Authors: Carol Lehtola, Ph.D. and Charles M. Brown
Like crops themselves, teaching agricultural safety has its seasons. Over a career, one might see periods when national and local awareness and support of agricultural safety programs are high: times when parents, producers, and employees want more programs in the school or in the workplace. Then there are times when the focus shifts to other topics, and it’s easy for people to think that we’ve “taken care of” agricultural safety. Until the next local incident shocks us back into awareness.
Unlike our human focus, the hazards themselves never take a break. The range of hazards in the agricultural workplace that result from daily exposure to powerful machines and chemicals, from the repetitive dayin, dayout activity, from the stress of secondguessing the crops, the weather, the pests... Agricultural workers must face these hazards every day.
Agricultural hazards take a heavy toll – agriculture remains one of the most dangerous occupations – yet, it rarely makes the front page. Instead of the dramatic incident in which dozens are killed or injured – incidents that make it into the newspapers and onto television, incidents that mobilize resources – agricultural losses are a steady drip, drip, drip – a tractor overturn here, a confined space injury there, an unfortunate encounter with a bull or horse... it adds up, and almost every farm family has these stories to tell.
Safety educators must work constantly to inform agricultural producers, their families, and their employees both when safety is “popular” and when it is not. In addition to this, at the college level, we must work to prove the relevance of agricultural safety courses and raise the next crop of safety educators and safety advocates. Our hope is the materials in this book will motivate and facilitate the teaching of agricultural safety at the college level and be the seeds of that crop.
The hazards never take a break, and neither must we.
Carol J. Lehtola, Ph.D.
Charles M. Brown
Gainesville, Florida 2016
Carol Lehtola’s career in agricultural safety spanned over 20 years, including 16 years as an associate professor in the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department at the University of Florida, where she taught agricultural safety at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She also served as Florida Extension agricultural safety specialist. Early in her career she developed the TRACSAFE program to reduce tractor fatalities, which became a national model. She received numerous honors, including the ASABE NAMIC Safety Award (2004), several ASAE Blue Ribbons, and several departmental and college teaching awards. She is a graduate of Bethany Lutheran College (Mankato, MN), South Dakota State University, and Iowa State University.
Charles Brown originally trained as a chemist and spent 20 years working in research labs. The bulk of that career was spent working on the chemistry underlying the formation of kidney stones. Charles moved from science to science communications in the 1990s and worked as an editor for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Florida for several years before joining Carol Lethola’s group to work on agricultural safety and disaster preparedness materials in a wide variety of media. Working together for just over a decade, Carol and Charles produced many publications, videos, Web sites, and newsletters, gaining national recognition from the International Society for Agricultural Safety (ISASH) and Health and the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN).
This book is a resource for educators teaching collegelevel courses in agricultural safety.
Each chapter of this book covers a specific topic suitable for teaching in an agricultural safety course. The included topics are those Carol Lehtola has typically teach in her college classes, and instructors should feel free to add other topics they feel are needed. Materials are provided as a guide, and personalization is highly recommended. Feel free to expand on the activity suggestions.
Each chapter contains:
Topics like hazard identification and correction or tractors and machinery are covered in dedicated chapters. Other topics, such as agrability or working with a disability, are covered in activities which can be structured as student laboratories.
Please note that many publications, videos, and Web sites are suggested in this text, but Internet sites are subject to change and the suggested materials may not remain available. Instructors are encouraged to locate resources that are most suitable for their topics and audiences.
Click HERE for the PowerPoint presentation. The slides are summarized below.
Notes
In this class, we will show what happens when things “go wrong” and how to prevent such incidents from occurring. A manager has no excuse for not realizing the hazards in their particular workplace. For example, in a company that had grain bins, a worker was killed in a bin when the grain was flowing. The company managers said that they did not realize that flowing grain posed a hazard. With all the OSHA information readily available, it is pretty easy to find the hazards associated with grain.
Notes
Definition of hazard from the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE)
Notes
This slide explains the purpose and the need for hazard identification. During the process of identifying hazards, we need to remember to think in terms of something being of “potential” harm to workers, machine/equipment/products, and/or the environment. The goal of hazard identification is to identify hazards as precisely as possible.
Notes
Four items essential for a safety checklist to become an effective action plan:
There can be other things on a checklist, including estimated cost, where to obtain the materials to fix the problem, etc., but the four things noted are absolutely necessary and much more effective than a mere yes-or-no type of checklist.
Farm and Home Safety Hazard Identification and Correction
| Farm or Work Area _____________________ | Today's Date ___________ | Performed by _________ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazard | Corrective Measures | How to Make a Correction | Location of Resources Required | Estimated Time and Cost | Hazard Correction | ||
| Date to be done by | Who is to do it | Date Complete | |||||
UF/IFAS Agricultural Safety Program <www.flagsafe.ufl.edu> *IMBY stands for "In My Back Yard."
Notes
The In My Back Yard (IMBY) checklist is an example of a checklist that will become an action plan. This checklist is part of the IMBY program (which includes lesson plans) which can be found in the National Ag Safety Database (http://nasdonline.org/31/d001598/quot-imby-quot-toolkit.html).
Notes
Job Safety Analysis (JSA) Definition: a written procedure that identifies hazards or potential hazards associated with each step of a job and develops solutions that will eliminate or guard against the hazards. A JSA improves job procedures and helps managers and employees understand jobs/tasks better. By having a JSA in writing, everyone is provided with the same information.
Notes
Four Basic Steps of the JSA:
Solution examples
Example: Hitching Tractor and Wagon
| Job Safety Analysis | Type of job: Helping to hitch an implement (e.g., wagon, machine) to a tractor | |
|---|---|---|
| Date: | ||
| Personal Protective Equipment to Be Worn: | Work boots with steel toe shanks, gloves | |
| Basic Job Steps | Potential Hazards | Recommended Action or Procedure |
| Check the position of the implement wheels | Implement could roll when tongue is picked up, causing a crushing injury | Check the wheel of the implement are blocked |
| Check the position of the implement tongue | Straining the back if the tongue is heavy | Use blocks to keep tongue at hitching height, squat down and use leg muscles to lift rater than bending over and lifting with your back; use implement's jack stand, if it has one; ise temporaru jack if tongue is heavy and implement doesn't have a jack stand |
| Tractor driver backs to within inches of implement tongue | Crushed between tractor and implement if tractor operator miscalculates while backing; runover by rear tractor tire | Stand outside of tractor and implement until tractor driver stops tractor; use hand signals |
| Helper aligns implement tongue and pinhole with tractor and pinhole | Crushing injury to the hands or body | Keep hands in back of drawbar connection point; wear leather gloves; tractor operator backs with low gear and low engine speed |
| Insert drawbar pin; insert safety pin or attach safety chains | Helper can be run over by tractor implement; suffer crushing injury to the feet if the implement tongue slips off of the tractor drawbar | Operator puts tractor in park or sets brakes before helper drops in the hitch pin; helper steps from between tractor and implement before tractor operator moves tractor; helper wears steeltoe work boots |
Notes
Passive strategies that provide automatic protection against injury are more effective than active strategies that require participation by those being protected.
Examples:
Passive: Airbags, GFCI and fuses, Safety start switches, Automatic sprinkler systems
Active: Seatbelts, Manually operated shutoff switches
Passive + Active: ROPS and seatbelt (passive + active)
Notes
When determining a priority process for hazard corrections, one must consider frequency and severity. Is it something that does not have a high level of severity but occurs frequently and may account for a large amount of “lost work hours”? Or is it something that may occur only once but if it does, someone is going to be killed? There is really no one single “good” answer for determining priority levels of where to start making corrections. Sometimes, starting with the easiest and least expensive may get people motivated to work through their todo list and on to tackling the more difficult and more expensive fixes.
Notes
The best place to eliminate a hazard is during the design phase. When designing a product or process, potential hazards need to be identified. Are there ways they can be designed out? At this point, one also needs to consider the potential risks for how the product (or process) can be misused. The product or process, however, must still be able to perform the function for which it is designed. The intake area of a harvesting machine, for example, still has to be able to pull in the crop.
If the hazard cannot be eliminated, then safeguarding technology is applied. This can be the installation of guards and shields to cover hazardous areas. Ideally, guards should be an integral part of the equipment — that is, the equipment cannot operate if the guards are not in place. Past philosophies have been that if these are made very difficult to take off, then they won’t be taken off. However, if maintenance or repair has to be done and they are removed, they are more likely to be kept off rather than put back on.
If guarding cannot be applied (example: intake area of combine), then, warning signs are applied. These are used to show people the potential dangers of that particular area. However, warning signs have downsides: (1) they are overused so people tend not to see them anymore and (2) the lack of a sign implies that that particular area poses no danger.
Training and instruction of how to use the equipment or process safely is the next step in the hierarchy.
Notes
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has developed a free on¬line database of pictorial graphics that can be used to customize safety posters.
The Farm/Agricultural/Rural Management Hazard Analysis Tool (HAT) includes forms and pictures for actually scoring and ranking agriculturally related hazards.
Notes
Use this section of the PowerPoint presentation to show slides of various hazards. Include both obvious and more subtle hazards, and guide the students to identify and understand the hazard.
Possible hazards to present:
A hazardous attitude is an underlying predisposition within us towards how we act and interact in situations that could lead to an incident resulting in injury.
A. “It can’t happen to me” — The feeling of invulnerability. This is the sense that these things always happen to someone else, and “it can’t happen to me.” This is where it is important to be able to find things that people can identify with and “personalize the risk.” Examples can be to read a story such as Rhythm of the Seasons that puts faces on the statistics. If someone from the community has been injured, perhaps have them speak to the class. The more localized you can make something, the better.
B. “Don’t tell me what I can’t do” — The anti-authority attitude. Rules are for other people and not for me. This is the person who will break the rules whenever they feel they can get by with it. The rules are there to prevent someone from getting injured or killed.
C. “I’ll do it this way and now” — The impulsivity attitude. This is when the person takes immediate action without stopping to think about what they are doing. It is the action of doing something – anything – anddoing it quickly. People need to realize that they need to pause and think about their actions and the possible consequences.
D. “I can do it by myself and don’t need any help” — This is the attitude of being over-confident in their capabilities and not thinking they have any limitations. This is the person that consistently takes unnecessary chances, feeling that they can get away with it. People need to realize that taking unnecessary chances is foolish.
E. “I can’t do anything about it anyway” — The resignation attitude. The feeling of “what’s the use?” and feeling helpless and unable to cope. This person will simply give up and not feel like taking a proactive role in their safety.
F. “That would take too much time” — The feeling of being in a hurry and not wanting to take the time to use the safer approach or taking the time to fix something in order to do the job safer.
G. “I didn’t see it until it was too late” — By not paying attention to what one is doing, they do not have time to react to a situation that may occur.
For each of the following stories indicate the safety attitude or attitudes that are prevalent. (There may be more than one in some cases.)
Story #1 – This is a story about Fred, who was applying pesticides to his crop and was not using the proper PPE. Fred was in a hurry to get the pesticide applied and was careless in his use of the Personal Protection Equipment and was self-poisoned. He was spraying for about an hour when his co-workers saw him acting weird and rushed him to the hospital, where doctors administered the antidote. He spent two days in the hospital.
Story #2 – This is a story about Bill, who was working in the summer transplanting trees when he suffered a case of heat stress. Bill was working in the sun on a day when the temperature was above 90°F and the humidity was around 85%. He had not been drinking water and had symptoms of headaches, an upset stomach, and dizziness. His boss came out to check on him and noticed that he was walking irregularly and made him go sit down in the shade and drink lots of water.
Story #3 – Thisis a story about Heidi, who at the time of the incident, was moving a flat of potted plants off the bench and onto the floor. She had been transplanting cuttings to pots all day. Each time she completed a flat of pots, she would set them on the ground, where someone else would come and get them with a trailer. While she was moving the flats, she bent the wrong way and dislocated a disk in her back.
Story #4 – This is a story about Amy, who at the time of the incident, was lighting greenhouse heaters. When the heater had been refueled, some of the fuel had spilt on the side and the ground. The individual who performed the task did not clean it up. Amy came by and lit the heater, and the flame followed down the side of the tank and onto the ground. Around the base of the heater, there were some leftover plant trimmings that had not been cleaned up in some time. They in turn ignited, and the fire spread. Amy ran and got a fire extinguisher from the office and returned to the fire. She was able to put the fire out with some help but not before some of the surrounding plants were destroyed.
Story #5 – This is a story about Steve, who at the time of the incident, was moving a wheelbarrow through the greenhouse and tripped on an unseen object sticking out in the aisle. The previous worker in the greenhouse had left material laying out in the walkway while he went to do another job. Steve had the wheelbarrow full of plant trimmings, and he did not see the object lying on the floor. After the wheelbarrow passed over the object, Steve’s foot got caught up in the object and tripped him. Steve fractured his jaw when it hit the back of the wheelbarrow. He had his jaw wired shut for six weeks.
Story #6 – This is a story about Mike, who at the time of the incident, was fixing a cooling fan in the greenhouse. Mike had turned off the fan at the breaker box and had not tagged it out. While he was up working on it, a co-worker who did not know that someone was working on the fan turned it on. Mike was in the process of wiring up a new motor and was holding one of the electrical leads when a jolt of electricity knocked him off the ladder. Mike was lucky not to have been electrocuted.
Story #7 – This is a story about Missy, who at the time of the incident, was cleaning up the pesticide locker and knocked a shelf down, causing several containers of pesticides to break open and spill in the locker and spread to the area surrounding the locker. There was an accumulation of excess chemicals that, over the years, had gotten to be quite a large amount. The shelves were overloaded and the top shelf was getting ready to fall down. As Missy was moving a container, the shelf gave way and knocked the shelf below it and its contents to the ground. As the chemicals mixed, a cloud developed. Missy, fearing for her safety, ran out of the locker and called the fire department. While Missy was not hurt, the owner of the company was fined and had to pay a company to come out and clean up the hazardous waste.
Story #8 – This is a story about Tom, who at the time of the incident, was installing a sprinkler system in a greenhouse and cut his hand with a hacksaw. It was 4pm on a payday Friday, and Tom could not leave work until the last section of sprinkler was installed. He was not paying attention to where his thumb was and when he drew down on the hacksaw his thumb was under the blade. Instead of going out with his friends Friday night, he spent it in the hospital where he received eight stitches.
Story #9 – Thisis a story about Jennifer, who at the time of the incident, was moving trees with a tractor on a hill and rolled the tractor. Jennifer was using the bucket of the tractor to move the tree. She wason an angle and was OK until she had to turn. The bucket was up in the air because of the way that they attached the tree to the tractor. They had been doing this all day, but the angle had unknowingly increased. When she turned the tractor, it rolled. She was not injured. The tractor had a ROPS, and she was wearing a seatbelt.
1. For the case study you have been provided, identify factors involved with the AGENT OF INJURY, the OPERATOR, and the ENVIRONMENT that led to the incident.
2. Identify possible hazardous attitude categories that were involved in this case. Attitudes may be those of management as well as those of the worker involved.
3. For the factors identified in (1), indicate which ones could be controlled, and discuss how they could be controlled (changed) to “break the chain of events” in order to prevent the incident from occurring or to lessen the severity of the outcome in the event that it could not be prevented.
4. Discuss the “big picture” of the event.What are possible issues or other causative factors that may not be obvious (cultural, social, costs, perceptions, etc.), i.e., think deeper than what you see on the surface!
Instructions:
Use your residence, place of work, or an area of campus.
Identify a minimum of 25 hazards. For each hazard, indicate the following:
*Categories of hazards to look for include, but are not limited to, the following:
Find three different versions of a safety checklist (hazard identification or safety audits).
