Health and Safety Executive Health and Safety Executive All About Risk Assessment David Coackley Health, Education and Employment Team Agriculture and Food Sector Operational Strategy Division

What it covers Risk assessment Virtual farm inspection Human health - zoonoses

What does health and safety mean to you? Myth: Health and safety rules stop classroom experiments

What does health and safety mean to you? Myth: If a pupil is hurt, the teacher is likely to be sued

What does health and safety mean to you? Myth: Egg boxes are banned in craft lessons as they might cause salmonella

Sensible risk management We believe that risk management should be about practical steps to protect people from real harm and suffering - not bureaucratic back covering. We want to save lives, not stop them.

Sensible risk management is about Ensuring that teachers, employees, students and the public are properly protected Providing overall benefit to society by balancing benefits and risks, with a focus on reducing real risks – both those which arise more often and those with serious consequences Enabling innovation and learning not stifling them Ensuring that those who create risks manage them responsibly and understand that failure to manage real risks responsibly is likely to lead to robust action Enabling individuals to understand that as well as the right to protection, they also have to exercise responsibility

Sensible risk management is NOT about Creating a totally risk free society Generating useless paperwork mountains Scaring people by exaggerating or publicising trivial risks Stopping important recreational and learning activities for individuals where the risks are managed Reducing protection of people

What is a risk assessment? A risk assessment is simply a careful examination of what, in your work, could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up whether you have taken sufficient precautions or should do more to prevent harm. Focus on significant risk not trivial

Terminology Hazard –is anything that may cause harm, such as chemicals, electricity, working from ladders, animals, animal faeces, vehicles, machinery etc; Risk –is the chance, high or low, that somebody could be harmed by these and other hazards, together with an indication of how serious the harm could be.

Five steps to risk assessment 1. Identify the hazards 2. Decide who might be harmed and how 3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions 4. Record your findings and implement them 5. Review your assessment and update if necessary

Step 1 Identify the hazards How could people/pupils be harmed Walk round Ask staff Check other sources –HSE website –Local Authority –Department for Education Remember foreseeable health hazards as well foreseeable safety hazards

Identifying the Hazards The next slide shows seven different hazards that may be found on a farm

Hazards

Step 2 Decide who might be harmed and how In each case: –identify how people might be harmed –what type of injury or illness could they suffer

Step 3 evaluate the risks and decide on precautions Do all that is ‘reasonably practicable’ to protect people from harm Compare what you are doing with good practice Look at what you are already doing –What controls are in place? –Is more required?

Step 3 evaluate the risks and decide on precautions Ask –Can I get rid of the hazard altogether –If not, how can I control the risks so that harm is unlikely

Principles of risk control try a less risky option (e.g. switch to using a less hazardous chemical); prevent access to the hazard (e.g. by guarding); organise work to reduce exposure to the hazard (e.g. put barriers between pedestrians and traffic); issue personal protective equipment (e.g. clothing, footwear, goggles etc); and provide welfare facilities (e.g. washing facilities for removal of contamination).

Step 4 Record your findings and implement them Write down your results –keep it simple Risk assessment should be suitable and sufficient not perfect Need to show –a proper check was made; –you asked who might be affected; –you dealt with all the significant hazards, taking into account the number of people who could be involved; –the precautions are reasonable, and the remaining risk is low; and –you involved your staff or their representatives in the process.

Step 4 Record your findings and implement them A good plan of action often includes a mixture of different things such as: a few cheap or easy improvements that can be done quickly, perhaps as a temporary solution until more reliable controls are in place; long-term solutions to those risks most likely to cause accidents or ill health; long-term solutions to those risks with the worst potential consequences; arrangements for training employees on the main risks that remain and how they are to be controlled; regular checks to make sure that the control measures stay in place; and clear responsibilities – who will lead on what action, and by when.

Step 5 Review your risk assessment and update if necessary Review on a regular basis Set a review date Review if there are changes e.g. a new activity

Example of a risk assessment

Risk assessment template What are the hazards? Who might be harmed and how? What are you already doing? What further action is necessary? Action by whom? Action by when? Done

Putting it into practice Now we will look at a range of activities and attempt to undertake a risk assessment Complete the template provided for the activities seen

Animal handling

Vehicles on the farm

Feeding

Moving manure

Touching animals

Tractor

Use of tools

Visits to farms Planning the visit - which areas of the farm will the visitors definitely want to see? -are there other areas of the farm that they might wish to see during their visit? - make sure children will be effectively excluded from hazardous areas that they will not be visiting on the farm (normally this will be achieved by fencing, warning signs, and supervision)

Visits to farms Planning the visit (continued) - identify the hazards that exist in the areas that the children will be visiting - put appropriate precautions in place to prevent accidents and ill health. What might this mean in practice?....

Virtual farm inspection HSE inspector Charlie Callis takes us on a farm inspection

Virtual farm inspection (Vehicles) Segregate your visitors from tractors and other farm vehicles Inform employees of the visit, and of the arrangements for segregation Co-ordinate deliveries, contractors etc so that they don’t conflict with the visit

Virtual farm inspection (vehicles) Leaving cab doors unlocked and keys in the ignition is a recipe for disaster. Lock cab doors and remove keys from those vehicles without cabs.

Virtual farm inspection (falling objects) Make unstable items safe by securing them or laying them flat This heavy item has been tied to a rail at the top.

