News
How hi-tech approach aims to reduce fatalities on the farm
• Risk tools aim to cut farm deaths
• Fatigue and remote working alone
• Motion sensor alerts for machines
F
arming’s high number of fatal accidents could be reduced by adopting a high-tech approach
to workplace safety.
More than 30 people died in farm-related accidents during the past 12 months, according to the Health and Safety Executive. The greatest risk comes when working with machin- ery, livestock or at height.
Innovations to improve farm safety were unveiled at an Agri-TechE online event. They included a machinery au- dit activated by QR code, a risk assess- ment tool, and motion sensor alerts for moving machinery.
Agri-TechE director Belinda Clarke
said: “More people are using digital technologies for a greater range of applications. This creates a huge op- portunity for making safety and com- pliance part of the culture on-farm.” The Farm365 machinery safety and audit app is triggered by scanning a QR code located on the equipment in question. The idea came from Farm365 founder and Norfolk-based safety con- sultant Lizzie Creed.
Doing something different “We’re losing somebody in agriculture every two weeks,” she said. “I thought ‘there is technology for everything else on-farm, but most health and safety monitoring is paper-based – we’ve got to start doing something differently’.” The Farm365 app makes it easy to keep up with machine safety checks and food compliance audits. Scanning the QR code brings up pre-work check- lists, the machine’s service history and food safety checks. For Katy Landt, it was a near-miss
The Farm365 app makes it easier to keep up safety checks, says Lizzie Creed (above left)
on the family farm in Australia that persuaded her to launch Safe Ag Sys- tems. It makes it easier to encourage safe practices among farm workers, in- cluding older employees.
Remote areas
We’re losing somebody in agriculture every two weeks
“ A
proposed for a 1100ha solar farm built on farmland are expected to be submitted to the planning inspector-
ate this summer.
The Sunnica project on the Cambridge- shire/Suffolk border would be the biggest in the UK and one of the largest in the world. But local campaigners against development say it would take too much arable land out of production.
This project is located over a number of sites surrounding seven villages in West Suf- folk and East Cambridgeshire. Electricity
6 ANGLIA FARMER • JULY 2021
produced will pass along almost 15 miles of cabling with giant batteries used as stor- age facilities.
Campaigners say some 1133ha will be
lost, including land currently used for grow- ing potatoes, carrots, onions, sugar beet and wheat. They say local biodiversity and wild- life habitats could also be lost. Local agronomist Anne Noble said: “While the need for green energy is accepted by everyone it is imperative that we do not ac- cept these schemes at face value. The green credentials of these schemes requires care-
Ms Landt explained: “Fatigue and working alone in remote areas is a huge contributor to the statistics. The reality is that we can’t eliminate all of these risks but what we can do is re- duce them.” Safe Ag Systems captures records across employment, company policy and all types of procedure. It can also be used to educate farm workers, cap- ture chemical or fuel usage, report haz- ards and alert someone or call for help in an emergency. Ben Sturgess, founder of tech com-
pany Pathfindr, is developing a weara- ble solution to address the high rate of vehicle related injury in agriculture. It uses ultra-wideband (UWB) technol- ogy that sets off an alarm when safe- ty measures are breached.
Developer to submit plan for giant wind farm ful evaluation.”
After a public consultation, Sunnica says round 26% of the land within the scheme will no longer be used for energy production or battery storage. It will instead be used for landscaping, ecological or archaeological mit- igation purposes. Sunnica says a range of new grassland mixes beneath the solar panels will improve fauna and increase biodiversity. It says the land will be returned to agriculture after the lifetime of the scheme, which is expect- ed to be 40 years.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