Think about the Campus Hazard Hunt activity you did. What four critical items would have to be a part of a safety checklist in order to make it an effective action plan for hazard correction? [1. Hazard; 2.Correction; 3. Who is responsible; 4.Target date]
Injuries have identifiable causes that are: [Preventable and controllable]
In breaking the chain of events, we need to identify the factors that we can: [Control or do something about changing to prevent the incident or lessen the severity of the results]
What key things need to be considered when prioritizing intervention strategies? [Severity, Frequency, Costs, Feasibility, Compliance...]
Click HERE for the PowerPoint presentation. The slides are summarized below.
Notes
Safety is about management of risks in order to minimize losses.
Notes
We need to see the interaction of these three elements in order to identify where the “chain of events” could have been broken in order to prevent the incident from occurring in the first place, or in the event that it does occur, to lessen the severity of the outcome.
Example: ROPS on a tractor may not prevent the overturn from happening, but it can mean the difference between life and death for the operator.
We need to identify the things that can be controlled in each category in order to break the “chain.”
This relationship is often depicted by showing three circles that are interconnected.
Notes
The agent of injury is that thing that inflicts injury or damage (tools, equipment, products, surfaces, chemicals, etc.)
Notes
Example: If a machine is the agent of injury, things such as its workingcondition, likelihood of breaking down, lack of safety features, etc. enter into the safety equation. Newer machines are also more ergonomically correct in relation to the operator and are safer machines. These factors are important for managers who deal with machine selection for their employees.
If working with livestock, the temperament of an animal will be a factor in safety.
Notes
What does the operator or worker bring to the workplace that will affectsafety?
Notes
Physical size, psychological attitudes, age, risk perception, and impairments such as medications or alcohol are all factors that the operator brings to the workplace. What factors can be controlled to insure that a worker is fit to do the task at hand?
Notes
Environment is made up of both the physical as well as the social aspects.
Notes
Physical factors of the environment include weather as well as the conditionsin the workplace. What factors can be controlled, or perhaps on a given day, are there alternatives that can be considered? For example, if a blizzard is predicted for the next day, perhaps extra feed can be prepared for the cattle today. Environment is a major factor in agriculturebecause often producers will have a short window of time in which to plant or harvest a crop. That is when shortcuts are taken and incidents become more likely to occur. Social factors also create an environment that influences safety. In agriculture, there is a prevailing mentality that “we know it is dangerous, but that is just the cost of doing business.”
Notes
Develop the attitude that the word accident will no longer be used in this class.By using the term accident, people promote the idea the fact that the incident just happened and nothing could have been done about it.
Example:When a 10-ft-deep trench with no safety shoring in fragile soil collapsed, there was nothing “accidental” about it. Often in such a case, one will read “...three people killed in freak trench accident.”Given the laws of physics, there was nothing freakish or accidental about it. All the dominoeswere in place; a collapse was inevitable.
Notes
These are just a few of the exposures that industrial healthworkers deal with in theworkplace.
Notes
This principle rejects the idea that injury incidents occur strictly as “acts of God,” fate, luck, or chance. The perception that an event is “uncontrollable” inhibits a concentrated effort for change.
“People think in terms of (accidents) as more closely associated with the stars and heavens above than with our own decisions and actions here on earth, provides individuals and the public with a convenient excuse for their fallible ways” (Murphy, p. 88).
Notes
If a single cause theory is used in incident investigation, when the precipitating event is identified, people will tend to look no further, e.g., at underlying causes. We need to look further into the underlying factors that include beliefs, cultures, peer pressures, costs, etc. Again, we need to identify numerous places where the chain of events can be broken.
Example: Tractor operator killed in tractor overturn of a tractor without a ROPS. Why was there no ROPS? Cost, perception, not aware of needing it? Public policy? Regulation?
Notes
Consideration of risk implies a concern about the hazards associated with the risk. It is necessary to understand and manage the risk.
Notes
Mistakes are a usual and rational part of human life. It is important for managers and supervisors to have an understanding of human behavior,such as knowing what people are likely to do, when they will probably do it, and how they may go about it. These are keys to designing products, work processes, and working environments that eliminate or minimize potential damage to property or people. This also shows the reason for requiring training of workers.
Notes
We believe our perceptions, and our behavior is based on those perceptions.
An example of a perception in agriculture is that it is “cute” to see a picture of a child riding with grandpa on the tractor. Yet, children fall off those tractors and get run over and killed.
A survey asked farmers what they thought was the most dangerous item they worked with. They responded that the most hazardous was chemicals while the least dangerous item they worked with was the tractor. Their next question was that, if they knew someone who had been killed or injured on the farm, what was the agent of injury. The number 1 response was the tractor. They tended to use PPE when working with chemicals because they perceived chemicals to be dangerous, but they would not put a ROPS on a tractor because they felt it wasn’t a hazard.
Notes
In order to change behavior, people have to personalize the risk. The commonphrase people say is “it won’t happen to me.” We need to show them that it can happen to them. People won’t take positive action until they realize that this is true. This is a reason for the students to read the book Rhythm of the Seasons– it puts faces on the statistics. Once people recognize what they need to do to change, then they need access to the corrective measures. People are like rivers in that they tend to follow the path of least resistance. “Access” means not only available but also affordable, convenient, etc.
An example would be having proper PPE for sale at the same location where the chemicals are sold. This makes it more likely that people will purchase PPE than if they need to stop at another store to purchase it. Another example is, if hearing protection is required in the workplace, have it accessible by the workplace entrance.
As managers, provide other examples of your role for these two factors.
Notes
It is important that management be committed to a safety program. If management does not care, nobody else will either. It is important for management to buy into developing a positive safety culture.
Notes
Individuals need to realize that if they do something unsafe that they are not only endangering themselves but their coworkers also. Additionally, they also are endangering people who may have to come in and rescue them.
Notes
Management sets company policy and value system. They control the agenda.
Safety program leadership is about building relationships, communications, trust, and credibility that motives people to follow and enforce safety procedures because it is the right thing to do.
When analyzing injury prevention, we look at the interaction of the operator, the environment, and the agent of injury. The “bottom line” purpose of this analysis is to break the chain of events that led to the incident. We look to break the chain in order to accomplish one of two goals. List these goals.
Discuss why all hazards cannot be eliminated at the drawing board stage of the design process.
One of the seven leading principles of occupational safety and health (OSH) states that “human behavior can be changed.” What two items discussed in class are absolutely necessary for behavioral change for safety? For each one, provide an example of how this can be accomplished.
Another OSH principle is that there are multiple causes of injuries. In the McWane corporation case study covered in class (see section 2.3, below), discuss what may be possible underlying causes for the many injuries and deaths.
Explain the principle of “breaking the chain of events.” Discuss the interrelationship of environment, human, and agent of injury that is involved in this principle.
Discuss why the term “accident” is not an acceptable term among safety professionals.
Explain why it is necessary to look beneath the surface when understanding causes of an injury event. For example, why is it inadequate to just indicate that “Joe was injured due to a tractor overturn”?
For each of the following injury intervention examples, identify the intervention category. Fill in the blank with the number of the category.
__OSHA
__Forklift operator certification requirement
__"Danger - Flowing Grain"
__Gloves
__Integrated Shielding
__Decreasing a company's insurance premium
__Steel-toed boots
__Ergonomically correct machinery
__Pictograph of hand being cut off
__Fines for employer negligence
You have been hired as a manager of a local agri-business, and you are in direct contact with agricultural producers. Discuss things that you can do to improve the safety practices of your clientele.
We discussed that perceptions influence safety practices. A survey of farm families was given as an example. The survey results indicated that they thought ____________ were the most hazardous items they worked with while the least hazardous thing that they worked with was____________. [chemicals, the tractor]
Their response to a related question, “if you know someone who has been injured or killed in an agriculture-related incident,” the number one agent of injury farmers reported was ____________ while ____________ accounted for no injuries known to them. [the tractor, chemicals]
The ideal place to eliminate a hazard is:
The “no-no” word in this class is___________. Why?
Discuss the role of each of the following in injury intervention and provide an example for each:
Rank in order from the 1st thing to be done to the last thing to be done in the Safety Hierarchy.
_____ Use Warning Signs
_____ Personal Protective Equipment
_____ Eliminate/design out the hazard
_____ Shields/guards
_____ Training
View “A Dangerous Business” and its follow-up program on the PBS website (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/workplace/)
The following questions are based on the follow-up story.
Click HERE for the PowerPoint presentation. The slides are summarized below.
NOTE: Off-the-job injuries also impact a business.
Notes
Hidden costs of injury:
– Base premium = $350,000 annually
– Company A: EM = 0.80; annual premium = $280,000
– Company B: EM = 2.0; premium = $700,000
– Difference = $420,000 (taken from profits)
Explain the impact the Experience Modifier (EM) can have on a company. Explain how EM works and what items a company needs to implement in order to lower their EM.
Who needs to be a member of the safety team for:
Explain the significance and importance of developing a Job Hazard Task Analysis for employees? What information does it need to contain?
To obtain regulations that your business needs to be in compliance, the main website to check is www.____________.gov
What is the recommended strategy for finding out what your business needs in order to be in compliance?
As the safety leader for Tangy Citrus, Inc., you need to show top management how safety measures can have an impact on the company’s profit margin. Presently, the company’s base premium paid for worker compensation insurance is $345,000 per year. The company has not been too serious about implementing safety measures in the past; therefore, their Experience Modifier is presently 1.3. By adopting several safety factors, they can reduce the EM to 0.75 within three years.
What do you tell an employee who complains about having to use PPE?
Federal OSHA standards are actually the ________________________ safety standards and not necessarily the strictest safety standards.
Safety policies must be in ________________________, so everyone is presented with the same information.
The final step in the safety hierarchy is to protect the worker by use of ____________________.
Mining gets more attention for safety than construction or agriculture because if often involves ________________________________________.
________________________ are often four to five times more than the injury costs that are covered by insurance. Even if an employee in the field is injured, it can cost office staff time due to ________________________.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) may be uncomfortable for (how long a time) ________________________, but a disability is uncomfortable for (how long a time) ________________________.
Explain how a safety team approach can be implemented on a privately owned and operated family farm.
OSHA’s top 10 most violated standards for fiscal year 2015 are listed below. Each one is followed by the number of the applicable OSHA standard,and each one is linked to a quickcard or other OSHA resource document.
OSHA Standards can be accessed at www.osha.gov. For a complete listing of OSHA’s Quickcards, visit the following website. Most are also available in Spanish. https://www.osha.gov/pls/publications/publication.athruz?pType=Types&pID=6
Using the following data, discuss what the causative agents and issues are and identify measures to be taken in order to reduce these injuries.What would you do (as the new safety manager) to lower the worker compensation insurance premiums? Be specific (don’t just say that they need to implement a safety program).
DATA:The packinghouse employs 125 workers at each of 2 shifts. 80% of the workers do not speak English.
Work shifts:
6 am–5 pm
5 pm–4 am
Cleaning crew:
4 am–5:45 am
Workers are paid on the amount they have individually packed. They receive their checks as they arrive at work on Thursdays.
Lost time due to injuries:
– 3 years ago: 20 people for a total of 25 days
– 2 years ago: 18 people for a total of 35 days
– 1 year ago: 22 people for a total of 45 days
– First 6 months of current year: 12 people for a total of 35 days
Time of day of injury:
– 6–8 am 20%
– 8–10 am 3%
– 10–noon 14%
– Noon–2 pm 1%
– 2–4 pm 1%
– 4–6 pm 25%
– 6–8 pm 1%
– 8–10 pm 17%
– 10–midnight 1%
– Midnight–2 am 2%
– 2–4 am 15%
Day of the week of injury:
– Sunday 18%
– Monday 18%
– Tuesday 4%
– Wednesday 4%
– Thursday 35%
– Friday 15%
– Saturday 6%
Types of injuries/causes:
– Machine 30%
– Heat related 10%
– Slips/falls 25%
– Muscle sprains 25% and strains
– Assaults 5%
– Other 5%
The purpose of this activity is to gain an understanding of identifying problem areas and being able to develop and implement strategies towards improving the safety and working conditions in a company. This results in lower worker compensation insurance premiums and increases profits.
Read the case study that has been provided to your team.
Each team will give a brief presentation that will include:
Each team has been assigned a business that has been cited for worker health and safety violations. (Reference note: Many of the companies were listed in the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health “Dirty Dozen” Report, April 2006, orcheck for a more recent listing.)
For the business you have been assigned find three articles on the Internet that provide more details related to safety management or mismanagement.
Prepare a summary of the disregard the company is showing towards worker’s safety and health and whether there any indications that anything is being done about it.
What were your feelings when you read about this company?
Click HERE for the PowerPoint presentation. The slides are summarized below.
– Mining 30
– Agriculture 24
– Construction 15
– All industries 3.4
*2013-2014 Data
Notes
Activity: Before this slide is shown, have students count off beginning at 1, stand, and remain standing to show the number of deaths annually per 100,000 workers — when the fourth student counts off (representing the All Industries fatality rate), tell them that they can stop and either sit down or stand on one side of the room. Then, tell them that we will now compare the all-industries rate with agriculture. Begin counting at 1 and remain standing. When the 24th person is standing, compare that large group with the group of 4. That visual makes an impact.
Notes
Ask these questions. Students may want to share anddiscuss their experiences.
Notes
Use a scale-model tractor to demonstrate tractor overturns.
Notes
What is your image of agriculture? What is the image projected in the “wanna go for a tractor ride” type of ads. How hazardous do you think agriculture is in relation to other industries?
Even though it appears “idyllic.” agriculture is consistently in the top three hazardous industries. What are the reasons that agriculture has six times the fatality rate of general industry, e.g., allows kids in the workplace. Data doesn’t include those under 16.
Find surveys of attitudes toward agriculture on the part of the general public and agricultural producers.
Click HERE for the PowerPoint presentation. The slides are summarized below.
For each machine hazard listed provide (1) the definition, (2) an example, and (3) injury that can result.
Free-Wheeling Parts:
Pinch Points:
Stored Energy:
SMV:
Pull-in Point:
Secondary Party:
Why can’t all hazards be “designed out” of machinery?
Explain the two main hazards associated with hydraulic fluid.
Explain two key elements that make a person’s chances of surviving a tractor overturn to the rear (in a NON-ROPS tractor) slim.
Discuss how, as a manager/employer, you can positively impact your company’s safety record for your employees who work with machinery:
Explain how used farm machinery that is sold from private party to private party or through auction sales can be a safety issue.
Discuss implications for developing regulatory policies for controlling these practices.
If such policies were to be developed, would they need to be state or federally mandated? Provide the rationale for your answer.
Identify the two leading scenarios for tractor-machinery collisions with motor vehicles on public roads.
Prepare a Public Service Announcement of 100–200 words that could be used by a radio station to inform the motoring public about these hazards. Include suggested corrective measures that motorists can do in order to ensure safe traveling when using the same roads as tractors/machinery.
The three leading causes of tractor-related injuries and fatalities (don’t have to be in order) are: (a) ________________________, (b) ________________________, and (c) ________________________. Which one is increasing due to the increased rural-urban interface? ________________________
YOU MAY BE QUICK... BUT MACHINES ARE QUICKER!
My reaction time was ____________ seconds. My height is ____________.
Note: Charts for the following are included in the power point graphics.
This shortcut saves me an estimated ____________ seconds each time I do this task. Each time I do this I am putting myself (and others) at risk for _________________________________________________.
100 repetitions of this task would save a total of____________ minutes.
Is the risk taken worth the ____________ minutes saved?
________ seconds saved x 100 repetitions)/60 seconds in a minute = ________ minutes
MACHINES HAVE NO MEMORY AND NO CONSCIENCE...
THEY DON’T CARE WHO YOU ARE OR WHAT THEY CUT!
