Farmwise Your essential guide to health and safety in agriculture
This is a free-to-download, web-friendly version of HSG270 (Third edition, published 2017). This version has been adapted for online use from HSE’s current printed version. You can buy the book at https://books.hse.gov.uk and most bookshops. ISBN 978 0 7176 6664 5 Price £10.00
This book provides guidance that is relevant to everyone working on farms: employers, employees and the self-employed. It will help you achieve good standards of health and safety, and reduce injuries and ill health by identifying causes, eliminating hazards and controlling risks. It covers the management of health and safety – principally for those responsible for running the farming or horticultural business – as well as outlining the specific risks of working in your industry and giving you easy-to-follow, practical advice to keep you safe and healthy at work. The third edition contains updated guidance on building in light of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. It has also been updated to include other references to legislation and guidance.
Click on the Download button to download a free copy.
Foreword
Since Farmwise was first produced, in 1992, it has reached a wide audience in the agricultural industry. This latest edition continues to provide practical advice and guidance to help you achieve good standards of health and safety – and reduce injuries and ill health. The persistently high rates of fatal incidents and work-related ill health in the industry are of real concern to HSE, the representative industry bodies and many farmers. HSE is continually working to use new technologies and innovative methods of communication to improve, target and deliver key health and safety messages and guidance to those working in the industry. Injuries and illness can ruin lives and businesses. Solutions are often simple and cheap and the people best placed to make farms safer are farmers and their employees. Health and safety is a fundamental requirement of a sustainable farming business and should be regarded as an essential part of farm business management. Unwise risk-taking is an underlying problem in the industry and those working on their own are especially vulnerable. I hope you find the time to read the sections relevant to you, your business or your place of work. HSE’s efforts alone will not build a safer and healthier industry. It is for everyone in agriculture and the wider food chain to play their part. I hope this booklet encourages you to tackle health and safety in your workplace today and in the future
Rick Brunt Head of Vulnerable Workers, Agriculture, Waste and Recycling Unit Health and Safety Executive
Introduction
In the last ten years, almost one person a week has been killed as a direct result of agricultural work. Many more have been seriously injured or made ill by their work. This booklet has been prepared by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to help you to:
■ effectively manage health, safety and welfare;
■ comply with the law;
■ carry out the risk assessments that you must do, eg under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999;
■ work safely and healthily.
The guidance in this booklet is relevant to everyone working on farms, whether employer, employee or self-employed, and will help you identify the causes of injuries and ill health, eliminate hazards and control risks. The first part covers managing health and safety and is primarily aimed at those responsible for running the farming or horticultural business (partners, directors and sole traders) but will also be of interest to others. The other sections cover specific risks in your industry and give you easy-to-follow, practical advice to keep you safe and healthy at work.
In this booklet:
■ ‘must’ indicates a definite legal requirement;
■ ‘dos and don’ts’, ‘shoulds’ and ‘should nots’ and other recommendations represent good practice to help you do what is reasonably practicable;
■ ‘think about’, ‘consider’ and similar phrases contain a tip or hint which may not amount to a precise legal requirement but indicate an approach to a health and safety problem which ought to be considered;
■ ‘reasonably practicable’ means that the degree of risk in a particular job or workplace needs to be balanced against the time, trouble, cost and physical difficulty of taking measures to avoid or reduce the risk. In other words, if you can show that a particular risk is insignificant in relation to the effort needed to reduce it, you need do no more;
■ a ‘safeguard’ is a means of reducing risk to health and/ or safety.
The booklet forms the basis of health and safety advice for agriculture. You will find further advice in the series of Agriculture Information Sheets (AIS), as well as other, more general, HSE publications. Each section contains references to some of the other most relevant HSE publications. You can also look at HSE’s agriculture website: www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture.
Click on the Download button to download a free copy.
This is a free-to-download, web-friendly version of HSG270 (Third edition, published 2017). This version has been adapted for online use from HSE’s current printed version. You can buy the book at https://books.hse.gov.uk and most bookshops. ISBN 978 0 7176 6664 5 Price £10.00
This book provides guidance that is relevant to everyone working on farms: employers, employees and the self-employed. It will help you achieve good standards of health and safety, and reduce injuries and ill health by identifying causes, eliminating hazards and controlling risks. It covers the management of health and safety – principally for those responsible for running the farming or horticultural business – as well as outlining the specific risks of working in your industry and giving you easy-to-follow, practical advice to keep you safe and healthy at work. The third edition contains updated guidance on building in light of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. It has also been updated to include other references to legislation and guidance.
Click on the Download button to download a free copy.
Foreword
Since Farmwise was first produced, in 1992, it has reached a wide audience in the agricultural industry. This latest edition continues to provide practical advice and guidance to help you achieve good standards of health and safety – and reduce injuries and ill health. The persistently high rates of fatal incidents and work-related ill health in the industry are of real concern to HSE, the representative industry bodies and many farmers. HSE is continually working to use new technologies and innovative methods of communication to improve, target and deliver key health and safety messages and guidance to those working in the industry. Injuries and illness can ruin lives and businesses. Solutions are often simple and cheap and the people best placed to make farms safer are farmers and their employees. Health and safety is a fundamental requirement of a sustainable farming business and should be regarded as an essential part of farm business management. Unwise risk-taking is an underlying problem in the industry and those working on their own are especially vulnerable. I hope you find the time to read the sections relevant to you, your business or your place of work. HSE’s efforts alone will not build a safer and healthier industry. It is for everyone in agriculture and the wider food chain to play their part. I hope this booklet encourages you to tackle health and safety in your workplace today and in the future
Rick Brunt Head of Vulnerable Workers, Agriculture, Waste and Recycling Unit Health and Safety Executive
Introduction
In the last ten years, almost one person a week has been killed as a direct result of agricultural work. Many more have been seriously injured or made ill by their work. This booklet has been prepared by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to help you to:
■ effectively manage health, safety and welfare;
■ comply with the law;
■ carry out the risk assessments that you must do, eg under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999;
■ work safely and healthily.
The guidance in this booklet is relevant to everyone working on farms, whether employer, employee or self-employed, and will help you identify the causes of injuries and ill health, eliminate hazards and control risks. The first part covers managing health and safety and is primarily aimed at those responsible for running the farming or horticultural business (partners, directors and sole traders) but will also be of interest to others. The other sections cover specific risks in your industry and give you easy-to-follow, practical advice to keep you safe and healthy at work.
In this booklet:
■ ‘must’ indicates a definite legal requirement;
■ ‘dos and don’ts’, ‘shoulds’ and ‘should nots’ and other recommendations represent good practice to help you do what is reasonably practicable;
■ ‘think about’, ‘consider’ and similar phrases contain a tip or hint which may not amount to a precise legal requirement but indicate an approach to a health and safety problem which ought to be considered;
■ ‘reasonably practicable’ means that the degree of risk in a particular job or workplace needs to be balanced against the time, trouble, cost and physical difficulty of taking measures to avoid or reduce the risk. In other words, if you can show that a particular risk is insignificant in relation to the effort needed to reduce it, you need do no more;
■ a ‘safeguard’ is a means of reducing risk to health and/ or safety.
The booklet forms the basis of health and safety advice for agriculture. You will find further advice in the series of Agriculture Information Sheets (AIS), as well as other, more general, HSE publications. Each section contains references to some of the other most relevant HSE publications. You can also look at HSE’s agriculture website: www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture.
Click on the Download button to download a free copy.
