee the safety of our products is giving preference to the safety which belongs to the integral part of the machine's design. In consequence, the next guidelines should be followed:
o The potential risks for the user must be suppressed as much as possible.
o Some protection measures about machine's use must be implemented
o The user must be aware of the possible residual risk inferred from the moment of starting up his/her machine.
Although accidents are considered globally to happen by chance, what is true is that there are many factors which have to do with safety when a farming machine is used. For example, choosing the cheapest machine can be detrimental to the required standards of safety, because of the lack of the recommended protection elements or due to a defective design in the machine.
Prevention, in any case, turns out to be crucial and its impact is always remarkable on terms of the safety level which has been reached. It can be applied following the right procedures to handle safely the machinery or, directly, from start when manufacturing the equipment on factory, by respecting thoroughly the regulations of quality.
The fact that a technical safety inspection could be carried out by the manufacturer allows that any procedure could benefit from the skill and information this has about each machine.
These are classified under the ISO-UNE-EN 4254/1 Rule, previously UNE-EN 1553, which relates to all the farming or forest machines. Some of the most significant ones are the following:
o It must be declared the acoustic level and the vibration of the driving post in the information that is delivered to the user.
o The minimal room between controls and fixed parts must be 50 millimetres for levers which are pushed with a strength over 100 N. Being the force less than this, the minimal room would be 25 millimetres.
o C rules (general sort) will be applied, concerning the contact with mobile elements or wheels
o A safe surrounding area of access must be provided for users which are farther than 550 mm from the floor.
o The machine's ladder must be tilted between 70 and 90º in respect to horizontal floor and it must have successive steps against slipping.
o The grips and handrails must have three points of support.
o The platforms which are attached to the machine must be flat. A drain exit and feet protection must be available.
On the other hand, protection against mechanical risks must be cared for. In this sense, the following remarks must be considered:
o Those mobile elements responsible for transferring power must be protected or located far enough to avoid direct contact with them.
o The EN 292 rule must be followed. This establishes that in the access areas tightened guards must be available.
o When the access to these elements is frequent, the guards must have an opening device: normally an automatic locking or hinges.
o There must be a pictogram informing about the guard element
To conclude with, it must be considered that the farming research process must come close to the development of rules of prevention of professional risks. These are always positive, contributing to the suppression of accidents in all workflows which imply the use of machinery.