Note: The instructor needs to put numbered identification tags at various locations on the tractor to highlight hazard locations.
Tractor Hazards Identified:
Do the PTO training exercise found at http://www.nasdtraining.org/main/training, and answer the following questions.
Do the Sharing the Road training found at http://www.nasdtraining.org/main/training, and answer the following questions.
(Note: The Safer Tractor Operations publications include questions that can be used for testing.)
Safer Tractor Operations for Agricultural Employers
www.nasdonline.org/193/d001596/safer-tractor-operations-for-agricultural-employers.html
Safer Tractor Operations for Farm Workers/Employees
www.nasdonline.org/1867/d001809/safer-tractor-operations-for-farm-workers-employees.html
Safer Tractor Operations for Florida’s Privately Owned and Operated Farms and Ranches
www.nasdonline.org/1863/d001805/safer-tractor-operations-for-florida-039-s-privately.html
Safer Tractor Operations for Home and Acreage Owners
www.nasdonline.org/1864/d001806/safer-tractor-operations-for-home-and-acreage-owners.html
Safer Tractor Operations for Emergency and Rescue Personnel www.nasdonline.org/1866/d001808/safer-tractor-operations-for-emergency-and-rescue-personnel.html
Safer Tractor Operations for Landscape Maintenance and Horticultural Industries
www.nasdonline.org/1865/d001807/safer-tractor-operations-for-landscape-maintenance-and-horticultural.html
Avoid the Invisible Hazard: Know about Soil Shear Lines
www.nasdonline.org/187/d001590/avoid-the-invisible-hazard-know-about-soil-shear.html
Filling Gas Cans Safely
www.nasdonline.org/186/d001589/filling-gas-cans-safely.html
Ready or Not? Get Ready with a Tractor Operator Checklist
www.nasdonline.org/190/d001593/ready-or-not-get-ready-with-a-tractor.html
Shortcuts are Short-Sighted, or Invest Seconds, Save Lives!
www.nasdonline.org/static_content/documents/189/d001592.pdf
When Two’s a Crowd: Dangers of Extra Riders on Tractors
www.nasdonline.org/static_content/documents/185/d001588.pdf
YeeHaa! Formula for a Successful Tractor Rodeo
www.nasdonline.org/191/d001594/yee-haa-formula-for-a-successful-tractor-rodeo.html
Hand-me-down Hazards: Dangers of Used Equipment
www.nasdonline.org/192/d001595/hand-me-down-hazards-dangers-of-used-equipment.html
Getting Started on the Right Foot: Dangers of Bypass Starting
www.nasdonline.org/184/d001587/getting-started-on-the-right-foot-dangers-of.html
Tractor Safety for Disaster Recovery (PDF brochure)
www.flsart.org/trainingmodules/STO-recovery-workers-bro.pdf (on the Home page)
Answer Key for Tractor Overturn Video
1. Overturns, 130; 2. Changing; 3. Center of gravity, unstable; 4. Low and slow; 5. React; 6. ROPS, zone of protection; 7. Zero; 8. Living without you
Click HERE for the PowerPoint presentation. The slides are summarized below.
Slide 6.9 – Often Multiple Deaths Due to Unsuccessful Rescue Attempts
Notes
Any of these activities could be involved in trenching activities.
As manager of WEARESAFE Farms Inc., you are in charge of employees who must enter a storage tank in the citrus processing plant portion of the corporation. The tank’s capacity is one million gallons. The tank has been emptied for needed maintenance, cleaning, and repairs.
Find the applicable OSHA Regulation from the OSHA website. Provide the Web address where it is located (you do not need to print the entire document).
Identify the steps that must be followed before entry is allowed into the tank.
Identify the hazards that exist in the tank.
Read the CDC MMWR about trenching-related deaths:
http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5315a2.htm.
Summarize the case studies and describe the factors involved that lead to the collapse of the trenches. What preventive measures should have been taken?
If a facility has confined spaces, open trenches, or grain facilities, why is it necessary for all employees and not just those actually working in those areas to have an understanding of the hazards involved. What is a common scenario when there is an injury or death in these situations?
True or False: If someone is trapped in a trench collapse or in grain, their safety is assured if we can keep their head above the surface of the soil or grain.____________Why or why not?
True or False: Rescuers can “rapidly” get the victim out by tying a rope under their arms and lifting them out. ____________Why or why not?
An internal combustion engine is being used for pumping excess water out of a confined space well pit area. The engine has stopped. Is it ok to assume the engine is out of fuel and that it is safe to enter the area to refill it? ____________ Why or why not?
You are the safety officer for Tangy Citrus. The processing facility has 10 storage tanks for processed juice. Each tank has a one-million-gallon capacity. There are 75 employees at the facility. Ten of the workers have had the required permit-entry training for entering and working in confined spaces. Why is it necessary that some general training related to confined spaces be provided for the other 65 employees?
Confined space entry requires an OSHA ____________ process. This includes monitoring the ____________ conditions of the space.
List five factors that can decrease soil stability.
Why is it important to keep with the records of any property a map of where and when any trenching or digging activities have taken place?
Explain how carbon dioxide, which exists safely in the atmosphere around us, can be fatal in a confined space.
What is the difference between a confinement system and a confined space?
FFA soil judging teams and archeological groups can be placed at risk when _____________________________________________________________________.
Tom is having a trench dug on his ranch in order to connect the water supply to a new cattle barn. Four-year-old son Andy, is playing on the soil pile (located along the sides and edge of the trench), delighting in throwing clumps of the sandy soil back into the trench. In the midst of the playful activity, Andy’s companion, Daisy, the family dog, slides off the pile and ends up at the bottom of the 6-ft-deep trench. Furthermore, it has started to rain, and now, the trencher operator has just broken a water pipe.
The salesman for the local seed and feed has just entered the yard, and Tom’s wife Jane has just come out in the yard to remind Tom of the Extension beef production and ag safety meeting he was planning on attending at 7 pm (it is now 4:30 pm). Today’s mail contained an overdraft notice from the bank as well as the yearly property tax bill. The property tax has increased by 10%. A prize cow has gone into labor, and three others have gotten out and are in the hay field.
OSHA PROBES CAVE-IN
Investigator says he wouldn’t get down in trench where two died
By Douglas Neumann
Cedar Rapids Gazette, June 11, 1995
A trench that collapsed, killing two construction workers, was dug in unstable ground and apparently was not sloped or shored up, according to an investigator.
The incident at about 7 pm Friday took the lives of Chad Hendryx, 19, of Alburnett and Roger Pasker, 21, of Central City. Medical authorities said the two probably died instantly when one side of the 10-ft-deep trench caved in and buried them beneath tons of dirt.
A third man in the trench, Steve Graham, 19, of Alburnett was rescued and has been released from St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids. His father, Don Graham, remains in serious condition at St. Luke’s, where he was taken after suffering chest pains during the rescue. Don Graham was operating a backhoe at one end of the trench when the incident happened.
Gary Bowser, an investigator with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said an OSHA ruling on whether there were safety violations could be ready in a couple of weeks. Bowser spent more than an hour at the site Saturday, taking measurements, photographs, and soil samples. He also will talk with witnesses and with the job contractor, Don Graham, before filing his report. Bowser said the trench still looked unstable, even after being shored up with plywood and braces by rescuers. “I would not get down in it,” said Bowser, who took his measurements from the top. Most soils in Iowa are classified as “C” soils, the least stable, Bowser said, and shoring and sloping are required for virtually all trenching operations. “I don’t think there was either here,” he said, adding that such violations are widespread.
Previously buried sewer lines and cables also could have contributed to the instability of the ground, he said. But the soil is drier than he expected, indicating recent rains may not have been a factor.
The incident and subsequent deaths will have no bearing on the amount of any fines that might be imposed for violations, he said.
Don Graham, owner of Graham and Son Trucking, and the three younger workers were installing a sewer line to service a six-unit apartment complex being built along Alburnett’s Main Street.
Joe Rasmussen, mayor of the central Linn County community of 459, said the incident happened as the crew was starting to fill in the hole over a completed section.
Volunteers were working Saturday to repair the sewer line and fill part of the trench so the closed lane of the street could be reopened.
“This will hit a town like this hard,” said Rasmussen. “This really does rate as a tragedy in a town this size, not only because of the loss of life and the age of the two men lost, but because of the Graham family as well.”
Don Graham serves on the City Council and has been involved in much of the recent residential development in town.
“You’d have a hard time going around town finding someone that hasn’t been helped at some time by Don Graham.” Rasmussen said, “They’re a big part of the community.”
(Postscript: Don Graham died the following Tuesday as the result of a heart attack.)
Click HERE for the PowerPoint presentation. The slides are summarized below.
To identify and understand concepts of hazards when working with animals
View the video, Cattle Handling Safety (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eEXomr8TJA)
– Identify five hazards associated with livestock operations. Provide a corrective measure for each.
– Would larger operations necessarily be more hazardous? Why or why not?
– Explain the flight zone concept. Explain how this may influence animal behavior differences for beef and dairy operations.
Rabies is a zoonotic disease. Discuss examples of how it can be transmitted to humans. (Information can be found on the Web.)
Access Temple Grandin’s website.
– Select and discuss five items that are important to know about animal behavior and that can affect humansafety.
– What needs to be considered when designing animal handling facilities?
Find three case studies of an animal-handling-related fatalities. (Google: NIOSH FACE reports) For each provide a summary of what happened and what could have been done to prevent it.
What is the primary health hazard that workers in confinement systems, such as swine and poultry, are exposed to? Identify two corrective measures.
What is the hazard that can develop if male calves that are bottle fed are allowed to grow up to be bulls?
What are the four gases produced at storage sites for manure or other decomposing organic matter, and what is the hazard involved with each one?
Find a “Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation” (FACE) report online.
“The deadliest hazard is the perception that there is no hazard”
Click HERE for the PowerPoint presentation. The slides are summarized below.
Identify two major health (chronic) risks associated with grain handling and the corrective measures that can be taken.
How long does it take for a person to become helpless in flowing grain? ____________
When grain is flowing, the resistance (upward) force is ____________.
True or False: If someone is trapped in a trench collapse or in grain, their safety is assured if we can keep their head above the surface of the soil or grain? ____________Why or why not?
True or False: Rescuers can “rapidly” get the victim out by tying a rope under their arms and lifting them out? ____________Why or why not?
– Bill and Ted are unloading grain from a storage bin. Ted leaves to go to the shop for additional tools. When Ted returns, he finds the equipment turned off, and Bill does not appear to be in the area.
– True or False: Since they really need to get the job done, Ted should resume the unloading process. ____________ Why or why not?
What procedure should be used if one of them has to enter the bin?
When grain is harvested with a high moisture content and stored, the chemical reaction causes more carbon dioxide to be given off. Why has this led to several grain bin-related deaths?
Find a case study of a person killed on the job in a grain bin situation. Explain what happened and what the penalties were. (Use the Web, library, or any other resource.)
Access fact sheets about grain handling safety from the Web. Explain how, as a manager of a grain elevator, you would make use of this information for your employees.
Grain and Trenching Entrapment Lab Activity
(Instructions for this activity can be found under Search 4 Safety in the appendix Other Course Materials.)
At the barrel with sand, students should pull on the rope (attached to a disc) to simulate rescuing someone who is buried.
Questions:
The purpose of this activity is to get you thinking about a real-world problem and how to identify criteria that needs to be met in order to find solutions. Divide the students into at least three groups, and ask them to consider the following scenario:
Given the situation where the ladder with access to the top of the grain bin goes all the way to ground. This has allowed for children or others to climb to the top. (Note:This is also a problem for owners/managers of grain elevators as well as managers of farms with multiple grain storage sites.)
The three groups should
Each group takes a different approach to solving this problem:
Group 1: Develop a solution that does not require significant costs in terms of time and money
Group 2: Develop a solution that may require a significant outlay of time and money in the development stage — but once developed, can be adapted for commercial production and marketing. (Note: Place an asterisk (*) by essential-to-identify items that need to be considered for liability reasons before the design could be marketed.)
Group 3: Your only limitation is that the solution is realistic and doable.
Groups should address the following issues in developing their solutions. Each group must show a matrix of solutions and criteria.
– What criteria must be considered in developing a solution?
– Who needs access to this ladder?
– Size, strength, physical limitations
– Access to it? If cut it off, will have a permanent temporary one next to it
– Frequency of need to access?
– Amount of time willing to allow when access is needed
– If an existing design are there appropriate standards?
– If a guard is built how locked and access controlled?
– How to insure it won’t fold back up?
National Education Center for Agricultural Safety offers training programs in several related topics
(http://www.necasag.org/safetytraining/)
Purdue University Agricultural Safety and Health Training (https://engineering.purdue.edu/~agsafety/ASH/Activities/leaderTraining.html)
Click HERE for the PowerPoint presentation. The slides are summarized below.
WPS is a set of regulations from the EPA designed to protect agricultural workers from pesticide exposure. It must be followed when pesticide use is part of the agricultural production of plants on a farm, nursery, or greenhouse.
The label is the law.
The two types of fit testing for respirators are: (a) ________________________ and (b) ________________________. –
Why should your home have a CO detector? What should you look for when purchasing one?
Identify the three ways that pesticides enter the body.
The hazardous material used in agriculture that is usually secured from theft by people who want to use it for meth production is ________________________. It is a vapor at ____________ degrees Fahrenheit. The parts of the body most subject to immediate injury are the _____________.
Identify two factors that need to be considered when selecting and using PPE.
What are the four gases produced at storage sites for manure or other decomposing organic matter, and what are the hazards involved with each one?
Why is it important for all employees or family members to be aware of the risks posed by these chemicals or gases even if they are not directly involved in working with them?
While doing your field operations, you are driving uphill applying anhydrous ammonia. The tractor stalls, leaving you without hydraulics, power steering, or brakes. The tractor rolls backwards and jackknifes, breaking the anhydrous hose.
Chemicals and gases are often not readily seen or noticed. As an employee why do you need to be aware of the possible gases that can develop (for example, due to the decomposition of organic matter), and what precautions do you need to take?
Identify the three areas of the body most susceptible (highest rates) to pesticides entry via absorption.
Explain the proper laundry techniques for clothes worn during pesticide application.
Identify symptoms of pesticide poisoning.
What procedures should be followed in the event of a pesticide spill?
How can pesticides be PROPERLY disposed of?
As an agribusiness manager, explain your role and responsibility with the Worker Protection Standard.
Discuss how identifying risks based on “Low, Medium, or High Potential” can be used for improving the safety of your business and workers. Provide an example for each category. See Farm*A*Syst and Home*A*Syst programs and fact sheets.(Farm*A*Syst publications can be found http://extension.psu.edu/plants/nutrient-management/farm-a-syst; Home*A*Syst publications can be found at https://www.bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/HOMEASST.pdf.)
The two types of fit testing for respirators are: (a) ________________________ and (b) ________________________. Which type is easier to perform? Which is more accurate?
Select a pesticide label. For the label you selected, identify the following (Mannequin used is PAPA*):
For the PPE items listed above, match each with its identifier from the PPE on the PAPA mannequin.
* PAPA stands for“Proper Attire for Pesticide Applications.” The PAPA mannequin is a mannequin or other framework dressed in PPE appropriate for pesticide use.
Click HERE for the PowerPoint presentation. The slides are summarized below.
Notes
Iowa State University Publication
(www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1563K.pdf)
Penn State Farm Rescue Training
(http://extension.psu.edu/business/ag-safety/farm-emergencies/rescue-training)
The malicious use of plant or animal pathogens to cause devastating disease in the agricultural sector. It may also take the form of hoaxes and threats intended to create public fear of such events.
