AEM, Future Farmers Promote Safe Use of Agricultural Equipment

The proper use of agricultural equipment is a vital factor in keeping employees safe. The AEM and the FFA have joined forces to bring about a new awareness program to help in these efforts. This ISHN article details the process.

ISHN, Farmers Promoting Safety

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) is partnering with the Future Farmers of America (National FFA) to promote the safe use of agricultural equipment through a new awareness program – “Tune into Safety.”

A large majority of FFA members, many of whom are directly involved in using agricultural equipment, are enrolled in safety training as part of their education.

The program will award points and shared sales revenue to FFA chapters for including AEM safety manuals in their members’ safety training. It will also provide individual members the opportunity to increase their annual fund-raising efforts by selling the manuals in their communities while communicating the importance of farm equipment safety to their peers.

Program Encourages ROPS, Seatbelt Use
Jaime Vos, AEM safety materials manager, stated: “We’re hoping FFA members take the opportunity to share their personal experiences through social media, express their views about safety when using farm equipment, and communicate the importance of using best safety practices to their peers and community.”

Click here to read the full article.

10 Steps to Reduce On-the-Job Hand Injuries Today

“Safety culture” is a popular buzz phrase going around. But developing a safety culture takes time. This Zero Excuses article details 10 quick-win safety strategies to start reducing on-the-job injuries today.

If you’ve read a lot about workplace safety culture lately, you’re not alone. It’s a popular topic and a critical component of any workplace safety program.
Creating a culture of workplace safety is a long-term strategy to reduce workplace injuries. And I’d most certainly encourage you to work toward one at your company. But there are also ways to get “quick wins” in safety. In this article we’ll cover 10 quick wins for hand safety in the workplace.

1. Create policies.
You may think this sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many safety leaders overlook this critical step. You want your employees to be safe? Be clear about the steps they need to take every day in order to do so. For hand safety, policies should include when gloves are to be worn, how to perform certain high-risk tasks, how to care for personal protective equipment (PPE) at the end of the day, etc.
And don’t just tell employees about procedures: write them down; demonstrate them; test your employees’ knowledge of them. Before you can implement any of the other nine quick wins in this article, you must first have established safety policies and procedures, and your employees must be aware of them.

2. Offer safety training.
Safety training is the ultimate quick win. It brings safety back into focus for your employees and demonstrates your commitment to employee safety, as a leader and as a company.
A recent article I read discussed tips for making safety training more engaging—and therefore more memorable—with some unexpected techniques including humor, self-disclosure, and storytelling. Read more on how to make your safety training more engaging here.

3. Keep safety top-of-mind.

Click here to read the full article.