Farm safety and housekeeping – slippages

Housekeeping in relation to farm and safety issues can apply to very simple areas are also thought of immigration to hospitality and other venues housekeeping is a general term for all types of cleaning and safety protocols.

A spillage of any material can potentially be quite dangerous, either because someone could slip on it and damage themselves, or it could also have a knock-on effect in terms of damaging other equipment and potentially be a fire risk.

There is also a possibility that something is leaking a liquid for any reason, that that device or machine is inherently unsafe as well.

This is especially important when applied tofarm and agricultural machinery, whether such machinery be vehicles or tractors, or other types of machinery such as generators or power tools of any description.

The essence of this is as it is really important to make sure that all types of liquid that some reason had spilled onto the floor, normally things such as water or oil are immediately cleaned up, and the source of the leak identified.

Once a leakage has been cleaned, it is important to cover the area withsome type of grit or sand or other type of compound that can try the floor in order for people not to slip on it even if it is cleaned up.

Once this village has been identified some type of signage should be put in place to make people aware of the potential risk or hazard that the spillage would generate

once the spillage has been cleaned, such signage should be kept in place until the area is completely clean and dry and does not present any type of risk to anyone who might walk through.

It is also important to realise in the context of a farm or agricultural operation that people walking through areas are quite often carrying different types of machinery, or parts of machinery or sensitive items such as Power Tools.

These items are quite often bulky and difficult to handle, and if a person works of over carry one it could actually result in catastrophic injuries. That is why paying attention to any type of spillage of a liquid is really important.

This also raises the very important issue as to who has responsibility for clearing up this type of potential hazard, and goes to the heart of a lot of health and safety legislation.

Mosthealth and safety laws acknowledge that there is a partnership between an employer and employee regarding all types of health and safety issues, and this partnership should be reflected both in the legislation applicable to the particular industry, and also within the nature of the business itself.

This partnership can vary and it is important to understand the specifics applicable to each particular business operation that exists. In general though, the employer has a duty of care that is very broad and covers both employees and public, and has responsibilities to make sure that the workplace is a safe environment.

It is highly likely that within a specific workplace one or two people may be designated the specific roles, which they will be expected to document on a regular basis throughout the day, to reflect that these areas of work had been supervised and checked.

It is also quite possible that an individual employee could be deemed to have a responsibility if they observe a spillage or other risk, simply because they are now aware of it. If an employee identifies a risk and ignores it, there is a potential argument that they could be deemed liable for any damage or loss that may occur as a result of the incident.

Whilst this is very general advice, there is a moral imperative for anyone who works in the farming industry to make sure that all their workplaces are safe, both for their benefit and that of their colleagues and families.