Machine Safety Walkthrough

Working with machinery is one of the most hazardous tasks that farmers and farm workers perform. In the agricultural worksite, machinery is a common cause of injury and death.

Injury can result from:

Falls from machinery, with injury resulting from the fall or from being run over or falling into trailed implements.
Moving parts causing pinch or crush injuries.
Entanglements in power take offs (PTO) or drive belts.
Objects thrown from machinery, such as rocks thrown from lawn mowers.
Loud noises causing hearing loss.

Visitors are often very interested in farm machinery, but may be unfamiliar with the associated hazards. Children, in particular, are often extremely interested in tractors and similar equipment such as combines, grain carts and trucks. Because visitors can be especially vulnerable to machine hazards, it is important to implement strategies that reduce the likelihood of visitors being injured or killed by machinery.

The “walkthrough” that follows will provide strategies and guidelines for machine safety on agritourism operations. It will also provide links to useful resources.

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Resources

Disclaimer

The pictures on the following pages may depict some items and/or situations which are hazardous or unsafe. They are intended to assist in the identification of unsafe situations, and therefore may not represent “best practices”. If you have questions about any of the pictures or the situations depicted, please contact us at nccrahs@mcrf.mfldclin.edu.

Walkthroughs

A "Walkthrough" refers to "walking through" or looking through a series of pictures, and deciding if they show hazards and/or safety items, or if safety items are lacking. After evaluating the pictures and giving an answer, a correction will appear with additional guidelines, recommendations and resources.