Rural
18 July, 2024
PTO danger highlighted after new farmer death
Another on-farm death in Victoria has prompted WorkSafe to issue a new safety alert to farmers using machinery which is powered by tractors.
Another on-farm death in Victoria has prompted WorkSafe to issue a new safety alert to farmers.
"Due to [this] death we have created an alert to remind farmers, growers and others who regularly operate powered mobile plant to consider the risks when operating machinery on-farm," a WorkSafe spokesperson said.
"This safety alert aims to help build knowledge on the safe use of powered mobile plant to reduce risks to farmers who regularly use machinery including augers."
In the most recent incident, a 75-year-old farmer was killed while removing a large rock that had become stuck in a rock picker attached to a tractor.
The power take-off (PTO) was still engaged, and once the rock was dislodged the machine’s rotating parts started moving again, crushing the man.
The WorkSafe spokesperson said it was "crucial to eliminate or minimise the risk of crushing, entanglement and amputation from tractor attachments".
"Normally the operator is protected from these risks when they are seated in the tractor seat.
"The potential danger arises when the operator gets off the tractor while the PTO is engaged and the engine is still on.
"To control the risks, the operator should disengage the PTO, isolate hydraulic systems and shut off the tractor engine before leaving the seat.
"Other ways to control the risk may include fitting the tractor with an operator-presence switch in the tractor seat, or fitting the tractor with an interlock system that shuts down the tractor engine when the operator leaves the seat while the PTO is engaged."
Agriculture makes up only two per cent of Victoria's workforce, but 14 per cent of workplace deaths.
About 75 per cent of these deaths involved farm machinery, the spokesperson said.
"Tractors and their attachments are some of the most dangerous pieces of machinery on farms.
"In recent years many people have been killed or seriously injured in incidents involving attachments.
"Tractors supply power to attachments via the PTO and hydraulic systems, causing mechanisms to rotate and move.
"If safety precautions aren’t followed, these movements can lead to a risk of entanglement, crushing and/or amputation."