Virtual farm inspection (falling objects) Make sure bale stacks are built and dismantled so that they remain stable

Virtual farm inspection (falling objects) Stack wheels and tyres safely. Here they have been laid down on a pallet. If you lean them against a wall – make sure they are secured with rope or chain.

Virtual farm inspection (falling objects) Make sure that items such as buckets are stored securely when not in use, to avoid them toppling over.

Virtual farm inspection ( other storage) Storage areas may seem as fascinating as an adventure play park to children. Keep yards tidy and stored items stable so they cannot topple over onto a child.

Virtual farm inspection (falls from height) Ladders should be stored securely: –lie them down on the ground or; –secure a board over the bottom rungs. Remember to look at your fixed ladders in the same way.

Virtual farm inspection (falls from height) Think about other areas where children can fall. This loading ramp is almost 5 feet high at the end. Consider guard rails or other methods to prevent access to the open edge

Virtual farm inspection (slurry storage) Slurry stores must be secured against child access This slurry pit gate has been covered with mesh to prevent a child climbing up it. Remember to make sure the mesh is of a small enough size to prevent a young child gaining a foothold.

Virtual farm inspection (grain storage and handling) Moving grain in reception pits has caused many child fatalities. Here a mesh guard has been fitted over the pit to allow the grain to flow through but prevent anyone been drawn down to the auger.

Virtual farm inspection Keep sheep dips covered when they are not in use. Children have drowned in dips that have filled with rain water.

Virtual farm inspection (livestock) Take effective steps to exclude children from pens of large animals This gate is fully panelled and offers no hand or foot hold to allow access into the pen

Virtual farm inspection (livestock) Remember feed troughs can present easy access Here the troughs have been raised and covered with lids to prevent access

Virtual farm inspection (chemicals, pesticides etc) Keep chemicals etc in locked stores Dispose of use containers, needles etc safely

Virtual farm inspection (fire) Take steps to prevent fire (segregate combustibles, prohibit smoking near to them, etc) Plan what should be done in the event of a fire. Inform staff and visitors

Virtual farm inspection (carrying passengers on farm trailers) If you are going to carry passengers around the farm read HSE’s Agriculture Information Sheet No. 36. You may well need to convert a trailer to passenger use permanently.

First Aid Appropriate first aid equipment and suitably qualified people must be provided to enable first aid to be given to employees if they are injured at work It is recommended that you also consider the needs of visitors, but teachers should attend to pupils first aid needs You should check your public liability insurance policy on this point

Human health - zoonoses Zoonoses are diseases that pass from animals to humans caused by exposure to micro-organisms such as: E.coli Cryptosporidium Campylobacter Salmonella Chlamydia Animals act as reservoir for bacteria etc Direct or indirect transfer to humans

E. Coli 0157 E. coli a very common species of bacteria Many different types of E. coli 0157 is just one type of E. coli VTEC Verocytotoxin (producing) Echerichia coli Verocytotoxin destroys cells

VTEC Verotoxin is produced by E. coli O157 in the bowel –Damages the gut lining (bloody diarrhoea) –Absorbed across the gut into the blood stream –Damages red blood cells (Haemolytic) –Damages the kidney (Uraemic) Hence HUS –Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome

Cryptosporidium Protozoan parasite Life cycle occurs in the gut Main symptoms –Watery diarrhoea of acute onset –Abdominal pain –Nausea and/or vomiting –Low grade fever and loss of appetite –Symptoms often relapse

Alcohol hand gel Hand gel used contained 65% ethanol. In C.parvum studies with 70% ethanol, contact times of 20 mins found no marked reduction in infectivity. (Barbee et al., 1999; Weir et al., 2002) Inadequate for Cryptosporidium and E.coli infection control purposes. Hand gels and wipes are not an effective substitute for proper hand washing.

Modes of transfer A. Direct contact  Touching, stroking or petting animals  Feeding animals B. Indirect contact  Climbing or leaning on enclosure fences or gates  Sitting on contaminated grass or furniture  Removing dirty shoes or boots Followed by ‘hand to mouth’ transfer

Control measures are predicated on the assumption that ALL animals (including birds) carry a range of micro-organisms Actions required to prevent or reduce exposure Control measures

Control Measures Concentrate on: Premises layout & routes Animal contact Eating areas & play areas Washing facilities Information & signs for visitors Livestock management Manure & compost heaps

Hand washing facilities should: be accessible by all, i.e. at the right heights for both children and adults or with raised standing areas provided for children. Check these do not create tripping or falling hazards; have running hot and cold or warm water (e.g. mixer taps). Warm water supplies should be fitted with a means of restricting the temperature to no more than 43 °C to avoid scalding;

Hand washing facilities should: have liquid soap. Bactericidal soaps are not necessary; have paper towels. Hot-air hand-dryers are suitable but may lead to queues, which discourage people from washing their hands. Reusable hand towels are not suitable; be properly maintained and cleaned regularly as required; be replenished with paper towels and soap as necessary; include open or pedal-operated waste bins which are emptied as necessary.

Agriculture Information Sheet AIS 23 Provides advice to those responsible for premises where members of the public, including children, are encouraged to view, touch or pet animals Recognises the importance of such visits Can never be considered free from all risk Help ensure risk remains low Guidance for those organising visits

Premises covered Farm attractions Animal petting/handling enclaves City farms Working farms that open to public Rare breed and rescue centres Agricultural/County shows Travelling menageries Other attractions