Notes
Resources that may be helpful if one wants to go into agroterrorism in more depth:
The Center for Food Security and Public Health at Iowa State University
(www.cfsph.iastate.edu)
Courses that are offered on the EDEN site (see later slides)
Notes
Sioux City crash of United Flight 232
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_232
Report by the Flight 232 Captain, Al Haynes:
http://clear-prop.org/aviation/haynes.html
Weyauwega, Wisconsin, train derailment Train derailment resulted in an 18-day evacuation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weyauwega,_Wisconsin_derailment
These examples show the need for a preparedness plan even for the unexpected. The Sioux City Gateway airport typically did not handle large planes such as the DC-10. However, they drilled for the event of handling a large plane incident – theirfirst drill was total chaos and took four hours to triage victims. When an actual crash occurred there two years later, they triaged and transported victims within 46 minutes. This also required cooperation with neighboring rescueunits – notonly involving neighboring communities, but adjacent counties as well as adjacentstates (Sioux City is in the NW corner of Iowa sothere were neighboring communities in South Dakota and Nebraska).
Weyauwega had a train derailment that resulted in leaking propane tank cars. Hence peoplewere evacuated for what ended up being 18 days. This example shows that even in the event of not having a chemical plant, a community can be exposed to hazardous materials due to highway, railroad, or other transportation-related incidents.
The table-top simulation is an educational tool that provides an opportunity to apply knowledge about preparedness and potential disaster situations through formal discussion of a described scenario.
| Fertilizer Sales* | The high-school junior was left in charge of the store for a few hours. Strangers came in, purchased fertilizer and paid cash. |
| Local Beef Slaughterhouse* | Processed meat was found to be contaminated. This was used 4 weeks prior to the BSE case in Washington state. |
| Beef Cattle Ranch* | Approaching wildfire |
* Denotes simulations that are included in the activitiessection of this chapter.
Notes
These are examples that were developed and used in an agricultural risk management class that the author taught at the University of Florida. Scenarios with an * are included in this chapter’s activity section.
| Wine Distribution Company* | Employee took fellow employee hostage. |
| Veterinarian | Theft of drugs used by people for recreational purposes. The kid that bought the drug on the street had a severe, almost fatal reaction. |
| Lemonade Stand | Kids stole sugar and made a bomb! |
| Organic Farms* | Non-English speaking workers were left alone in the fields. One rode on the tractor fender to get to the truck. He fell off and was run over by the rotary mower. |
| Comprehensive Environmental Remediation Company* | Contaminated soil was dumped in a landfill that had not been approved for dumping hazardous materials. |
* Denotes simulations that are included in the activities section of this chapter.
| Feed Company* | A worker in a grain bin drowned in grain when the auger started up. The confined space entry procedure was not followed. |
| Aerial Application Company* | A temporary pilot for the day ended up stealing a plane loaded with chemicals. |
| Nursery* | A disgruntled employee began shooting. |
| Unspecified Business* | Hurricane warning |
| Ice Distribution Company | Contaminated ice was used at an NFL football game. |
| Aquaculture | Diseased tropical fish were sold. |
* Denotes simulations that are included in the activities section of this chapter.
The State Agricultural Response Team (SART; www.flsart.org) is an interagency, coordinated effort established to foster better communications within the current disaster management and planning framework. Its mission is to empower Floridians through training and resources to enhance animal and agriculture disaster response.
Notes
PowerPoint presentations and lesson plan books are available at:
http://disaster.ifas.ufl.edu/agroChemSecurity.htm for the following:
Notes
FEMA offers many courses on-line at no cost. Upon passing the on-line test,students receive a certificate. See http://training.fema.gov/is/ for the complete listing of courses.
Information for the following can be obtained from articles on-line about the crash of United Flight 232 in Sioux City. Excerpts from the video A Thousand Heroes can also be used as it is a pretty accurate description of what went on in the Sioux City Community.
Each team is given a table-top simulation to read through. To read more about table-top simulations, see www.joe.org/joe/2007august/tt4.php.
Also identify three items that you wouldn’t have thought about as being a part of a business preparedness plan.
These scenarios are offered as table-top exercises in the following pages:
The following scenario has been developed based on your team’s aerial application business. Develop your risk management plan and focus on something like this happening.
It was early Wednesday morning. Josh, owner of Flying T Aerial Application Services, was supervising a pesticide mixing operation for that day’s job, dusting some large potato fields a few miles southeast of his Keystone Heights location. This was an important job. If these fields did not get dusted today, the likelihood of serious crop loss was imminent. His regular pilot, Janice, had been out all week with a serious case of the flu, and she would probably be out for another few days. She should have gotten the flu shot, he thought to himself. A lot of his business depended on her, and normally, she was 100% reliable.
All of Janice’s regular backups were busy, but Josh had located Dan, who had a lot of flying experience and seemed to be working out as a replacement. Dan seemed serious, maybe sullen, to Josh, but he didn’t think about it too much. Dan’s performance so far was exactly what Josh was looking for in Janice’s absence.
The mixing was finished around 9 am, and Josh’s technician, Zac, took the job of loading the pesticide mix into the airplane on his own. Josh returned to the office. He had a lot of calls to make.
Josh looked out his window around 10:30 as Dan rolled into the parking lot. It was a little later than Josh had hoped for, but Dan had run a little late Monday and Tuesday, so it was nothing surprising. Dan went through his pre-flight routines quickly and was always out the door and on his way to the job on time.
Zac came into Josh’s office around 11:30. He flopped down on the couch next to Josh’s desk. Josh didn’t even look up. He knew Zac had lunch on his mind, and any second, he would make a suggestion.
“Plane loaded?” Josh said offhandedly.
“You bet.” Zac replied.
“So what’s up with Dan today?”
“What do you mean?” Josh asked.
“Well, you know how he’s kind of down all the time?” Zac was trying to get more of Josh’s attention.
“Yeah.” Josh was still focused on the spreadsheets on his computer screen.
“Yeah, well today he’s in an extra special funk. I walked by the chart room a couple seconds ago, and he’s just sitting there with a cup of coffee staring straight ahead. So I stuck my head in the door and said hi... “Zac stopped mid sentence.
Zac loved to tell a story without a point, and Josh was never sure how to respond, so he didn’t, except to say, “So...”
Zac continued, “So... he didn’t say anything. He just stared. I waited for a few seconds. I’m sure he heard me.”
Josh commented, “He’s a quiet guy.”
“Josh, I think there’s something going on with that guy. Makes these calls all the time on his cell phone. Either he calls a lot of people who aren’t home or he’s calling someone who doesn’t want to talk to him.”
Josh glanced over at Zac, “Zac... too much television.”
“No, man, I’m telling you. Something’s going on.” Zac paused for a few seconds. “So, how about Ned’s for lunch? Somehow, playing with pesticide gives me a taste for barbeque.”
Josh chuckled and typed an entry into the spreadsheet. “Sure. Let’s wait til Dan gets off the ground and then we’ll go. He’ll be gone a couple of hours.”
“Sure. I’ll get washed up.” Zac jumped up and left the room.
* * *
Josh and Zac got back to the office around 2. They were at lunch longer than usual. Once again, Zac had provoked Josh into an argument about college football.
Josh half expected Dan to be waiting for them, maybe sitting around the chart room, staring and nursing a cup of coffee. It seemed to be his typical break routine. The building was empty.
Josh settled down at his desk and started to focus in on his spreadsheets again. The phone rang. Josh picked it up absent-mindedly and spoke.
“Flying T Aerial Application Services. Josh Taylor speaking. How can I help you?”
The voice on the phone said, “Mr. Taylor, this is Sergeant Emily Townsend at Patrick Air Force Base. Are you the owner of an AT-802 Air Tractor, N2371?”
Josh was puzzled on the verge of alarm. Zac stuck his head in the door with a questionon his mind, but when he saw Josh’s expression, he asked, “What’s up? Who’s that on the phone?”
Josh looked over at him and waved him in. Josh motioned for Zac to sit in the couch. Zac continued to mouth the words, “Who’s on the phone?”
Josh answered, “Yes, that’s my plane.”
The sergeant continued, “Mr. Taylor, there’s been an incident with your plane. Basically, it’s down on I-95 Southbound about 40 miles south of Cocoa Beach..”
Josh was stunned. Zac was gesturing wildly to find out what was going on.
The sergeant spoke, “Mr. Taylor?”
Josh responded, “Umm, just a second.” He held his hand over the mouthpiece for a second and said to Zac, “It’s Patrick Air Force Base. Our plane landed or crashed or something on I-95 near Cocoa.”
“What? Is this for real?” Zac said.
Josh motioned for Zac to calm down and returned to the phone. “Sergeant Townsend, I don’t know what to say. Is this for real? Uh... Where’s the pilot?”
“Mr. Taylor, I know this will seem incredible, but apparently your pilot, Mr. Hawkins, filed a flight plan for some crop dusting this morning, but instead he headed straight down the coast. I’m not sure what he was planning...”
Josh interrupted, “Where is Dan, uh, Mr. Hawkins? Is he alright?”
“Mr. Hawkins is in serious condition in Holmes Memorial Medical Center in Melbourne. He was flying somewhat erratically. We determined that he was flying without a flight plan when he was about 20 miles north of the Cape. A couple of jets were sent up to intercept him and force him down. He wouldn’t answer any radio communication. We were trying to direct him to an airfield but for some reason, as soon as he was south of Palm City, he just dropped down and picked a spot on the interstate.” Townsend paused.
Josh was now trying to sort out the events and their implications in his mind. “Was anyone else hurt?”
The sergeant answered, “No, luckily that stretch of the highway isn’t too busy at that time of day, and everyone either slowed down or got off the road. But it has caused quite a mess. The wing clipped a truck that was trying to get off the road and the plane skidded. The belly hit the roadway, and we’ve got whatever was in the tank and fuel all over the road. Hawkins was banged around in the cockpit pretty good. We’ve got traffic rerouted, and the hazmat teams have the whole area cordoned off. Northbound traffic is OK.”
“I don’t even know where to start. What do you need from me?” Josh asked.
“At this point, the Air Force doesn’t need anything. I’m calling you because we just happened to be the first to pick up on Mr. Hawkins’ flight, and I became a pivot in the command system. But as I said, we’ve got hazmat teams and FDOT on the scene.”
“What’s going to happen to Mr. Hawkins?”
“Well, Mr. Taylor, Mr. Hawkins has broken quite a few laws and caused some fairly serious problems. We’ve already reported all this to the FBI and the FAA. I think law enforcement will be in touch with you shortly. If Mr. Hawkins recovers, he will face numerous criminal charges. Unfortunately, all that is going to be federal, so he’s in very serious trouble,” Townsend paused again to let Josh take in these new issues.
“What do you mean ‘if he recovers’? How bad is he hurt?”
“I really can’t say. The hospital won’t release that information to anyone but a family member. I think the local police have probably contacted them by now, if the FBI hasn’t.One thing I can tell you is that if you turn on CNN, you’ll get a little more information with pictures. I work with media quite a bit; you should be prepared. National and local press are going to start calling as soon as the official report is filed. Probably later this evening.”
Josh thought for a second and then spoke, “Do I need to come get my airplane?”
“No, Mr. Taylor. As far as I know, the airplane is a total loss as far as insurance goes, and because it is at the center of a hazmat incident, there won’t be any salvage. It will be disposed of down here. And I can’t really say what your liability is. There will charges for the clean-up operation, but how much of that will come back to you, I don’t really know. I probably shouldn’t even get into that... probably shouldn’t even have said that much.”
“I understand. No, that’s fine. I’ll try to contact someone up here about that part of it, and then, I guess I’ll just wait for FBI to call me.” The full impact of the conversation was beginning to settle in.
Townsend spoke, “I’m sorry about all this, Mr. Taylor. I think that’s all I have for you. Do you have any other questions?”
“No. Thanks for calling. I’ve got a lot to think about.” Josh spoke slowly.
“Very well, Mr. Taylor. Good luck. And if there’s anything you need from us, just call the Air Base Command Center, and ask for Sergeant Emily Townsend.”
“Uh, thank you. Good-bye.”
“Good-bye.” Josh hung up the phone and sat quietly, thinking.
Zac was about to explode, but he held it in as long as he could. Maybe one second?
“FBI?” Zac shouted. “What the hell is going on? Where’s Dan? Where’s the plane?”
Josh slowly reported to Zac everything he had learned from his conversation with Sergeant Townsend.
Zac sat in rare silence for a moment to try to take it all in. “So, what? We sit here and wait for the feds to call?” he said quietly.
Josh answered just as quietly, “I guess so.”
As a group, you are to determine the outcome of this incident.
The danger is now past. How prepared was your facility?
How will this experience change your policies/plans for future emergencies?
Consider stress management options.
Develop a protocol for employees reporting on “irrational remarks or behavior.”
Reference link that may be helpful: www.eden.lsu.edu.
KGKK Farms is a privately owned and operated family farm near Live Oak, FL. The main crop is tobacco along with corn, soybeans, strawberries and bell peppers. Additionally, there are four broiler houses in production at a capacity of 20,000 birds each. The farm managers feel that since this is a private family farm and a “close-knit” run operation that they pose little risk to the general public or to surrounding agricultural operations. In the past, they have felt that their work with machinery has been their largest risk.
The Live Oak area of the state contains several poultry operations and facilities. An inspection was conducted in the area yesterday. Other poultry operations tested negative for avian flu. However, avian flu was found in one of the broiler houses at KGKK Farms.
Baldwin Angus Beef Ranch Company of Ocala, Florida, is a moderate size operation that primarily raises beef cattle for slaughter in their own facilities and sells to the local market. With 200 head of cattle and 11 employees, Baldwin has two main sources of revenue: (1) sales of their own beef, and (2) slaughter fees charged to other small producers who bring their cattle to regular slaughter days, usually around the first of each month. The annual gross earnings of Baldwin could be around $200,000.
Baldwin beef is not exactly organic, but they are well known with local restaurants and clubs for the quality of their beef and low chemical input. High growth in the Ocala area and their consistent reputation keeps demand for their beef steady. This growth has also increased the demand for local beef in general and had brought numerous people into the small-time beef cattle business with operations running anywhere from 5 to 20 head of cattle. Local slaughterhouses like Baldwin make this network of small and hobby operators viable.
The owner of Baldwin, Brian Smith, has lived in the Ocala area for many years. Many of the small operators who bring cattle to him for slaughter are friends or acquaintances from church or civic organizations. A growing number of these small operators, however, are newcomers to the area who have retired or are anticipating retirement in a few years. These newcomers often purchase 10-20 acres of land and want to have a few head of cattle, the sale of which will defray taxes and become a small source of income. Because they usually know less about ranching and about animals, they are more dependent on local veterinarians.
One such newcomer is Dan Johnson. Originally from a small town near Detroit, Michigan, Dan’s parents had moved to southwest Florida in the 1980s. Now in his mid 50s, Dan wanted to be closer to his aging parents, but found the Ocala area more suitable for his family. It seemed like an ideal area for the insurance business that both he and his wife were involved with. They had done well in Michigan, and their children were on their own, so they could work the business at their own pace.
Most of their clients were pre-retirees like themselves and relatively new to the area. One of the benefits of their business was that they met a lot of people, and they had made some good friends. Several of their clients also had animals, mostly cattle, but there were also some horses and even one goat herd.
Dan and his wife Marlene purchased a beautiful tract of 32 acres, which was already fenced. In fact, the property was once part of a larger cattle operation, but had since been broken up into smaller parcels. There hadn’t been any cattle on the land in some years, but Dan and Marlene both liked the idea of buying a few head of cattle and giving it a try.They were both the kind of people who thoroughly research their hobbies and rely onprofessionals to make up thedifference in terms of their knowledge and experience. They have lived in the Ocala area for three years, and have brought cattle to Brian for slaughter on two occasions, most recently, on November 3, 2003.
