The worst sector in the uK for Fatal Accidents at work and indeed accident frequency rate (per 100,000 workers) Is not the one you guess it would be.
When we asked for answers to this question today, pretty much everybody went for construction (although some thought Mining, Nuclear or other high hazard industries)……
Sadly Agriculture including forestry and fishing, leads this table with an incidence rate of 21 times higher than the all industry rate.
There is another terrible link here in the fact that more than a third of those killed were over 65 years of age and the youngest killed being a 9 year old boy. Unnapoligetically I’ll let that sink in for a minute or two….
The familial aspect of farming in particular means the impact of the incidents within these statistics is devastating. Families ripped apart and for the want of preventable actions that would see loved ones still with us.
I sat last year with a Principal Inspector from the HSE who spoke to me about the impact of having to go into the family home following such an incident on a farm and explain the circumstances that led to their cherished son were entirely preventable.
Everbody above that guessed contruction would be the worst sector can look at the paralells between an activity like using site transport (excavators, telehandlers, tractors , quads) in both settings.
Agricultural workers typically recieve little or no training, or at least not to the level expected in construction. The environment is not as ordered and sadly the machinery not as well maintained or provisioned with safety features.
This, leads to the tragic instances above in the infographic and the studies and guidance on the subject.
Please, if you have any input into health and safety in the agricultural sector, take a minute to step back and assess the risks involved in what you are about to do, it could (and should) save your life.
Ethos Safety has a range of guidance and solutions specifically for this sector, just get in touch for more.