Work Health & Safety (WH&S) Compliance Update
Agricultural businesses have both the highest fatality rate, as well as disease and injury rate of all industries in the country. Therefore, Workplace Health and Safety (WH&S) compliance is not only vital to reduce the risk of death or injury of employees, but also mitigate the liability to the business. WH&S regulations are not new for farming businesses, however as farming businesses grow and develop, their WH&S risk profile also changes. The responsibility that employers must minimise risks to employees remains, though many businesses have not kept up with the documentation of policies and procedures required, nor developed appropriate Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and induction material for new employees.
There are numerous resources available to business managers to develop WH&S policies and procedures. The following links provides some useful advice and practical resources to help identify risks in the business, plus develop induction procedures and training registers for agricultural businesses https://youngfarmer.farmtable.com.au/toolkit/whs-toolkit/ https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/483680/SW09235-0519-A-Z-Farm-Safety-Guide.pdf.
However, one of the main issues for many businesses with WH&S compliance, is that complacency sets in and policies and procedures once developed, are often left in the office to gather dust and not utilised, plus inductions are not completed.
For larger, more complex businesses with numerous employees, there are also subscription-based businesses such as Safe Ag Systems that provide templates for policies, procedures, checklists, emergency management, reporting requirements and record keeping, specifically for agricultural enterprises. This allows a business to develop a WH&S programme tailored to their specific situation and keeps a record of all WH&S relevant information on a cloud-based platform. More information can be found at the following link https://www.safeagsystems.com/
Due to government subsidised loans and the instant tax depreciation of assets, many businesses have invested in modern infrastructure and equipment. Increased workplace safety should be a core requirement of any investment in new infrastructure and equipment. Examples of such infrastructure and equipment include automated central filling and unloading systems for silo complexes, sheep handlers, quad bike roll over bars and 5 star ANCAP rated vehicles.
As many businesses have grown, so has their labour requirement and naturally as the number of employees increases, so does the probability of accidents occurring. Also, particularly in cropping enterprises, many clients have focused on the timing of critical events such as sowing and harvesting to capitalise on favourable environmental conditions. This has lead to very high workloads during peak periods that can precipitate fatigue related accidents.
Mental health, particularly depression has become more prevalent for farmers in recent years, due to poor seasonal conditions and increased levels of stress. Managing mental health is a very complex issue, however those most at risk from farm triggered mental health issues, are those most likely to be in a key managerial role within the business. Therefore, it is vital that the business is able to minimise the risk of mental health issues from occurring and for members of the business to be vigilant in identifying the signs of mental illness if it does occur.
Strategies to help relieve stress and fatigue, particularly during low production years are necessary to help avoid mental health issues. These strategies include:
Planning, having tasks identified and prioritised can help alleviate the stress associated with overwork, plus it can be rewarding to tick items off the list as they are completed. Having a list of priorities will also lead to better decision making, better allocation of time and resources, plus reducing the chance of unexpected issues that require reactionary management.
Taking allocated holiday leave or breaks from work in blocks, which allow growers to unwind and de-stress.
Maintaining social contacts, particularly with non-farmers so that conversations do not continually revolve around drought or other negative issues
Conducting regular exercise and maintaining a healthy lifestyle
Most farming businesses are family owned and operated, with the majority of labour supplied by family members. It is therefore more than likely that employees who get injured at work, are also family members. This in addition to the legal obligations/ramifications, should be all the incentive that farm managers need, to lead by example when working and to ensure safe working practices are followed, plus WH&S regulations are complied with.