On November 3, forty-two head were slaughtered. Twenty were Baldwin cattle, and the other 22 were from 8 small operators. Two of the cattle were from the Johnson ranch. All the beef had buyers waiting, and by the end of the day, the slaughterhouse was clean, the delivery truck was completing its deliveries, and the refuse was on its way to a rendering plant near Bartow.
On the evening of November 6, there was a severe wind storm. Many branches and a few aging trees were brought down. Dan’s power was out for a few hours. In the morning, Dan hopped in the pickup to ride around and make sure that all the fence was in good shape. Marlene had a couple of insurance calls to make that morning and a breakfast, so she had left earlier.
While riding the fence, Dan spotted something near a stand of trees in one of his pastures. He drove over to it and noticed a dead fox. It looked like it had been dead a few days. It seemed unusual to him, but he shook off his suspicious feelings, and chalked it up to his unfamiliarity with the country. He had only seen a few foxes in the area over the years, but he had never seen a dead one. There were 10 head of cattle in the pasture, and they were keeping well away from the stand of trees and possibly the fox carcass.
On November 8, Dan went out to the pasture in the pickup. The cattle were mostly gathered near the north fence, again, opposite the stand of trees where he had seen the dead fox. Dan walked over to the cattle. They were used to him, but nevertheless, they pulled together a little.
Dan could recognize all his animals. Being a “people” business made him look for and remember the little details that cause people to stick in the mind as individuals. He moved from animal to animal, stroking them and talking to them. Dan noticed that one of the animals was behaving oddly. Its lower jaw was covered with saliva. Dan went to the truck and got a halter and led the steer to a separate pen, with some difficulty.
Dan returned to the house and looked at the purchase records. The steer he has just segregated was one of three they had purchased about 16 months earlier. One of those steers had already gone for slaughter on November 3.
Dan’s immediate suspicion was that the steer had rabies, but where would the steer have gotten rabies. He immediately called the veterinarian.
“Hi, Linda? ... Yeah, hi, this is Dan Johnson. ... I’m fine, thanks. But listen, I think I’ve got a steer over here that might have rabies. ... Sure. I went out to the pasture this morning, you know, to check the fences after the wind storm last night, and I came across this dead fox. Well, it had been dead a few days, it looked like to me. ... Yeah. That was a couple of days ago. Then today I went out to the pasture, and I was looking at the animals, and one seemed to be salivating a lot and acting kind of strange. ... I don’t know. ... Yeah, think you could come out here? ... Uh, yeah, I’ll be here all afternoon. ... Great. ... Yeah,it’s in a separate pen. ... Twenty minutes? ... Yeah. I’ll be here. Bye.”
Part I
Part II
Part III
Assuming that Dan’s steer is definitively diagnosed with FMD:
As a group decide on the outcome and what happens?
What is your crisis management strategy?
Use the “thought” questions posed as points to consider for your beef operation and situation. Select 10 of the questions from the list and provide a short answer for each.
Reference link that may be helpful: https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-111.a (Livestock in Disasters).
The North Central Region of Florida has had three straight years of drought. With the dry grasses and depleted water resources, the area is ripe for wildfires. There have been several fires in rural areas of these regions caused by lightning, arson, and electric fences coming in contact with dry grass. Firefighting equipment is being used heavily in these areas, but these resources are limited. Dry conditions are predicted to remain the same. The fire threat level remains at the highest level.
At 8 am this morning, there was an emergency announcement on the radio that fires had sprouted up in western Alachua and eastern Levy counties. The wind is from the west. Predictions are that this line of fires will not be easy to put out. An evacuation of residents in the western part of the county has begun.
The fire-storm is now past. How prepared was your operation? How will this experience change your policies/plans for future emergencies?
What are some things you would not have thought of or considered before doing this exercise?
The Natural Choice Feed Company production facility in Perry, GA, has a large grain storage facility for the production of animal feeds. The grain is removed from the bins via an outlet auger. It is moved along a mechanized system for processing.
A line manager and a coworker encountered a problem with grain not flowing onto the conveyor system. They theorized that there was a clog somewhere in the grain bin and that the grain was not able to be augered out of the bin. Another worker who was absent today was one of a few employees that had been trained on proper procedures for entering a confined space. However, they were currently running behind on the production schedule and so the manager decided to take a short cut. He quickly explained to his coworker how to enter the grain bin and how to use a rod to remove the clog. He would wait outside the bin in case anyone asked where the worker was and what he was doing. The worker was not equipped with a safety harness as required by OSHA. Additionally, the manager did not take other OSHA precautions for entry into such a system.
Shortly after the worker entered the bin, the auger started back up again (oops! forgot to lock out the power!). The employee’s body was recovered later that day. It appeared that when he removed the clog, the equipment started working again. The resulting flow of the grain pulled the employee under and he would have been totally helpless within a matter of seconds and dead a short time thereafter. His body was not entangled in the auger.
How prepared was your operation? How will this experience change your policies/plans for future emergencies? What are some things you would not have thought of or considered before doing this exercise?
Two men walk in dressed in overalls. You notice the men have very expensive watches on, and their fingernails look very clean. They inquire about purchasing several bags of high nitrate fertilizer. You ask them what type of application they will be using the fertilizer for, and they give you a legitimate response. You give them the purchase price, and one of the men pulls out a large quantity of cash and begins counting it out to you.
It had been raining all week. Normally, Thursday morning would be slow at J.F. Copeland Farms Supply, but with the rain, this particular Thursday was dead. The owner, Bill, had some errands to run, and he thought maybe this would be a good time. He could leave Luke in charge for a couple of hours.
Luke had one more year of high school, and Bill had taken him on for the summer to help out around the warehouse. Luke had only been working there for a few weeks, but he could ring a sale, and Bill felt that probably there wouldn’t be any business at all this morning.
“Luke,” he said, “I’m going into town for a couple of hours. Go by the bank, run a couple errands... I can bring back some lunch. What would you like?” Bill and Luke talked over lunch ideas.
Bill asked, “Luke, do you feel comfortable being here on your own for a little while? It’s pretty slow, but if someone comes in, I think you could take care of them.”
Luke agreed. In fact, he was a little proud to be on his own. Yeah, he’d be running the place. He’d be manager for a couple of hours. He also thought chances were good that no one would come in.
“See ya, Luke. Should be back around 12, 12:30,” Bill shouted back as he left the store. It was around 10:30.
With Bill gone, Luke felt the emptiness of the place. He turned on the radio and changed it to a favorite station. He got out the broom and started to sweep.
Bill had been gone about 15 minutes, and Luke was singing along with the radio and dancing/sweeping, when a couple of men came through the door. “Morning,” one of them said. He had to speak loudly to be heard over the radio and get Luke’s attention.
Luke looked up and immediately put down the broom. “Good morning. Can I help you?” he asked.
Luke walked over to the men, dusted his hands off on his coveralls, and reached out to shake their hands. The men seemed puzzled by the friendliness of Luke’s gesture, but they shook hands with him.
The taller man answered Luke’s question. “Yeah, we’re –uh – looking to buy some fertilizer.”
Luke moved around behind the counter and turned down the radio. He pulled out a sales form and said, “Well, you’ve come to the right place.” Luke held a pen in writing position, looked up at the men and asked, “All right, now exactly what can I get for you?”
Again, the taller man spoke, “We’re looking for about a 1,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate, the high nitrate kind.”
Luke was happy to tell them, “We’ve got plenty. Comes in 100-pound sacks.Fifteen dollars a sack. Copeland’s the brand. That all right?”
“Oh sure, that sounds good. Got it right here? We got a truck outside, we were hoping to take it with us,” the tall man said.
“Sure, we got it. I can bring it up to the front and load it for you, or we got free delivery with any order of $100,” Luke said
The shorter man looked serious and glanced up at the taller man. The tall man spoke, “No, we’ll take it with us. It’ll save us some time, since we’re already here.”
“Okay”, Luke said, “But don’t tell Mr. Copeland I didn’t offer.”
Luke wrote up the sale and told the men. “All right, then, that will be $159 dollars. Oh sorry, maybe you have a tax number? I added the sales tax in without even asking.”
The taller man looked closely at Luke for a second, and said, “No. I don’t have a tax number.” He pulled a thick roll of bills out of his jacket and peeled off eight 20-dollar bills. He handed them to Luke.
Luke counted them, “20-40-60-80-100-120-140-160. All right.” He rang it up on the register and tucked the 20s in the drawer and pulled out a one-dollar bill. He handed it to the tall man.
“There you go. Your change is one-dollar even,” Luke said. He marked the sales form “Paid” and held out the copy. The taller man took it. Luke added, “If you gentlemen want to wait out front, I’ll bring your fertilizer around. Are you under the overhang?”
The men nodded yes and went out the front door. Luke went out the side. He drove the small pickup they used in the yard over to the shed with the fertilizer bags and loaded ten on the truck. He could see the men and their van. Luke had never seen the men before. He drove over to them with the bags.
The men were driving a white van that looked brand new. They opened the back door. Luke stepped over to unload the bags, but they insisted on loading it themselves. Luke couldn’t see in the back of the van clearly, but there seemed to be another person inside.
“Shame to load these dirty old bags of fertilizer in this nice van,” Luke offered.
The men did not reply. They loaded the bags as quickly as possible.
“You guys just startin’ up?” Luke asked.
The tall man glanced over at Luke for a second and said, “No. We’ve been buying from Bill for years.”
The bags were loaded. Luke asked, “So what do you guys grow?” Luke could see that they were in a hurry now.
The taller man said, “Ferns.” The other man was already in the van starting the engine. The tall man hopped in and they drove away.
Luke watched them leave and then went back into the store. He turned up the radio again and looked at the clock. 11:30. He complained to the empty store, “An hour til lunch! Dang!”
It was quarter of one when Bill finally got back. He would have been back earlier but there was a wreck on the main highway that had slowed everything down.
Bill handed Luke a sub sandwich and an extra large iced tea. Luke was hungry. He unwrapped his sandwich with one motion and took a bite.
Everything was just as Bill had left it, but he asked, “Anything happen while I was gone?”
“Nah, not much. Did some sweeping. Some guys bought some fertilizer.” Luke spoke casually through his munching, portraying that whatever had happened, it was just part of his normal day.
“Made your first solo sale, huh? Pretty good. Maybe I ought to leave you alone more often. Sales might pick up.”
After lunch, Bill looked over the sales form. “This your fertilizer sale this morning?” Luke looked over. “Yeah.”
“No address? No name?” Bill said.
“They paid cash and they took it with them,” Luke said.
“Guess that’s okay then. Thousand pounds, huh?” Bill was reassured, and a sale is a sale.
Luke added, “I didn’t ask their names but they said they been buying here for a long time.”
“Oh yeah? What did they look like?” Bill asked. Luke described the two men — a tall one and a short one. Well dressed. Driving a new white van. Bill did not recognize the men from Luke’s description.
“Did they say anything about their operation? Like what they grow?” Bill knew that the crop would narrow it down quickly.
“Ferns is what they said,” Luke answered.
“Ferns? And 1,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate.” Bill thought for a minute. “There’s something not right about this, Luke.I think I better call the sheriff.”
“Oh man. Mr. Copeland, did I do something wrong? I mean, maybe I shouldn’t have sold them the fertilizer,” Luke said.
Bill reassured Luke, but he felt very suspicious. Luke’s description of the men, their clothes, the new white van... It was obvious they were not producing ferns, not with straight ammonium nitrate. Bill just wasn’t sure. Could be legitimate, except that he did not have any customers that grew ornamentals. The fact that they told Luke they had been customers for years, just didn’t square. And who picks up fertilizer in a van?
Bill called the sheriff and reported a suspicious purchase of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. Within a half hour, two deputies were at the ag supply operation to ask Tom and Luke more questions.
The Panhandle and Central Regions of Florida have had three straight years of drought. With the dry grasses and depleted water resources, the area is ripe for wildfires. There have been several fires in these regions caused by lightning, arson, and electric fences coming in contact with dry grass. Firefighting equipment is being used heavily in these areas, but these resources are limited. Dry conditions are predicted to remain the same. The fire threat level remains at the highest level.
At 8 am this morning, there was an emergency announcement on the radio that fires had sprouted up in Taylor county. Predictions are that this line of fires will not be easy to put out. An evacuation of residents in the western part of the county has begun.
As a group, you are to determine the outcome of this fire-storm threat.
The fire-storm is now past. How prepared was your facility? How will this experience change your policies/plans for future emergencies?
Vero Best Organic Farms has seven Hispanic workers who tend to maintenance of the groves. Two of these workers do not speak English very well, but they are good workers and rely on the other five bilingual workers to translate messages and signs for them. On a hot July afternoon, Jose and Juan (the two non-English-speaking workers) were working in the grove. The others had left early to get supplies and other needed equipment in town. Jose was operating the tractor with the rotary mower attached. Juan was to check on trees in another part of the grove. Rather than take the truck to the other part of the grove, Juan asked Jose if he could ride along on the tractor. Although the farm owns newer tractors equipped with ROPS, the tractor used on this particular day was an older tractor that was used for more chore-type tasks, such as mowing. The tractor did not have a cab, so it was hot and muggy work.
Even though the employer had posted a sticker on the tractor that read “No Riders,” Jose agreed to give Juan a ride to the trees further down the row. Since he still needed to get the work done, he continued to mow as Juan rode along on the fender. The tractor hit a tree branch that had fallen and was hidden in the long grass. This sudden lurching of the tractor caused Juan to lose his grip on the fender. He fell off the tractor and into the path of the mower. He was killed instantly as the mower severed his body into several pieces.
Jose stopped the tractor and turned off the power take-off and the tractor engine. He was not sure who to contact for help. He finally ran back to the truck and headed to the main office. There he found someone who could understand his Spanish and who went with him back to the grove. Local officials were called to the scene.
Investigators later cited Vero Best Organic Farms with failure to be in compliance with the OSHA regulations for their employees. With the death of the employee and the lack of compliance, Vero Best was fined heavily.
The emergency is now past. How prepared was your operation? How will this experience change your policies/plans for future emergencies? What are some things you would not have thought of or considered before doing this exercise?
A foreman brings you the news that an employee has taken an unknown number of fellow workers as hostages. Apparently, his job performance has been steadily worsening, due to a combination of domestic problems and substance abuse. Yesterday, he was given a choice of seeking treatment for substance abuse or termination of employment. No one is sure if he is high or drunk currently, but he is heavily armed. He is an accomplished hunter.
He has barricaded himself and his hostages in a rather inaccessible stockroom. The room has a phone, but no one has called out. Several people who know him had heard him make some irrational remarks the previous day. They feel that he will wait to be contacted.
Your employees are very upset, and some are angry. Some feel this worker’s situation should have been handled differently. As people check among themselves, there seems to be either four or five workers unaccounted for, including the individual’s supervisor.
You are confronted by an angry worker with the accusation that you caused the situation and with the question, “Do you know how many other people here feel exactly the same way that guy with the guns does?”
A coworker discovers a suspicious package near the back loading dock of the building.
The first police car arrived around 10:30, but more continue to arrive. After consultations, the police request a SWAT team and a hostage negotiator. There has been no contact with the captor. The police want to know who should make the first contact.
Coworkers seem to confirm that four coworkers are missing. Discrete calls to the homes of those who might be hostages helps confirm that four are unaccounted for; the fifth had left work unexpectedly and has turned up at home.
The SWAT team and the hostage negotiator arrive. The negotiator speaks with you and several of the captor’s acquaintances. The negotiator makes the first phone call.
Three news crews have arrived. They are looking for interviews.
The negotiator says that the captor is extremely angry and somewhat incoherent. The negotiator asked what the captor wanted, but did not receive any specific requests. The captor often repeated the phrase, “You don’t know the cost!” The negotiator feels that at least the supervisor is in extreme danger.
