New awareness week to tackle PTO safety

 The Farm Safety Partnership, in association with local farm machinery dealers, is launching a new ‘PTO Safety Week’ on Monday 22 September.

Unguarded or poorly guarded PTOs can kill or seriously injure a person in less than a second. The PTO safety Week aims to remind farmers of the risks and encourage them to check their guards and where necessary replace or repair them.

In a move designed to help farmers protect themselves and their families, more than 40 participating dealers across Northern Ireland will offer a 15% discount on new PTO guards purchased from Monday 22 to Saturday 27 September. Some outlets will also provide free PTO fitting and repairs, so contact your local dealer to find out what’s available.

To support the initiative, HSENI officers will also visit local farms throughout the week to ensure that famers have checked their guards and taken appropriate action.

Looking forward to another successful PTO week, Chairman of the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) George Lucas said:

“On behalf of the Farm Safety Partnership I’d again like to thank the participating dealers for their support for this important safety drive.

“Farmers know that PTO shafts which are not properly guarded are dangerous and can maim or kill in seconds. Despite the fact that many farmers have taken action, HSENI still sees evidence that unguarded or poorly guarded PTO shafts are still a common problem on farms. This must change and famers need to act now to eliminate all obvious and unnecessary dangers on their farms.” 

President of the Ulster Farmers’ Union Ian Marshall added:

“This is a great opportunity for farmers to make their farms safer and I’d encourage them to take advantage of the generous discounts on offer. I’d also recommend that farmers buy good quality PTO guards, as though some may meet the minimum required standards they can be of inferior quality, offer poor value for money and provide limited protection.

“Farm safety must be a priority for everyone connected to the farming industry and we all need to continue to play our part so that together we can take the next steps towards safer farms.”

Accidents involving equipment such as PTOs is one of four areas targeted by the Farm Safety Partnership’s new farm safety campaign, ‘Stop and Think SAFE’.

To find out more about the ‘Stop and Think SAFE’ campaign, or for advice about working safely with farm machinery, please contact the HSENI helpline on: 0800 0320 121 or visit: http://www.hseni.gov.uk/farmsafe