HomeMy WebLinkAboutFarming '92, 1992-03-18, Page 19FARMING ’92, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18,1992. A19.
Farming '92
It s safety first with new
machinery standards
BY KIM MCKINNON
Operating various kinds of equip
ment on the farm promises to be a
much safer task once new standards
for machinery are developed.
Standards governing lighting,
brakes, the location and type of on-
off switches and roll-over protec
tion for tractors and other
equipment are now in the works.
The Canadian Standards Associa
tion (CSA) has set up a committee
of machinery manufacturers, farm
groups and representatives from
federal and provincial governments
to draft the standards. The project
is being partially funded by Agri
culture Canada under the Canadian
Agri-Food Development Initiative.
Canadian standards for farm
machinery have traditionally mir
rored those in the United States, the
main exporter of equipment to
Canada. But the arrival from Japan
and Europe of machinery built to
different standards has forced
another look at the safety issue.
According to Larry Chanasyk, an
engineering manager with farm
machinery manufacturer Ford-New
Holland and chairman of the
committee, the lack of Canadian
standards has meant a bewildering
hodge-podge for both designers and
consumers. He's optimistic that the
fruits of the committee's labours
will streamline the system and cut
down on the confusion.
like the Prairie Agriculture Machin
ery Institute will be investigating
some of these problems.
The committee is planning to
release some 33 standards covering
various areas of machinery manu
facture related to operator protec
tion, couplings and testing
procedures as well as manuals,
symbols and controls.
Once a consensus has been
reached by committee members on
a particular standard, it will be pub
lished by the CSA. The standards
are written in a way that will allow
them to be incorporated easily into
legislation.
Alan Asselstine, an economist
with Agriculture Canada's Policy
Branch and a member of the com
mittee, says that while standards
will improve safety, they won't
mean the end of on-farm accidents
with equipment.
“When farmers are out working
in the field 16 hours a day, mis
takes will be made. Farming is a
family business. Children can be
around the equipment unsupervised
and accidents will happen. It's up to
farmers and their families to exer
cise caution with machinery,” he
says.
Along with the emphasis on
safety, the committee is also look
ing at issues such as machinery
compatibility. The group is trying
to develop standards that will allow
pieces of equipment to be hitched
together quickly and easily.
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Life on the farm can be danger
ous business. In Ontario, although
there are no statistics available,
tractor roll-overs are a major cause
of death. Children operating trac
tors or riding as passengers are
another major concern.
“There’s no question that there is
a problem in our industry,” Mr.
Chanasyk says. “If you look at the
accident frequency per 100,000
workers, farming is far above aver
age in terms of accidents. Having
uniform equipment standards
should contribute to a reduction in
the accident rate.”
The committee has started its
work by looking at international
standards to see how applicable
they are to the Canadian situation,
in the hopes some can be adopted
as is or in a modified form.
In addition, farmer members
have brought several problems to
the group's attention, such as con
cern over the location of lighting on
cultivators and their safe use on
Prairie highways. Testing agencies
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