The captor’s wife, an older child, and his brother arrive at the facility. The wife speaks with the press, indicating that she and her husband have separated, but she can’t believe that he would hurt anyone. The brother is concerned that the captor will be killed by the SWAT team; he believes that he can talk the captor out of the situation. The police advise against this.
The police recommend shutting the facility and sending everyone home rather than letting them stand around waiting for word.
The police secure the facility.
The danger is now past. How prepared was your facility? How will this experience change your policies/plans for future emergencies?
Consider stress management options.
Develop a protocol for employees reporting on “irrational remarks or behavior.”
You and your crisis team are at the facility early to discuss the approaching hurricane.
A Category 4 hurricane has been moving slowly across the Gulf. The diameter of the hurricane is approximately 600 miles. If the storm continues on its current course, it will make landfall just south of Tallahassee in just under 36 hours.
Evacuation of coastal areas will begin in a few hours if there is no course change.
You are now at the point where you have to decide whether to close your facility.
No change in course. Landfall in 31 hours. Employees need time to prepare their homes and families and to evacuate, if necessary. They are now anxious and hoping you will close the facility at lunch time. You announce that the facility will close at noon.
At 4:00 pm, I-10 in Leon County is closed. Air traffic will be stopped within two or three hours. Your trucking company notifies you that you will receive no shipments for at least three days, possibly more, depending on the severity of the hurricane and the extent of damage to the area.
As a group, you are to determine the outcome of this storm threat.
The storm is now past. How prepared was your facility? How will this experience change your policies/plans for future storms?
This fictional news story is based on a real case in Boynton Beach, FL.
ASSAILANT IN NURSERY SHOOTINGS HAD RECORD OF VIOLENCE
Court records obtained by a local news source show that the assailant in the July 28 shootings of three people at Fragrant Nurseries in Gainesville, Florida, had a long history of domestic abuse against his wife and at least one son but had failed to complete court-ordered domesticviolence counseling. Nursery co-owner Bob Smith and employees Juan Cortez and Carolina Ramirez were shot to death in the incident. Authorities say Carlos Casarrubias, 44, the estranged spouse of Ramirez, walked into the nursery at about 11:40 a.m. that day armed with a semi-automatic handgun. Ramirez was the mother of their six children. Cortez was described as an innocent bystander. Smith was shot and killed after he stepped in between the assailant and his apparent intended target, a co-worker Ramirez had been seeing. “Domestic violence is not unique to any racial, ethnic, or age group,” Attorney Chris Robinson of Fisher and Phillips LLP in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, notes. He adds: “Employers must be prepared to handle such situations before they occur. Creating a zero-tolerance policy on workplace violence and developing an action plan to address situations that may arise are both critical for the conscientious employer. Taking action in a crisis is too late.”
The danger is now past. How prepared was your facility? How will this experience change your policies/plans for future emergencies?
Consider stress management options. Develop a protocol for employees reporting on “irrational remarks or behavior.”
Tucker hung up the phone with a smile on his face. He had just landed another job for CERC. This time they were contracted by the state to clean up a former military reservist base. The main area to be targeted was the firing range. Significant lead contamination had already been identified, although CERC would confirm this prior to doing any remediation. Tucker got Sam, his best crew manager, on the phone.
“Hey, guess what?” Tucker quizzed him.
“Don’t know, but I bet you’re going to tell me anyway,” Sam joked.
“We got that military base job I was telling you about. I want your crew on this one. If we can get more government jobs, that would be great for the company to show diverse projects,” Tucker explained.
“We’ll do our best,” Sam promised, “When do we start?”
“As soon as you are available. Come to my office before you leave today, and I’ll have the keys and documents ready from the base to get you guys on the site,” Tucker said.
“Ten-four. I’ll see you later on then,” Sam concluded.
Sam arrived at the base with his crew at 0700 hours the following day, papers in hand. The surly front gate MP did not seem too pleased with him, but Sam figured he was like that with everyone. The officer overseeing the project from the military met the crew and took them around to explain what was expected, how the site was laid out, etc.
“We have already arranged for the disposal of the contaminated soil at the dump here in town,”Sarge explained, “So basically all your firm needs to do is remove it all at the bid price. We negotiated a special, no-surcharge dump fee with this dump, so all you need to do is present this work order to the attendant over there and your guys will be good to go.”
“Sounds good,” Sam replied, “You removed a huge part of the work by getting us a dump so close. We should be completed and out of your hair in no time.”
Sam arranged for his crew to bring in the work vehicles needed for the clean-up for that afternoon. Lab technicians would also be out that afternoon to perform the necessary sampling and testing so a plan could be drawn up and executed. By tomorrow, the crew would be ready to commence.
The next day, at 0700 hours, Sam and his crew rolled up to the base and were greeted by the same MP.Once signed into the log, they were off to work. For three days, they removed contaminated soil at the site and hauled it to the dump. Some final soil tests were completed, and the site was cleared. The smoothness with which the job had gone made the papers served to Tucker seem all the more unbelievable.
“Are you Tucker DeGraw?” the officer asked Tucker. Tucker nodded his head and the officer handed him the envelope, “Thank you. Consider yourself served.”
Tucker opened up the envelope to find court papers. He was being served for, from what he could tell, was environmental contamination! He called Legal and asked what was going on. CERC’s head counsel, Belinda, came over and read the paperwork.
“Does a Greenville City sound familiar, Tucker?” Belinda inquired.
“Yes, that’s the town where our crew doing the military reserve base clean-up was instructed to dump the contaminated material. Why?” Sam said.
“Well, apparently that dump was not eligible to receive such refuse. CERC’s now being charged with several counts of environmental contamination.”
Tucker’s mind raced trying to absorb the reality of what this meant for CERC.
How prepared was your operation? How will this experience change your policies/plans for future emergencies? What are some things you would not have thought of or considered before doing this exercise?
Florida’s State Agricultural Response Team (SART) Program: An interagency, coordinated effort established to foster better communications within the current disaster management and planning framework. SART’s mission is “to empower Floridians through training and resources to enhance animal and agriculture disaster response.”For information and training materials, see www.flsart.org.
Study of Perceptions of Florida Beef Cattle Producers towards Agroterrorism (http://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/UF/E0/01/18/63/00001/degraw_j.pdf): Beef cattle producers indicated they felt that an act of agroterrorism could occur in the U.S. and also that it could occur in Florida. However, they felt such an act was not likely on their operation, and they did not feel prepared for it.
Specific Audiences: Information is available that targets farmers, 4-H,and FFA members, Extension personnel, federal, state and local emergency public safety, law enforcement, emergency response, emergency medical (including hospital emergency facilities), and related personnel, agencies, and authorities.
Course Material: Provides a basic understanding of agroterrorism, including the definition of agroterrorism, vulnerabilities of crops, livestock, and food supplies, appreciation of the risks associated with consolidation of agriculture and food production, the difference between ‘an intentional and unintentional event, measures to plan for and respond to problems in the food supply or agriculture, things you can do to prevent, detect, and respond to problems, pests and pathogens that could be used by terrorists to cause plant health disorders, animal diseases that could be used in agroterrorism attacks, what to do at home, school, or work to prepare for emergencies, and how prevention and preparedness measures work at local, state, and federal levels.
Resources available through the Cornell University Agrosecurity and Agroterrorism Web site (http://emergencypreparedness.cce.cornell.edu/agrosecurity/Pages/AgrosecurityResources.aspx.)
Security Issues with Chemicals, Pesticides, Fertilizers, and Anhydrous Ammonia: Instructional materials are on the University of Florida Disaster Handbook website. Visit http://disaster.ifas.ufl.edu, and click on Other Disaster Products.
Emergency, Preparedness, Security Related Independent Study Courses: Are available at no cost and on-line from FEMA — including handling of livestock and animals in disasters. For a list of courses, see: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/crslist.asp.
Business Continuity: Business continuity describes the processes and procedures an organization puts in place to ensure that essential functions can continue during and after adisaster. Business continuity planning seeks to prevent interruption of mission-critical services, and to re-establish full functioning as swiftly and smoothly as possible. The first step in business continuity planning is deciding which of the organization’s functions are essential, and apportioning the available budget accordingly.
Agritourism: The practice of attracting visitors to an area used primarily for agricultural purposes. It is similar to eco-tourism in that it is small-scale, low-impact, and in many cases education-focused. Risk management planning when inviting others onto your farm or business needs to be a major consideration.
Agritourism is a great publication from Virginia Extension (http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/310/310-003/310-003.html).
Click HERE for the PowerPoint presentation. The slides are summarized below.
Notes
Site for video clip of dust explosion: http://www.angelo.edu/faculty/kboudrea/demos/lycopodium/lycopodium.htm
Notes
Vapors can be far from their source and still find an ignition source (e.g., gasoline and all petroleum products are heavier than air).
Notes
Flashpoint tells you when vapors are present, and vapor density tells you where they are!
Notes
NIST clip of Christmas tree fire and flashover (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_eHBqVYa8A)
*Ryan Burley, AOM Safety Class 2007
Notes
Internal heat or arcing from electric motors; animals can bump heat lamps near straw; portable heaters in shops and barns can be knocked over or can be too close to combustible materials; electrical wiring in agriculture is in a harsh environment and subject to corrosion or the covering being chewed off by animals or vermin; extreme temperatures; etc.
Photos from left to right: example of a wiring mess; barn burned from heat lamp; lightning; and wildfire.
Notes
Florida is the number one state for lightning strikes; wet hay heats up due tomicrobial activity and can start fire spontaneously; static charge when filling gas cans — special risk if filling in plastic pickup bed liner — fill cans on the ground
Notes
Chaff/debris near hot engine parts on combines and cotton harvesters — keep equipment clean. See Landscaping in Florida with Fire in Mind (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr076).
Notes
Animals — Example: Horses will try to return to their stall. Remember, you can’t combine stallions in one corral.
Do a walk-around with the fire department so they know what is stored in sheds and barns.Example:Acetylene tank stored in an old barn that is burning is an explosion hazard and danger to firefighters. Know emergency numbers (have them posted) for all farms and locations — numbers may be different (don’t assume all locationscan access 911).
Explain “lock-out/tag-out.”
As an employee in a packinghouse, how does this policy affect you (if you have to work on electrical equipment).
On the Web, access the California Nurse Project Case Study, “Fatal Electrocution in Poultry Processing Plant.”
Explain the significance of knowing the flashpoint for a given liquid.
A 1,500-ton haystack, consisting of approximately 2,000 large square bales, was drenched in about 10 inches of rain before the owner was finally able to put a tarp over the stack. Subsequently, the hay was destroyed by fire. What caused the fire?
Explain the significance of knowing the vapor density of a flammable liquid.
Explain the principle that is involved in grain bin explosions.
Give five examples of fires in agriculture, and identify how each could have been prevented.
The flash point for any flammable liquid is the ____________ temperature the liquid will produce ____________.
Flash points in degrees F are given for the following liquids: Gasoline (-45); Ether (-49); alcohol (55); and diesel fuel (100). Which is the “safer” liquid and why?
The vapor density for substance A is 1.5 and the vapor density for substance B is 0.8. Where will the vapors for the substances be? Why is this important to know?
A room can be totally engulfed in flames within ____________ minutes of the fire starting. Explain the significance of that statistic in terms of being proactive for fire prevention.
When using a fire extinguisher, where do you aim?
Identify three things that must be considered by businesses and people in rural areas for fire rescue.
How many locks are on a system that has been “locked-out”?
What do tree limbs contain that helps make them conductors of electricity?
Explain the “one extinguisher principle”?
Who is liable for damages if an underground utility is damaged due to digging?
The more ________________________ a substance is, the more ________________________ it absorbs heat. An explosive example of this principal shown in class was:
What is meant by back-feeding? (Electricity running both ways. A generator should not be plugged into an outlet, or it can send power back to the mainline and injure workers. From the house to the line, the voltage would be stepped up to 7,200 volts when passing through the transformer.)
Balloons have led to power outages and wild fires. What is the material they are made from, and how does it lead to outages or fires? [Mylar: metallic coating causes sparks when in contact with the power lines and can cause the breaker to blow; the burning balloon can then fall to the ground and spread the fire.]
The next four pages contain a sample of the syllabus I give my students at the beginning of the semester. ______________________________________________________________________
AOM ______
Safety in Agriculture
Dept. of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
The University of Florida
Instructor: Dr. Carol J. Lehtola
Web Resources
National Ag Safety Database:
http://www.nasdonline.org
Electronic Library of Construction Occupational Safety and Health:
http://www.elcosh.org
References
Safety and Health for Production Agriculture, Dr. Dennis Murphy, ASAE, 1992
Farm and Ranch Safety Management, 4th ed., Deere and Co., 1994
Safety Management for Landscapers, Grounds-Care Businesses and Golf Courses, 1st ed., Deere and Co., 2001
Required Reading
Rhythm of the Seasons, Marilyn Adams, Sta-Kris, 1997 (available on loan from instructor)
Optional Extra Credit Reading
A Measure of Endurance: The Triumph of Steven Sharp, William Mishler, Lindisfarne Books, 2008 (available on loan from instructor)
Class Objectives
| Safety in Agriculture Topic Schedule | |
|---|---|
| Session | Topic |
| Intro | Intros |
| 1 | Process of Hazard and Issue ID and Correction |
| 2 | Introduction to Agriculture and Construction Safety |
| 3 | Introduction (cont'd) Examples of Intervention Activities/Certifications Hazard Hunt Lab |
| 4 | Principles of Occupational Safety and Health |
| 5 | Agrability Program Maximizing Abilities Lab |
| 6 | Accessing and Analyzing Safety Resources |
| 7 | Worker comp, Job Safety Analysis, Analyzing Case Studies |
| 8 | TBA |
| 9 | Test 1 |
| 10 | Livestock Handling and Zoonoses |
| 11 | Trenching and Confined Spaces/Permit Entry |
| 12 | Grain and Materials Handling |
| 13 | Tractors, Machinery, Heavy Equipment |
| 14 | Tractors, Machinery, Heavy Equipment (con't) |
| 15 | Power Tools, Scaffolding, Misc. Construction Related |
| 16 | Topic Catch-up Review for Test |
| 17 | Test 2 |
| 18 | Preparedness and Emergency and Security |
| 19 | Preparedness and Emergency and Security Cyber security/Business Continuity |
| 20 | Site hazard evaluation and control |
| 21 | Portfolio presentations |
| 22 | Chemicals/hazardous materials |
| 23 | Test 3 PORTFOLIO DUE |
| 24 | TBA |
| 25 | TBA |
| 26 | Search 4 Safety Lab Part I |
| 27 | Search 4 Safety Lab Part II |
| 28 | Last Day of Class - Summary/Wrap-up |
| Grading: | Points | % of Total |
| Portfolio | 600 | 32.4% |
| Tests, 3 @ 200 points each | 600 | 32.4% |
| Attendance (non-test sessions), 25@ 15 points | 375 | 20.3% |
| HW, Activities, Pop Quizzes, 9 @ 25 points | 225 | 12.2% |
| Rhythm of the Seasons | 50 | 2.7% |
| Total | 1850 | 100% |
| 93-100 = A 90-92 = A- 88-89 = B+ 83-87 = B |
80-82 = B- 78-79 = C+ 73-77 = C 70-72 = C- |
68-69 = D+ 63-67 = D 60-62 = D- <60 = E |
NOTES: Late homework will be accepted only until that assignment has been handed back. Make-up exams may be allowed ONLY if the student has contacted the professor prior to the test time. Failure to participate in class activities can result in a lower grade even if total possible points have been accumulated.
All materials handed in are to be checked for spelling, grammar, and proper usage. Failure to do so can result in the assignment being rejected. Remember that these are university-level assignments.
