What does safety leadership look like in the Ag sector?
Tony Watson
Finding ways to make farming better for everyone. Grass fed beef finisher, outdoors enthusiast, LandSAR guy. Opinions are my own.
As a sector, agriculture consistently has the highest number of workplace injuries and fatalities in NZ. And it’s the same things every year – quad bikes, tractors, utes and being caught in machinery.
There is plenty of evidence suggesting we would see improvements in these numbers if people on farm started wearing seat belts in tractors, utes and side-by-sides and kids weren’t allowed to operate adult size quad bikes.
Our people are dying! Why, as a sector, do we not seem to own this problem? Between farm workplace fatalities and farmer suicide – we lose more people every single year than were lost in the Pike River mining disaster.
Mindset
If a change in mindset is required – I wonder what is holding us back from changing our mindset. Is it that we’re not feeling respected? Maybe a loathe of being told what to do? Is it loss of dignity? Or is it something else?
As individual farmers and as a sector, we face risks every day – what is that we need to change in mindset for change to actually happen on the ground?
It starts with a decision
Change can easily happen – if we all decided to wear seat belts on farm in tractors, utes and side-by-sides, there would most likely be a reduction of 70-80% in the numbers of fatalities from these vehicles alone.
And there would be a significant reduction in the amount of harm if we didn’t let kids ride adult sized quad bikes, too.
There are lots of things that can be done to reduce the harm – the big question is Why. Why are we, as individual farmers and as a sector, not making these changes?
Leadership
This is a leadership question we each need to answer. What is it in our individual and collective mindset that is stopping us seeing this as a problem?
And, if we think it’s not a problem – that’s the first thing we need to change!
If we think there is a problem, and we don’t know the solution, then we can work collectively on that – we can learn from other farmers, from WorkSafe, other sectors and countries. And we will make progress.
Who is going to change?
However, it could be argued that the heart of the problem is many people in the sector saying “yeah, there’s a problem, everyone else can change – but I don’t really think I want to” If this is the case, we really do have some work to do.
But fix it we can – we know it won’t be a simple fix – it is complex, and it will take a lot of commitment. But, more than anything, it is going to take strong leadership and a commitment to want to change.
We need to think about our own role in making the change. We need to think about the behaviour we want to see.
And we need to start now.
These are a few thoughts following a discussion with Nicole Rosie, CEO WorkSafe NZ, who is also a director of the Agricultural Leaders’ Health and Safety Action Group.
--DESIGN BUILD MECHANICAL WEED CONTROL METHODS
5 年I wholeheartedly agree that something needs to be done,inter generational awareness is a very good place to start. I guess it was in an effort to save money that safety visits to rural schools was abandoned by MAF, or maybe it was around the time when safety frames were being introduced through legislation the late sixties early seventies, however I still vividly remember an afternoon session at our local school in Mid Canterbury, they used a battery powered tractor about 18” long and 12” wide that would drive up a ramp which got steeper until it flipped the tractor over backwards and trapped the dummy driver under the upturned tractor and other scenarios with the same result. Along with a short film involving Augers and PTO powered equipment equipment which was pretty gruesome as some parts of the short film were actual footage of real accidents, along with dummies being dragged into PTO shafts, grain augers, etc. It probably was traumatic to watch and probably wouldn’t be allowed today, ( the kids would need counselling) however those messages have stayed with me throughout my Agricultural career, sometimes shocking the viewer works.
Real safety. Real health. Real difference.
5 年Good on you Tony! Calling out the elephant in the room. Love your emphasis on management / leadership commitment and working as a collective to influence change, in addition to working with ‘other countries’ ??
Director of UnisonPsych (NZ) Ltd | Specialising in pre-employment & safety risk strategies for areas of high-fatality.
5 年Tony We have talked long and often of this subject and I know you and I are on the same page.? I agree with others that punative compliance will not work in Farming.? The only chance we have for sustainable positive change is (as others have noted) is to face the basic question from those in the Industry, 'what's in this for me?'? There are those who see every action within Farming to be a trade-off.? If I do that, then I can't do this.? The only chance we have is to teach/educate those in our highest risk industry that safety matters.? I am working extensively with Pamu and others to create a platform that will do just this.?? Farmers are strong, opinionated, hard working and far from ignorant.? With the right messages framed within proven evidence based research that is suppored by visible change (improvement), we can turn this tide and keep every Farmer safe.
Photographer Videographer, Real Estate Photography and Video
5 年To change a mindset you need to change the experiences. Attitude is the outward accumulation of a set of experiences both real and perceived. For far too long people have made the focus on compliance instead of wellbeing. Priorities focus on not being caught. When it becomes values based then the focus goes towards wellbeing and not being hurt. Punishment does not change one’s values, only their compliance briefly changes.
Machinery Editor,Rural News Group NZ
5 年Tony ... your sentiments are spot on, but the problem carries on.....two things will need to happen... first the move towards safer farming will need to be driven by generational changes, because you cant teach old dogs new tricks.... they there needs to be some financial pain for those not being safe.. stop the framing is a special case nonsense... fine hard and regularly