Prevention of Secondary Injuries: Incidents Involving Bodily Entrapment, Entrapment between Objects, or Collisions with Objects
In the farming industry, accidents related to material handling and housekeeping pose a significant risk to workers. Two common types of accidents, "caught-in/between" and "struck-by", often occur due to interactions with heavy machinery, moving equipment parts, falling objects, and confined spaces.
"Caught-in/between" accidents typically involve workers becoming trapped or compressed by equipment or structures. This can happen through entanglement with moving parts or getting caught between machinery components or between equipment and a fixed object.
On the other hand, "struck-by" accidents usually involve being hit by moving vehicles, falling objects, or equipment. In sectors like agriculture, forestry, and fishing, about 25% of fatalities from being struck by a moving vehicle occur in the agriculture industry.
To minimise these accidents, several preventive measures have been suggested. These include providing proper training for all workers on safe equipment operation and hazard awareness, using safety features on farm equipment, regular inspection and maintenance, restricting site access to authorised personnel only, implementing and enforcing safety protocols, raising safety awareness and readiness for emergencies, and promoting guidelines such as shutting down equipment before repairs or inspections, chocking the wheels, using cylinder safety locks, and standing clearly visible to the tractor driver when hitching or unhitching equipment.
In addition, specific high-risk scenarios in agriculture, such as grain bin accidents, require special attention. Training programs like grain bin rescue training can help address these issues.
These measures aim to minimise worker exposure to hazardous situations where they might be caught, crushed, or struck, thereby reducing serious injuries and fatalities in agricultural operations.
These fact sheets have been reviewed by Karen Mancl, PhD, Professor, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, The Ohio State University, and Pat Luchkowsky, Director of Public Affairs, Easter Seals of Ohio. They were developed to promote success in agriculture for Ohio's farmers and farm families coping with a disability or long-term health condition, with funding from NIFA.
References: - Division of Occupational Safety and Health. (n.d.). Injury Fact Sheet-Agriculture, Dairy Farm Workers. Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. - Division of Occupational Safety and Health. (n.d.). Injury Fact Sheet-Agriculture, Orchard Workers. Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. - About AgrAbility Based Fact Sheets. - Stromme, L. (2007). OSHA's Big Four workplace hazards. Agricultural Safety and Health. - McGuire, J. (2016). Caught in or Caught Between Objects. The Ohio State University Extension. - Vi Hon, Y. (2008). Young Workers and Struck By Injuries. Construction Safety Magazine.
- In the agricultural industry, understanding the science behind equipment safety can help prevent "caught-in/between" and "struck-by" accidents, ensuring workplace wellness and enhancing health and wellness for workers.
- To further promote safety and fitness, it's crucial to implement workplace-wellness programs that include fitness-and-exercise routines, in addition to providing safety training and enforcing safety protocols to reduce the risk of accidents in the livestock sector.
- Additionally, high-risk scenarios like grain bin accidents can be mitigated by integrating specialized training programs such as grain bin rescue training into agricultural workforce development, as recommended by experts like Karen Mancl, PhD, and Pat Luchkowsky.