NO PHONE (INCLUDING TEXTING) OR COMPUTER USE DURING CLASS! NOT “BEING IN CLASS” WHILE IN CLASS CAN RESULT IN DISMISSAL FOR THE REMAINDER OF THAT CLASS PERIOD AND LOSS OF ATTENDANCE POINTS OR LAB POINTS.
EXTRA CREDIT! Options:
NOTE: A maximum of 50 points may be applied towards your grade from extra credit.
Extra Credit will be allowed at a maximum value of 25 points each for the following:
Field Trips: Submit a report including what the trip was about and the safety items observed (both good and bad practices).
Speech Classes: Use an aspect of ag/construction safety or disaster preparedness for a speech. Hand in an outline of the speech, and the grading/critique sheet. Describe the general audience reaction to your presentation.
Writing Classes: If you write a paper on a safety related topic, provide a copy of the paper including the instructor’s comments and grade.
Readings: Read a book. Either, A Measure of Endurance, or Home In One Piece available from your instructor. Complete the assignment sheet that comes with the book.
Read a book related to a safety issue in agriculture or construction — discuss with your instructor to get approval prior to reading it.
Other: Discuss with the instructor.
Course Description
This course is designed for graduate students interested in the advancement of safety in the workplace. It is applicable for managers, health professionals, and engineers. The focus is on ways of developing positive safety attitudes and cultures. Students will be expected to understand occupational safety and health concepts, study current issues, and literature, and be able to apply principles and concepts to “controlled” work environments, i.e., industrial, as well as “uncontrolled” work environments, such as privately-owned and operated farms and ranches.
Objectives
The following objectives will assist students in their overall development as safety managers/engineers. Students are to develop an understanding of the concepts and be able to develop applications for the topics covered. The student will:
References
Readings will be taken from the following texts.
Aherin, Robert A., Dennis J. Murphy, and James Westaby. (1992). Reducing Farm Injuries: Issues and Methods. St. Joseph, MI: American Society of Agricultural Engineers.
Geller, E. Scott. (2001). The Psychology of Safety Handbook. Boca Raton, FL: Lewis Publishers.
Geller, E. Scott. (2002). The Participation Factor. Des Plaines, IL: American Society of Safety Engineers.
Murphy, Dennis J. (2003). Looking Beneath the Surface of Agricultural Safety and Health. St. Joseph, MI: American Society of Agricultural Engineers.
Websites
OSHA – www.osha.gov
National Ag Safety Database – www.nasdonline.org
Electronic Library of Construction Safety and Health – www.elcosh.org
Florida Ag Safety Network – www.flagsafe.ufl.edu
Topics
Introduction
Occupational safety and health concepts
Difference between controlled and uncontrolled workplaces
Role of management and teamworktowards developing a positive safety attitude
Define safety culture
Safety culture and work environment– effect on safety performance and attitudes
Examples of good and bad safety cultures
Administrative controls; Engineering elements and controls
Enforcement and impact of regulations; Public health model
Economics; Loss control analysis
Investigative analysis of injury events and close calls
Incentives
Evaluation measurements and strategies
Personalization strategies
Understanding the human factor, use of personality testing instruments, workplace distress
Teamwork development, impact of peers
Screening of workers, ethics and worker rights
Case studies
Interactive computer-based training
BMP approach to safety
International safety issues – developed countries
International safety issues – developing countries
Using story telling for injury prevention – personalstories and narratives
Crisis planning and communication; Business Continuity
Developing the “toolbox” of strategies for a safer workplace (putting it all together)
The purpose of the term project is to enable you to develop a safety intervention that can ultimately have an impact for improving safety and health in the agricultural workplace. The following comments were written by Dr. Steve Casey of Ergonomic Systems Design, Inc., as part of an editorial in a recent issue of the Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health. These two statements can be studied as we focus on how we can, as individuals, best promote a safer agricultural workplace.
“How can the products of my work be used to advance the cause of agricultural safety and health, and will the products of my work ultimately help to make agriculture a safer industry?”
“We must each strive to:
By envisioning the user of our own individual work, we can each help strengthen the field and further the broader goals of agricultural safety and health.”
The objectives of the term project are:
Project Proposal: A 1-2 page typed (and proofread!) paper discussing what you plan to do and why you selected that project. Indicate your timeline for completion. If you are taking a certification course indicate where and when you will be taking it – register for it now!
Complete project and required report. (See below for requirements for the various options.)
In order for you to select a term project that will be meaningful and significant to you, several options are provided. You may work in groups or individually.
The overall safety plan shall consist of a written report or a narrated video. Items to be included are:
The discussion of the selection and correction of an outstanding hazard or problem area shall include:
Due to the broad nature of this course, it is not possible to get more than a superficial overview of the many topics, theories, and issues that make up the area of agricultural safety. In order to get a more thorough understanding of at least one aspect within this field, an annotated bibliography is to be prepared. The articles selected need to have a common theme as related to safety in agriculture.
For this option, you will develop a summary of five (5) related articles. Choose and read five articles from at least three different sources and written within the past 10 years. For each article, include the following in your summary:
Perhaps you know someone who works as a safety manager or loss control specialist for a company or business. Perhaps there is a business that you are interested in working for. In order to get a more thorough understanding of what either of these types of people does, an interview (and/or shadowing experience) is to be conducted.
For this option, you will need to make an appointment for the interview. The following information is to be included in your report:
Due to the broad nature of this course, it is not possible to get more than a superficial overview of the many topics, theories, and issues that make up the area of safety management. In order to get a more thorough understanding of at least one aspect within this field, a topic is to be selected.
The following information is to be included in your paper:
If this option is selected, target your PowerPoint presentation to be 15-20 minutes. A fact sheet or publication would be 2-5 pages. Either of these must show original thought and not just be copied.
Complete any one of the following. For each course, you are required to hand in (1) an outline of the course and (2) proof of certification.
First-aid/CPR Class (8-hr class; or two classes at 4 hr each)
Other safety courses and certification (boating, etc.)
Any of the independent study courses offered by FEMA – FEMAoffers Independent Study courses that can be taken online. These are excellent courses that can be taken by anyone. They are free of charge. Upon successful completion of the test you will receive a certificate of completion. Courses can be found by searching for “emi independent study courses.”
Examples of courses include:
Students not presenting on a given day will have an assignment in class based on the presentation given (25 pts). MAKE-UP OF THIS ASSIGNMENT WILL NOT BE ALLOWED!
Students, in teams of four (will vary depending on number of students in the class) will sign up for and lead class discussions.
The objectives of this exercise are:
Duties of discussion teams include:
Discussion teams will be judged on the degree to which the class becomes engaged in the discussion exercise and on the ability of the discussion leaders to focus the class on critical and meaningful discussion related to the issue topic.
List References and Resources used — a minimum of FIVE (5).
FAILURE TO PARTICIPATE EQUALLY WITH THE REST OF YOUR TEAM CAN RESULT IN RECEIVING NO POINTS. TEAM MEMBERS MAY VOTE SOMEONE OFF THE TEAM FOR FAILING TO COMPLETE ASSIGNED RESPONSIBILITIES!
GROUPS NOT READY ON THEIR ASSIGNED DAY WILL RECEIVE ZERO POINTS! PLEASE DRESS PROFESSIONALLY.
NO CAPS AND NO CHEWING TOBACCO!
Topic Ideas
*NOTE: This assignment accounted for 15% of their total grade.
Rhythm of the Seasons Reader Response Worksheet
Read the book Rhythm of the Seasons by Marilyn Adams, and answer the following questions.
The Professional Portfolio assignment has been a very good project for the students. They typically will note in their reflections page that when they first received the assignment, the idea of interviewing someone was very intimidating — but that is typically the portion they get the most out of. They typically will comment on the fact that what they are doing in the real world for safety is what we are being taught in class!
The Professional Portfolio has varied somewhat over the years. At first, students were assigned one interview, and later, a special project was added. Special projects could include lesson plans, hazard identification and correction, work-site analysis, etc. However, a lot of students would wait until the last minute and did not take the time to do a quality project. I found that having students do two interviews and making comparisons seemed to provide a higher quality professional learning experience.
Purpose
The purpose of the Professional Portfolio is to increase the student’s understanding of agricultural and construction safety management through independent research and practical application. Additionally, it serves to enhance ties with industry by making the Agricultural Operations Management program more visible to industry as well as by increasing the student’s awareness of industry.
Objectives
Procedures
As a project in undergraduate agricultural safety, each student will develop a Professional Portfolio. The development and presentation of the portfolio will guide the student to expand their understanding of agricultural and construction safety management. The portfolio is a summarization of the student’s occupational safety and health experiences.
The portfolio is to be submitted in the form of a three-ring binder with a labeled tab defining each section. Sheet protectors are to be used, with items inserted as instructed in each section. Note that any part of the portfolio may be selected by the instructor for retention and future use by the faculty, staff, and students of the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. These materials will be used for the enlightenment of current and future Agricultural Operations Management majors.
Double spacing and 12-point font are preferred. All materials presented are to be checked for spelling, grammar, and proper usage. Failure to do so can result in the portfolio being rejected. Remember this is a term-long university-level assignment. This is something that you would be willing to show to a potential employer. Quality counts. If you don’t care, neither will they!
Contents
Section 1 – Cover Letter: This will be written towards the end of the term. It is to be written in business letter format to a safety manager at the type of company where you would like to work. (Names of the manager and the company may be fictitious). Describe why and how the safety background that you have will be a desirable quality in considering you for employment. (1 page maximum)
Section 2 – Safety Philosophy: This will be written towards the end of the term. It is a summary of your philosophy about your safety attitudes and visions for safety applications. Comment on how your philosophy towards the end of the term may be different from what it was at the beginning of the term. (2 page maximum)
Section 3 – Safety Certification: For each certification received, include a page that has a copy of the certificate on the front. The back of the page is to contain a summary of the content of the course, who (agency or organization) it was taught by, where it was accessed or attended, how long it was, and if there was a cost. These can be FEMA courses, CPR/First-aid classes, boating safety, etc. Certifications must be completed during this term (i.e., past certifications will not count).
Section 4 – Interviews: Interview two people with safety responsibilities from different companies. It is preferable if one is from a larger company and one from a smaller one. Interview a company’s safety manager, loss control person, or someone else who has responsibility for safety. This can include a manager or owner of their own business who, in addition to their other responsibilities, has to also be responsible for safety. Perhaps there is a business that you are interested in working for. In order to get a more thorough understanding of what safety or risk management professionals do, an interview (and/or shadowing experience) is to be conducted.
You will need to make appointments for the interviews. Dress and act professionally. You anda couple of your classmates may conduct an interview together; if so, indicate who was on the interview team. Each student has to submit their own report. Introduce yourself and mention that you are doing this as a college research project for the Agricultural Operations Management Program and that, in your future, careers you may be involved with safety-related management decisions in either agriculture or construction.
The write-up must show depth and critical thinking. Compare the similarities and the contrasts of how safety is managed in the two companies. Also compare the attitudes towards safety. Note your feelings about the differences and similarities.
FOLLOW-UP BY SENDING A PERSONAL THANK YOU NOTE. (This is a recommended practice after a job interview — so practice!)
As applicable, the following information is to be included in your report. (Note: not every business will fit this mold.)
Section 5 –Journal: A journal is to be kept of weekly entries of safety observations. This includes the weeks of ____________ through ____________.
The purpose of the journal is to increase awareness of how you look at things from a safety point of view.
These can be from anywhere – whether working, on campus, in traffic, on vacation, TV shows such as “Dirty Jobs,” etc. Observations are not limited to agriculture or construction. Include safe practices as well as unsafe practices that you have observed (or done) during the week. Photos can be included. The journal can be hand-written and inserted into a page protector. Journals may be randomly called upon for checking in class — so keep them up to date.
Section 6 – Reflections: Discuss new information about safety management that was gained by completing the portfolio. Include your feelings about the process in completing it as well as any other relevant information.
Section 7 – Resources: Identify a minimum of five key resources that will be of help to you in your career. These are sources to go to when you need to obtain safety information. (Do not limit the list to only sources used in the portfolio.) For example, www.nasdonline.org, www.elcosh.org, and www.osha.gov are ones that should be included. For each site, include a paragraph summarizing the information that is available at the website.
In-Class Presentation: Each student will provide 5–10 minutes of “sharing with the class” information about their certification and their interviews. They may also want to share other observations they noted from doing the portfolio assignment.
*NOTE: This assignment accounted for 33% of the total grade.
Grading Criteria
The Grading Criteria sheet is included with the professional portfolio assignment so that students can use it as a checklist when completing the portfolio. They are given the grading criteria sheet when they receive the assignment, typically the first week of class.They sign and date and this sheet and turn it back in. This way, they have no excuse and cannot say that they did not get the assignment!The grading criteria sheet is then used in grading the portfolio.
Course: Agricultural Safety
PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO
GRADING CRITERIA
600 Total Points
Name ________________________ Date I received this assignment ___________
Late portfolios will be deducted 15 points for each weekday (M–F) they are late. Portfolios will not be accepted by e-mail. Portfolios are to be handed in in their entirety – individualsections will not be accepted.
DUE: APRIL 1
RECEIVED WHEN DUE: Yes No Number of days late _____ x 15 = – ______ points
(25) SECTION 1 – Cover Letter
Spelling/grammar/proper business letter format (including date, address to business, and your contact info)
Summary of safety experience
Highlight trainings and certifications
Good first impression
(25) SECTION 2 – Philosophy
Spelling/grammar Philosophy specific to safety
How has it changed over the semester?
Specific and sincere for the student — not just a bunch of one-liners taken off the Web!
(150) SECTION 3 – Certification
Credible provider
Proof of passing and certificate received during the current class term
Relevance of the certification
The student’s write-up summary is accurate and complete (50/150)
(200) SECTION 4 – Interviews
Proof the interviews were conducted in a professional manner
Relevance of questions asked
Significance of responses
Over-all impressions and evidence of learning from it
In-depth analysis and comparison of the interviews
Thank-you letters (25/125)
(50) SECTION 5 – Journal
Is kept current (subject to random checks in class)
Includes both good and bad safety observations
(25) SECTION 6 – Reflections
Spelling/grammar
Sincere expression
(25) SECTION 7 – Resources
Minimum of five significant resources are identified with a minimum paragraph description of what each one provides. These are not limited only to sources used in making the portfolio. Credible sources
(50) OVERALL GRAMMAR, SPELLING, NEATNESS, PROFESSIONAL APPEARANCE — If it is felt that more than 50 points should be deducted for a lack of professionalism, the portfolio will be deemed unacceptable.
NOTEBOOK WITH LABELED TABS IDENTIFYING THE SECTIONS AND WITH SHEET PROTECTORS, PROPER ORDER, I.E., FOLLOWED THE INSTRUCTIONS!
(50) IN-CLASS PRESENTATION
Instructor’s Guide
Subject: To expose 4-H youth to several topics related to safety. Examples relate to personal, home, and agricultural (as an example of occupational) safety.
Introduction
This Instructor’s Guide and Activity Sessions are the basis for a 3–4 hour program providing hands-on applications that will expose 4-H youth to a better understanding of the concept of hazards and the need for safety. All worksheets are included in the Activity Sessions Section.
Workshop Outline
Part 1 – Introductionto Safety PowerPoint (20–30 min)
Part 2 – HazardIdentification Activity (30–40 min)
Part 3 – Workingwith a Disability Activity (30–40 min)
Part 4 – VariousActivities (1–2 hr) (A menu of options is provided, depending on ages, resources, time, location, etc.)
