No harm down on the farm

Staff at the family-run Ashlyn’s Farm Shop in North Weald, Essex, have today pledged their support to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the latest phase of its “Shattered Lives” campaign to highlight the devastating consequences of slips, trips and falls in the work place.

Staff at Ashlyns were keen to ensure that safety remains high on their agenda whilst busy serving customers at the popular Farm Shop on the A414.

Nationally, a total of 61 people died and more than 14,000 suffered serious injury as a result of a slip, trip or fall from height in British workplaces last year – in the East of England there were 6 fatalities and more than 3,781serious injuries.

The second phase of the Shattered Lives campaign, launched in February, aims to highlight the devastating consequences of slips, trips and falls in the workplace and to encourage employers, in consultation with their employees, to ‘take action’.

Eddie Scoggins, Principal HSE Inspector, said: ‘It’s great that staff at Ashlyns are backing the campaign and doing their bit to help get the message across.

‘Over half of the major accidents are caused by slips or trips. People often view slips, trips and falls as trivial incidents, even comical but they are no joke to those who suffer major injuries, a lifetime of disability, time off work and in the worst cases death. The financial cost can be huge while the personal price in pain and inconvenience cannot be under-estimated.

‘We want to raise awareness of how these incidents can happen and how they can be easily avoided by taking common sense actions and precautions at no or little cost. If you spot a hazard in your workplace deal with it, don’t assume that somebody else will.’

The Collins Family started farming at Ashlyns in 1970 in the rolling clay-lands of West Essex. The farm boasts a newly extended farm shop which is constructed from a green oak frame in the style of a traditional Essex barn, and packed full with organic and local fruit and vegetables, an in-house butchery selling the farm’s own and locally produced meat and an on-site kitchen.

Rob Dixon, Manager at the Farm Shop explained why Ashlyns are backing the campaign.

‘We pride ourselves on taking a common sense approach to preventing incidents in the workplace – both to staff and customers. We have procedures in place to deal with any spillages, which could lead to trips and falls, and make sure that we respond immediately if we anything happens. We’ve got a good safety record here and work hard to maintain that.’

Eddie Scoggins (HSE) added: ‘I recommend that anyone looking after health and safety in their organisation visits our new interactive learning package – STEP – which provides practical guidance to help users tackle slips, trips and falls in the workplace, at www.hse.gov.uk/slips/step/index.htm^[1].’

Fatalities and serious injuries arising from slips, trips and fall incidents cost British society an estimated £700 million last year.

The campaign is targeted at seven sectors where there is a prevalence of such injuries: food retail, catering and hospitality, food and drink manufacturing, building and plant maintenance, construction, healthcare and education, although the risks can occur in any workplace. 

Advice on Working at Height can also be found at HSE’s WAIT section of the website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls.wait/index.htm^[2].