Farm Safety Week: Northern Powergrid works with agriculture to save lives
22nd July 2024
Northern Powergrid is celebrating Farm Safety Week by sharing vital safety messages that encourage farmers, farm workers and agricultural students to ‘Look Up It’s Live’ as well as by providing top tips on how to work together to stay safe when working near overhead power lines.
The region’s electricity distribution network operator that serves the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire is supporting this year’s Farm Safety Week which takes place between 22nd and 26th July.
As part of Northern Powergrid’s ‘Look Up It’s Live’ campaign, which was launched amid the summer harvest, the network operator recently attended the largest agriculture event in Yorkshire, the Great Yorkshire Show.
During the four-day event, Northern Powergrid’s safety teams handed out over 1,000 Look Up It’s Live farm safety packs to farm workers, the National Farmers’ Union and the Farm Safety Foundation.
Safety engineers chatted with the farming community, children, parents and customers on how to avoid the dangers of electricity and to stay away from its power network when farming their land or playing outside near overhead cables, poles or substations, as well as what to do in an emergency.
READ MORE: Farm Safety Week launches: ‘Actions and attitudes of farmers need a major rethink’
READ MORE: Farmers urged to ‘Look Up It’s Live’ this summer harvest season
Dangers of tractors coming into contact with overhead power network
Teams also handed out their new ‘Working together with agriculture to save lives’ booklet to avoid the dangers of overhead lines and poles when using large farm machinery and working on agricultural land.
Endorsed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the booklet sets out how to safely assess and put in place control measures, such as knowing the maximum height and vertical reach of machines, finding out the routes of all power lines in your area, making sure when moving equipment telescopic handlers are retracted and kept close to the ground, lowering grain tank lids, using sprayers with horizontally folding booms, and never folding vertical sprayer booms on the move.
Gareth Pearson, Northern Powergrid’s director of health, safety and training, said: “We regularly campaign for farm safety and support Farm Safety Week annually to engage with farmers and agriculture workers about the dangers of tractors and other farm machinery coming into contact with our overhead power network.
“It’s a stark reminder that, sadly, every year in the UK, drivers of agricultural equipment are killed and many more are seriously injured when their vehicle comes into contact or too close to live electricity lines.
“Typically, overhead power lines carry electricity at voltages ranging from 230 volts through to 11,000/132,000 volts. Lines are often bare cables, uninsulated, and anything touching the cables, even at low voltages, can be fatal.
“This Farm Safety Week we’re reiterating our safety messages and urge people to read our free safety information online.”
Northern Powergrid’s free ‘Look Up It’s Live’ safety packs contain a safety advice leaflet, cab sticker and an air freshener with lifesaving emergency advice on what to do if you come into contact or are too close to power lines. They can be requested by emailing safety.information@northernpowergrid.com.
Safety engineers can also attend agriculture colleges to deliver safety talks. Email the team to arrange a visit.
Northern Powergrid’s safety tips
Staying safe near power lines:
• Inform anyone working near power lines of the dangers and the action they should take in an emergency.
• Remember you don’t need to make contact with a power line to be in danger. Electricity can jump to an object or person – so stay well clear!
• Ground levels may have changed since your last visit, reducing clearance. Risk assess every situation, on every occasion.
• Always carry a mobile phone and store 105, the number to call in an emergency.
What to do in an emergency:
• Drive well clear if safe to do so and call 105.
• If unsafe to drive clear – stay in the cab, call 105, and warn others to stay clear.
• If unsafe to stay in cab – jump well clear. Do not step down or make contact with the vehicle and the ground at the same time.
• Leaping strides – land with both feet together and make leaping strides away, so that one foot is always off the ground.
Watch the Look up it’s Live video from Northern Powergrid.
Read more farm safety news.
