Introduction
One of the largest sectors of New Zealand’s tradable
economy is the Farming. According to an analysis done in 2006, Farming
contributed about 2/3rd’s of exported goods. For March year ending
2002, farm exports valued nearly $14.8 billion. New Zealand’s farming sector is
said to be unique, as it is the only
developed country which is exposed to International markets. Also, New Zealand
is member of a group named Cairns Group,
which aims at having free trade in agricultural goods.
Looking at the analysis of Farming sector, one can
come to the conclusion that Farming is one of the important sector of New
Zealand and contributes for good trade economy. Though it got priority, many
accidents occur in Farming claiming lives of many people. According to a survey
done in January 2012, Farming claimed a life every 3 weeks on an average and
was reported as a “deadliest job in New
Zealand”. Farming is categorised under riskiest occupation followed by
forestry, transport, construction etc.
The Director of Farmers for Farm Safety Limited,
D’Arcy Palmer, made a statement on farm related deaths as “having a Pike River Coalmine tragedy in farming every year”. Analysing
the above mentioned statement one can realize that Farming has become riskiest
job and soon measures is to be taken to avoid any accidents.
In New Zealand quad bikes are widely used in farms
for work purposes. These quad bikes are to be handled and ridden properly as
they can cause serious accidents and can claim lives. Quad bikes are involved
in approximately 28 percent of all work-related farm deaths and 850 people are
injured every year on New Zealand farms while riding quad bikes.
Statistics
Now, let us have a look at few statistics on
accidents in New Zealand’s Farming.
- Department
of Labour figures showed
that 36 people died in workplace accidents at end of November 2011; which included death of 14 farmers.
- Van Der Pasch died
of a terminal head injury when his quad bike rolled on to his head in
September 2011.
- Death of a Pahiatua farmer crushed by a hay
bale in July 2011.
- Resident of
Kenepuru, New Zealand Roger Bennett,
68, got injured while mowing lawns at a Bach on December 21, 2011. The retired school principal died five days
later from the injuries.
- Recently in month of January 2014, a 6-year old boy was killed in a quad bike accident.
Analysis
Statistics mentioned above are few among the
accidents caused in farming workplace. There are many points which are to be
analysed by looking at statistics so as to take measures and avoid such
accidents. The analysis on Farming related accidents is described in this
section.
Key findings showed that the victims riding quad
bike were mainly middle-aged or old aged and they were farm owners or managers
and few self-employed. Although they had many years of experience in farming, most
were untrained in quad bike use. Quad
bike accident victims were mainly the rider of the bike. Riding a quad bike
includes many potential hazards such
as: quad bike towing an implement in large proportion and also, in contrast,
only a small proportion carried a load. Table below shows the Employment
situation by experience of farming in New Zealand.
 |
| info@sampleassignment.comA six-year old boy, Charlie Vercoe was killed in a quad bike crash in 2014 January. Reason
for his death was, he itself was riding the adult-size quad bike which is not
at all recommended for kids. Charlie got pinned under the machine after it got
submerged. He was trapped under bike for several minutes and soon he was freed
by fire-fighters. He was rushed to hospital and later died. When investigated
on this case, initial indications were that Charlie lost control over the bike
and the quad bike rolled before landing in a ditch of water.
Analysis also shows that lack
of training and no use of helmets were among the main reasons for the
accidents. Looking at the accidents caused due to quad bikes in farming, Coroner Brandt Shortland raised a
ban on using quad bikes for farming purpose but later withdrew the statement
stating that quad bikes were vital farm
tool. Shortland recommended “Children should be prevented
from riding adult quad bikes and they should not be referred to as all-terrain vehicles, as that was
misleading”.
Measures taken
Department of Labour’s conducted a safety campaign on
the awareness of quad bike riding and passed four important messages given
below:
1.
Riders must be trained / experienced to do this job
2.
Choose right vehicle for the job
3.
Always wear a helmet
4.
Do not let kids ride adult quad bikes
There was highest awareness on the message “wear
helmet” as it’s very important and the seriousness of this message was near to
48%.
The Accident
Compensation Corporation (ACC) teamed up with Federated Farmers and
launched a new campaign to give awareness of human causes of accidents. They estimated
that every 28 minutes a farmer in New Zealand is injured and every 23 days, a
farmer dies from a work-related accident. Also, ACC carried out research under
a Programme named ‘Human Factors in Farming’ to find out injuries caused to
farmers in farms. ACC paid nearly $65 million in 2011 to account for farmer’s
deaths and injuries.
Keith said “Our research has shown that tiredness, time pressures,
poor maintenance of equipment or bad choices were common factors in preventable
accidents. Taking the time to plan ahead, to maintain your equipment, to drive
your quad bike around the long way instead of straight up the hill in extreme
weather or leaving that irritable cow for another day are all good choices that
could prevent an injury, as well as save you time and money in the long run”.
Conclusion
Statistics shows that quad bikes are the main cause of
the farmer’s accidents and deaths. Safety measures are to be taken while riding
quad bikes. Wearing helmet is the primary precaution to be taken while riding
quad bike. Also it is to be taken care that quad bikes are not to be used as ‘all terrain vehicle’. Most importantly,
kids are to be kept away from adult quad bikes as there have been cases of
deaths in New Zealand. Training to the riders is to be given before riding quad
bikes. Having experience in farming doesn’t mean having experience in riding
quad bikes. So training is a must. It is to be made sure that non-trained
farmers are not to be given quad bikes.
Action Plan
Actions to be
taken to avoid accidents in farm workplace are described below:
·
Every rider should undergo training to ride quad bike so that
there will be very less chances of accidents. Riders with good experience are
to be given priority to handle quad bikes.
·
Choosing right vehicle for right job. Before riding any quad
bike its manual is to be checked properly and know about carrying passengers,
as most manuals suggest not carrying any passenger. Also one should be sure of
the bike’s load limits.
·
Simple precaution to avoid any quad bike accident is wearing
of helmets. Proper communication with the worker is important and wearing of
helmets to be made compulsory.
·
Manufacturers of quad bikes have set age limits for riding
these bikes. Care should be taken before letting anyone ride the bike. Kids
should be kept away from riding quad bikes.
·
Proper maintenance of quad bikes is necessary so as to
operate them in safe condition. Speed of quad bikes is to be kept uniform and
under speed limits when riding on slopes or rough terrain areas. One should be
in senses when driving quad bikes and both hands are to be used to ride.
References
1.
Marika Hill “Farm is
deadliest workplace” Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/6205517/Farm-is-deadliest-workplace
2.
WorkSafe New Zealand “Quad
Bike Safety” Retrieved from http://www.business.govt.nz/worksafe/information-guidance/national-programmes/quad-bike-safety
3.
Louise
Berwick “Six-year-old boy killed driving adult quad bike” Retrieved
from http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/9581925/Six-year-old-boy-killed-driving-adult-quad-bike
4.
ACC. (2011) “New campaign to prevent on-farm accidents”
Retrieved from http://www.acc.co.nz/news/WPC096790
5. “Coroner considered quad bike ban call” Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/9386435/Coroner-considered-quad-bike-ban-call
www.sampleassignment.com
We do not just offer research paper
services. We have other services including writing dissertations, book reports,
editing and proofreading, lab reports and admission essays among others. Our
team of experts at Sample Assignment have
high degrees including MA’s and PHD’s. We guarantee you a 100% plagiarism free
original research papers. Our papers are well written, free from grammatical
mistakes and come at competitive prices that fits your needs. Buy research papers from Sample Assignment now!
Contact
info@sampleassignment.com
|
No comments:
Post a Comment