Tom
Karsky
Agriculture Safety
Each
year many people die or are seriously injured in farm and
ranch accidents. Most of these accidents are preventable.
This checklist can be a guideline for farm and ranch operations
in evaluating each particular circumstance. Unsafe acts or
conditions, faulty equipment, or human error often cause accidents
that may result in injury, death, or property damage.
An inspection of your workplace will help prevent injuries
by identifying hazards, recording them, and taking corrective
action. You must be committed to correcting the hazards in
some manner if you are to succeed in reducing accident potential.
Aspects of Workplace Inspection
 Your
inspection should not be taken lightly. You may need several
family members or workers, or an outside set of eyes to see
some hazards that you may pass every day. No work area can
be 100 percent free of hazards. Include the questions "Who,
What, Where, When, and How" for each area examined.
When to Inspect
Many locations on a farm or ranch can be inspected year round.
The home buildings and other structures are examples of this.
Machinery and equipment can best be inspected when gearing
up for work in early spring, or in operation. Static inspection
examines the machine itself (shields and guards, decals, wear
and tear on parts), while an inspection during equipment operation
looks at unsafe acts of the operator or hazards in the field.
How to Compete the Inspection
As you go through the various sections of the following inspection
checklist, answer the questions or statements by checking
"Yes" or "No". If you have answered "Yes", no action is required.
If you have answered "No", then a hazard exists requiring
corrective action. You should then determine a priority level
for the hazard to indicate the urgency of the corrective action:
Priority level You should determine a priority level for
the hazard to indicate the urgency of the corrective action:
A Major
Life-threatening or serious injury potential
B Serious
Injury or property damage corrections in the short term
C Minor
Long term action can correct the problem
Indicate
a realistic target date to correct the hazard on the attached
sheets. When a hazard has been corrected, check it off in the
last column.
Check List
Disclaimer
and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not represent
NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears by permission
of the author and/or copyright holder. More
NASD Review: 04/2002
Written
by Tom Karsky, University of Idaho, and A. K. Jaussi, former
graduate assistant, Washington State University. For more information
about farm safety, please contact:
Tom
Karsky, Extension Farm Safety Specialist, Department of Biological
and Agricultural Engineering, University of Idaho, Moscow,
ID 83844-0904, phone 208/885-7627, fax 208/885-7908, email
(tkarsky@uidaho.edu).
Myron Shenk, Integrated Plant Protection Center, Oregon State
University, 2040 Cordley Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331-2915, phone
541/737-6274, fax 541/737-3080, email (shenkm@bcc.orst.edu).
Bill Symons, Extension Safety Specialist, Biological Systems
Engineering Department, Washington State University, 204 L.
J. Smith Hall, Pullman, WA 99164-6120, phone 509/335-2902,
fax 509/335-2722, email (symons@mail.wsu.edu).
This series is supported, in part, by funds provided by the
Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (PNASH),
Department of Environmental Health, Box 357234, University of
Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-7234 (phone: 800/330-0827,
email: pnash@u.washington.edu).
PNASH is funded by CDC/NIOSH Award #U07/CCU012926-02.
Published and distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress
of May 8 and June 30, 1914, by the University of Idaho Cooperative
Extension System, the Oregon State University Extension Service,
Washington State University Cooperative Extension, and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture cooperating. The three participating
Extension services provide equal opportunity in education and
employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin,
gender, age, disability, or status as a Vietnam-era veteran
as required by state and federal laws. The University of Idaho
Cooperative Extension System, Oregon State University Extension
Service, and Washington State University Cooperative Extension
are Equal Opportunity Employers.
| Published
December 1998 |
Hand
Signals |
Farm
Safety Series PNW 512 |
|
