SHAD stops off in Norfolk
The Norfolk Agriculture Safety and Health Awareness Day (SHAD) rolls into Norwich this week (W/E 30 Oct) with the sole aim of helping to prevent farm accidents.
Fatalities and serious injury on farms has declined in recent years yet farming is still one of the most dangerous occupations in this country with 26 deaths in agriculture in 2008/09 alone.
The Health and Safety Executive say that is too many and SHADs provide an excellent way for those working on farms get practical advice free of charge from trained instructors with an industry background.
The Norfolk SHAD is on Thursday 29 October at Easton College, Norwich and is split into two half-day sessions. Each consists of several practical demonstrations. These are delivered mainly by LANTRA instructors, who have an industry background or are themselves farmers.
The demonstrations cover hazards workers in the farming industry face daily such as manual handling, machinery maintenance and blockages, telehandler safety, hydraulics, working at Height and pesticides.
Over 43,000 people throughout England, Scotland and Wales. have attended these HSE events in the past decade.
The audience of family farmers, the self employed and those employing up to four workers will see demonstrations showing good practice that anyone working on a farm can use to spot and deal with potential dangers.
Several hundred local farmers and those working with them are invited to attend the half-day event at. Registration times for the morning and afternoon sessions are 08.30 - 09.30 AM; 12.00 - 13.00 PM with bacon rolls and tea provided.
On registration, attendees will be able to view exhibits by Easton College and HSE (child safety on farms) and a host of others subject to confirmation.
There will be opportunities to ask questions at the end of each demonstration and for people in the group to share their experiences and learn from one another.
Free information and guidance will be available during the day to take home and share with other workers or family members.
HSE health and safety awareness officer, Simon Wicks said: "Any farmer receiving an invitation to this event should treat it as a welcome opportunity to improve health and safety in their business and make every effort to attend.
"The HSE is working in partnership with very experienced, well-qualified trainers from LANTRA in running this event and together we aim to provide practical solutions to the health and safety challenges that farmers face."
