Farm Accidents

[cowman]

Well I'm not a fount of knowledge on the safety records of the oil and gas industry....just mentioned it because that is exactly what the instructor of a class I was taking told us two days before! Had to get the old H2S ticket renewed.
Now I don't know if this guy pulled that little fact out of his hat or something but he sure knew a thing or two about H2S as he has worked in that field about 40 years!
He also told us a H2S consultant currently draws a pay cheque in the neighborhood of $2200/day! Now I would say that is not to shabby! Sure beats slinging hamburgers or raising cows!

[daretodiffer]

Emerald, my comment was that workers on farms are not covered by Health and Safety Codes and I mean mandatory compliance. The legislation exempts farm businesses because of the farm lobby that "them kind of things don't apply to farm operations, we're different you know". So you are not required to abide by any of the safety rules of the OH&S regulations. Not anything to do with chemical handling, fall protection, protective footware and eyeware, Same with Workers Compensation coverage. In the farm sector, it is entirely your choice to have coverage and most don't. If you work in real industry the business all employees are covered by WCB. Yes just like your car and house insurance, that will bring with it some practical rules and conditions for keeping the coverage you have.
Yes the employees/students you had under Summer Farm were covered by WCB but you didn't pay for it, didn't register them with WCB and if there was an accident things were taken care of by the government. It is a risk management decision by the government to cover the students on the program. It protects their liability and is a good concept all by itself.
The fact that you had your employees registered with WCB over the years illustrates you are a very savvy business operator. And it would seem some of your neighbours as well. But you had to make a consious decision to take out WCB coverage, register each employee and make regular premium payments based on payroll levels. If you didn't, they weren't.

Only WCB operates under a no-fault insurance umbrella which private insurers don't have. That means if a worker is injured or killed, the business cannot be sued for damages and compensation. That provision alone, makes having WCB coverage for staff a very good risk avoidance tool.

The bottom line is that farm accidents don't happen from some totally unpredictable reason. Safety is an attitude and having no WCB and feeling smug about not being subject to those "safety Nazi's" as cowman suggested is directly related to the reason that farm work is so rife with injuries and fatalities. One can laugh all they want about those poor suckers who have to comply with work life regulations and guidelines but what does it say about farm operations as a place to work in today's competitive recruitment market.

[daretodiffer]

Cowman, perhaps as you say you aren't a font of knowledge. Sounded like you were in some position of wisdom judging by the blarney of:

"In the oil patch they went whole hog on the safety thing several years ago. Accidents have actually gone up despite the untold millions of dollars and hours spent on safety! But it sure gave a lot of slackards jobs! "

[daretodiffer]

daretodiffer, you are correct in saying that WCB coverage is voluntary. I would think that one reason for the increase in accidents in the oil and gas sector is likely due to the increase in number of people working in that sector. My eldest son was in charge of all aspects of the safety program for the largest tank truck company in this area of the oil patch for many years and certainly compliance with regulations became a huge issue with all areas of the oil and gas industry. I think that many accidents in the oil and gas industry are due to human error, just as they are in farming operations. I do appreciate cowmans comments on any issue, he, like the others who are regulars on this site, have a great deal of hands on experience to share with us.
We may not always agree with each other but we should respect each others ideas and comments.

[cowman]

Safety rules and regulations? There always is the world of "rules" and then there is the "real" world.
A typical example from this same H2S course: The instructor gave us a case example and we were supposed to come up with a solution. We were grouped together in small groups. In my group there were 4 kids and me and an old push. The kids all had the right answer while me and the old push were wrong! The case study was two guys were down at a drilling site and the wind was swirling. The leak was from an open hatch on a acid truck on an active drilling site.
The correct solution: The safety guy takes charge. He picks his best two guys(based on their training sessions!) to suit up and go get the downers. He sends the push to phone for help in the doghouse.
The wrong solution(me and the old push): The push takes charge. He is the boss and has the experience to deal with crisis. He tells his go-to-guys(the ones he knows won't panic and can get the job done) to suit up and get in there. He sends the safety guy to phone and tells everyone else to get the hell off the lease.
The instructor told us after if he went down he sure would rather have us in charge even though we had the wrong answer! That is what I call the "real" world.

[cowman]

'right or wrong' cowman, at least all of you that were taking the H2S course would have reacted and likely saved lives if the situation was 'real'
In a farming operation, many times folks are working alone when a bad accident happens, and some farmers are notorious for cutting corners where safety is concerned, eg: not ensuring that guards are on augers; taking chances around livestock; working many long hours at busy times of the year etc.
One good thing that has evolved over the past few years is a mandatory courses for farmers handling pesticides. The local Ag Service Board runs them once a year.
I think that every farmer and at least one other member of their family should have basic first aid training, but I bet very few of them do.
In fact, I am willing to bet that likely the few that do have a First Aid Certificate, or even a good first aid kit, got it working in an off farm industry.
Disturbing statistics indicate that on an average 114 people are killed on Canadian farms each year, and another 1500 are hospitalized for their injuries. In the ten year decade between 1990 and 2000 there were 14,987 agriculture related injuries across Canada that required hospitalization and lord knows how many others that required broken bones set, stitches etc., that didn't require hospitalization. The real tragedy is that of the 13 persons killed in farm-related accidents in Alberta last year five were under 18.
Farming is a very stressful occupation and unlike many industries, the kids start helping at a very young age, and even the tiny ones might be around the workplace, neither of which you will see out in the oil patch.
If everyone that contributes to this site would get adequate first aid training and ensure that they are working safely at all times on their own farming operation, it would be a start.

[cowman]

Emerald: Not quite sure what you are talking about when you say it is mandatory to take a course to buy pesticides? You sure don't need anything to handle herbicides...other than a legal land description.
I have a certified industrial chemical applicators license but my local dealer never asks me anything other than my legal land description when I buy farm chemicals. When I buy industrial chemicals I have to have my certificate number.
By the way, keeping up a chem certificate, has become quite a chore! You need to attend some courses every year and they aren't cheap! Costs me about $400/year!
I also need first aid/cpr every three years, Transportation of Dangerous goods every three years, Confined space/three years, and H2S/three years. All on my own nickel!
I do agree farming can be a very dangerous occupation. I also believe as a person gets older they become more susceptible to mistakes? But also they become more cautious and don't rush so much?