Part 5 – Summaryand Wrap-up (10 min) Total (2.5–3.5 hr)
Specific Learning Objectives
For Leaders
After going through the Instructor’s Guide, leaders will be able to:
For Youth
At the end of the unit, youth will be able to:
Part 2 – Hazard Identification
Activity Time: 30–40 minutes
Objective: To be able to learn how to identify hazards and learn to look at things to see how they may have the potential for injuring someone
Hazard Hunt Instructions
Worksheet Instructions: Find the category of the hazard and write it in the space provided.
Part 3: Working with a Disability
Activity Time: 30–40 minutes
Objective: To gain familiarity with performing routine tasks while being physically disabled and to think of possible solutions to problems incurred by people with disabilities.
The following are the questions to ask students and items to do in the activity. The complete activity sheet to copy is in the Activity Section.
Station 1: Arm Amputation
Simulate having only one arm by placing your dominant arm behind your back (i.e., if you are right-handed, place your right arm behind your back). If anyone has peanut allergies please do not do item g.
Station 2: Vision Loss
Paint-coated glasses or blindfolds are provided for you to perform these tasks. Please select a partner and take turns spotting for each other.
Station 3: Loss of Mobility
Wheelchairs are provided in order to simulate loss of mobility. Please select a partner and take turns spotting for each other. NO HORSEPLAY – THIS IS A SAFETY LAB!
Conclusions
What did you find the most difficult station?
What are some ideas that you may have for making some of the tasks easier?
Part 4: Various Safety Activities
Time: 1–2 hours
Instructions for the following activities are included:
Find Your Reaction Time
Objective: To understand that no matter how fast a person thinks they may be, they still cannot react fast enough to avoid being hurt by a machine.
Reaction time can be taken on-line at many sites (Google “on-line reaction time”) Directions for doing it yourself: http://www.flagsafe.ufl.edu/publications/reaction-time¬l.pdf
Note: the charts for the items in #2 are included in the PowerPoint
YOU MAY BE QUICK... BUT MACHINES ARE QUICKER!
MACHINES AND REACTION TIME ACTIVITY
Grain and Trenching Entrapment
Objective: To understand that the forces on a person who may be buried or trapped in grain or soil are too extensive to be “merely” pulled out. To understand the importance of staying out of these situations in the first place.
You will need a five-gallon pail or a larger container if available, grain or sand to fill the container, a disk (plywood or heavy plastic lid) that is slightly smaller than the diameter of your container and that has a hole in the center, and a rope.
Place the rope through the hole in the disk, and tie a secure knot. Place the disk on the bottom of the container; fill with grain or sand (at least 30 inches). Instruct participants to use proper lifting techniques and try to pull the disk out from under the grain. The participants should not be able to pull the disk out – thisdemonstrates how hard it would be to pull out a person buried in grain.
Place a second disk on the ground by the barrel. This disk would be the same size as the one in the barrel. This shows them what it is they are trying to pull out. At the barrel with sand, pull on the rope (attached to a disk) to “attempt” to rescue someone who is buried.
Was it possible to pull out the disk? What is the magnitude of the forces holding someone buried in grain or soil?
Tractors and Machinery
Objective: To understand how easily and quickly tractors can overturn. To understand the protection offered by ROPS and seatbelt.
Equipment needed: scale model tractors and eggs.
Instructions for the Mr. Good Egg overturn demo can be found at
http://nasdonline.org/995/d000982/the-quot-mr-good-egg-farmer-quot-model.html
Lock-Out/Tag-Out
Equipment: Locks and lock-out devices and tags that indicate someone is working on equipment. This is a topic that perhaps someone experienced in that area may be called in to demonstrate. If the utility company is doing the electrical demonstration, they could also be asked to do lock-out/tag-out.
Objective: To understand the practice for preventing unintentional start-up of equipment. Especially if someone is working doing repair or maintenance.
Fire Extinguisher Demo
Objective: To be able to demonstrate proficiency in the use of a fire extinguisher. Equipment: Fire extinguishers for the students to actually use — or else just one that someone shows them how to use it. The local FD may be available to come and demonstrate.
CLASSIFICATION
TYPE OF COMBUSTIBLE
Electrical Safety
Objective: To understand basic safety considerations when working with electricity or finding downed power lines. (An optional resource is to contact local utility company to come out and demonstrate with their “safety city” demo.)
Eye Protection
Objective: To identify basic hazards that eyes can be exposed to and show various types of eye wear to protect them.
Identify the different types of eye protection available and explain how you would determine which type will provide the protection needed for a specific job.
Hearing Protection
Objective: To understand that noise exposure can lead to permanent hearing damage and there are measures to protect one’s hearing.
Equipment: Decibel meter, things to measure noise levels, even with a radio and at different volume levels; examples of hearing protection. (This activity requires a decibel meter. An option is to contact your local occupational medical resources to demonstrate what the exposure to certain noises causes.)
Hearing protection video: http://nasdonline.org/4159/V000001/sound-advice-for-farming.html
Record the noise levels for the readings taken:
Measuring Noise Levels
The noise level readings are given in dBA. Look at the examples of hearing protectors (HP). The greater the Noise Reduction Rating (NRR), the more protection the HP provides. For examplesof sound levels that a worker would be exposed to, select the appropriate hearing protection to be used. Actual exposure must be less than 85 dBA in order to prevent hearing loss.
Answers: Pre-Post Test Safety Activity
1. b; 2. a; 3. f; 4. a
Background information for injuries and deaths in the home
Falls– Falls accounted for one-third of all unintentional home injury deaths, more than 40 percent of nonfatal unintentional injuries, and more than one-third of all nonfatal home injuries resulting in emergency department care. Seventeen percent of fall deaths were associated with stairs or steps.
Poisonings – Poisonings were the second leading cause of home injury fatality, resulting in approximately one fourth of all home injury, deaths. The highest rates of poisoning deaths were among males age 30–49, with nearly one-fourth of poisoning deaths being associated with heroin. Additionally, 22 percent of poisoning deaths were related to central appetite depressants (i.e., drugs used primarily for weight loss).
Fires/Burns– Fires and burns were the third leading cause of home injury death, with 90 percent of the fatalities and 57 percent of nonfatal injuries occurring in the home. The rates of fire and burn fatalities were highest among older adults (60+) followed by children younger than five.
Choking and Suffocation– Deathsfrom choking and suffocation ranked fourth among unintentional home injury fatalities. One-third of the home fatalities due to choking or suffocation were associated with food, while 16 percent were the result of suffocations in beds or bedding. The highest death rates due to choking and suffocation were among children less than five years of age and adults 70 and older.
Drownings and Submersions – Nationally, drownings were the fifth leading cause of unintentional home injury death, with at least one-third of the unintentional home drownings occurring in bathtubs. Children younger than five had the highest rates of all age groups.
NOTE: This approach could be adapted for other topics, including product liability issues.
The class will form teams of two persons each. Read through the materials you have been given. If you want to search the Internet for additional information, we can use the computer lab.
Together with your teammate, identify the issues around children in the ag workplace – this can include the obvious that you see as well as things not seen!
Some items to consider could include legal implications; views of society; attitudes of parents; and economics. You should also look beyond these items for other factors.
Be prepared to defend and look at “both sides of the fence” for the following question.
Should parents be held legally accountable (child endangerment) for agriculturally-related injuries to their own children?
This assignment requires reading the book A Measure of Endurance – The Unlikely Triumph of Steven Sharp by William Mishler (Lindisfarne Books, 2003). This book covers the issues of engineering liability and engineers’ responsibility in product design.
A written report (typed) is to be handed in that answers the following questions. Please answer each question rather than running them all together in a report form.
NOTE: Please list any reference sources that you used. You can find background and supporting information on NASD or on the Florida Ag Safety Website. There are more examples of narrative stories on NASD under Kentucky and Community Partners and Simulations.
* If your group is familiar with a different real situation that you would prefer to use, you may do so. ------------
Scenarios for Interactive Stories
Assignment
You have been assigned a specific topic and a specific audience. Use the Web to find three articles that are relevant to the topic and appropriate for the audience you have been assigned. (Attach the articles).
Develop an outline of a safety PROGRAM that is appropriate for the topic and the target AUDIENCE you have been assigned. Indicate on the outline the program’s timeline (e.g., is it 1 hr/wk for 3 weeks; 1hr/yr, etc.)
Describe the setting and the methods to be used for the program. For methods, also identify who will conduct the program (workers themselves, safety trainers, management, etc.).
Develop a safety message outline or fact sheet (1-2 pages) that would be effective in getting key points (for the topic you are assigned) across to the audience you are working with. You can include illustrations. However, there must be indications of original thought, i.e., don’t just copy 1 or 2 of the articles you have found!
Assignment
Identify the two leading scenarios for tractor-machinery collisions with motor vehicles on public roads.
Prepare a public service announcement of 100-200 words that could be used by a radio station for informing the motoring public about these hazards. Include suggested corrective measures that motorists can take in order to ensure safe traveling when using the same roads as tractors/machinery.
Find an article that discusses efforts for improving mining safety, such as programs, funding, emphasis on it, etc. (since links change just do a search and find a recent article).
Review Farm and Agricultural Injury Incident Reports.
Other info to note: There has been relatively little government funding for farm safety compared to other industries: a line item of $1 million in the U.S. budget was allocated for farm safety – this amounted to $20,000 per state per year – this was cut several years ago. There is funding through NIOSH for agricultural injury centers, but somewhere in the total amount of $10-20 million. The comparable amount for mining is several hundred million dollars.
In 1985 (last time for which a comparative study was done), federal money spent per worker for safety was 30 cents per agricultural worker and $182 per miner. This amounted to $606 per agricultural worker death and $363,366 per miner death.
Comparing the societal outrage for the recent mining events and the data for agriculture write either:
Question for thought:What is the real price agriculture pays “from field to fork”?Would society be outraged if they knew what was really going on?
Activity Instructions
The purpose of this assignment is to develop a “student friendly” interactive activity for conducting a mock trial to be used in the classroom.
The objectives are:
In groups of 3-4, you are to review the materials you have been provided. Identify items that would be needed to make this more “student friendly.” What pieces are missing? What directions, instructions, additional background information, etc. are needed? How would you envision this being implemented effectively, e.g., number of class sessions, amount of work assigned to students to be completed before the trial, or how to bring proper closure to the trial (especially if there are time constraints).
The materials provided include drafts of:
The assignment sheets have been numbered as to the priority for your group to look at and discuss. Begin with discussing your #1. If you have time, go on to #2 and then to #3. By seeing all 3, you may have ideas for the “big picture” items that need to be addressed as well.
We will discuss your ideas and recommendations at the latter part of the class. Make complete notes of your group’s recommendations. Each group is to hand in recommendations at the end of the class period.
If you feel that your group would like to carry this out further and spend more time on this, you may do so (it could qualify as a topic for Round 2 of student-led discussions).
Scenario
Rusty Parent was a three-year-old little boy living in Panhandle City, Florida, in September of 2015. His parents are Dick Parent (a farmer) and Jane Parent (a bank teller). Rusty has an older brother and sister.
On Friday, September 29th, Dick was using a grain auger to move grain from a bin into his pickup truck. Dick left Rusty in the back of the pickup as he went to the tractor to shut off the engine so that they could go for lunch. After he got on the tractor, Dick felt something and looked back. He saw Rusty caught in the auger. Dick shut off the equipment and called for help.
Rusty’s arms had been severed at the shoulder by the auger. His tiny arms had gone through the auger with the grain. Emergency workers found his arms in the bed of the truck. Rusty was airlifted to The Medical Center where his arms were reattached. However, due to infection the arms had to amputated four days later. In the future, Rusty can use prostheses.
After the incident, a fund was set up to cover Rusty’s medical expenses. Also, other farmers volunteered to harvest the family’s crops.
Almost a month later, Rusty still does not remember the event. It was felt that Rusty might have tripped over a piece of plastic holding the grain.
In April of 2016, the State of Florida formally charged Mr. and Mrs. Parent with child abuse. Prosecutors brought charges under §39.01 (45), which is a negligence provision. The trial is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2016.
Trial Procedure
Opening Arguments
Plaintiff Case in Chief
Closing Arguments
Jury Deliberation
Verdict
Juror Assignment Sheet
Your assignment is to decide the case based on the evidence presented to you. For your homework assignment, answer the following questions on the factors that may influence a jury.
Jury Instructions
The jury has a maximum of 30 minutes to deliberate.
Witness Assignment Sheet
You have been assigned to act as one of the witnesses in this case. At the trial, you will be asked questions based on the witness’s deposition you received. For your homework assignment, answer the following questions.
Plaintiff’s Attorney Assignment Sheet
Your duty is to present the State of Florida’s case for trial. Your assignment is to develop an opening and closing argument and to present evidence to the jury through direct or cross examination of witnesses. Direct examination is conducted on the witnesses you call to the stand. You cannot ask these witnesses “leading questions.” Cross examination is conducted on the witnesses called by the defense. You can ask these witnesses “leading questions.”
You will present your case in the order described on the trial procedure sheet.In planning your case, keep in mind the following time limits:opening arguments/5-7 minutes (what you intend to prove), plaintiff case in chief/30 minutes, and closing arguments/5-7 minutes (show how you proved your case). You will be given some questions that can be used to examine the given witnesses. You will not be limited to these questions however the questions must be based on facts in each witness’s deposition. You are also allowed to create your own “surprise” witnesses to build up your case, but it will be your responsibility to develop the questions and answers for that witness.
If the defense comes up with a “surprise witness”, then you will be allowed to cross examine her. However, the questions must be related to the information brought up on the direct examination. For any of the defense’s witnesses, you will not have to cross examine them. You can just address their statements in your closing arguments.
NOTE: Make sure that you ask your witnesses about their qualifications or experience to inform the jury that they are experts in their respective fields.
Defendant’s Attorney Assignment Sheet
Your duty is to present the defense for Mr. and Mrs. Parent against the charge of child abuse in this trial. Your assignment is to develop an opening and closing argument and to present evidence to the jury through direct or cross examination of witnesses. Direct examination is conducted on the witnesses you call to the stand. You cannot ask these witnesses “leading questions.” Cross examination is conducted on the witnesses called by the defense. You can ask these witnesses “leading questions.”
You will present your case in the order described on the trial procedure sheet.In planning your case, keep in mind the following time limits:opening arguments/5-7 minutes (what you intend to prove), plaintiff case in chief/30 minutes, and closing arguments/5-7 minutes (show how you proved your case). You will be given some questions that can be used to examine the given witnesses. You will not be limited to these questions however the questions must be based on facts in each witness’s deposition. You are also allowed to create your own “surprise” witnesses to build up your case, but it will be your responsibility to develop the questions and answers for that witness.
If the State (plaintiff) comes up with a “surprise witness”, then you will be allowed to cross examine her. However, the questions must be related to the information brought up on the direct examination. For any of the State’s witnesses, you will not have to cross examine them. You can just address their statements in your closing arguments.
NOTE: Make sure that you ask your witnesses about their qualifications or experience to inform the jury that they are experts in their respective fields.
Depositions
State’s Witnesses 1
Dr. Mary Lloyd (M.D.)
Dr. Lloyd, UF medical school graduate, is a surgeon who has worked on the staff of The Medical Center for 16 years. She has performed surgery on many traumas that involve severed limbs. Dr. Lloyd headed all of Rusty’s surgeries.
Dr. Lloyd states that Rusty’s arms were severed at the shoulder. His right arm was much more severely damaged – the hand was cut off, a bone in the forearm was broken, and the right elbow was badly dislocated. In addition, both arms were badly crushed and repeatedly cut by the extremely sharp blades of the auger.
Rusty’s arms were reattached the same day. Four days later, his right arm and left hand and wrist had to be amputated due to infection. He has had a minimum of 12 surgeries including one to remove skin and muscle from his back to replace tissue that had died on his left forearm during the effort to give him use of one elbow.
Sometime down the road, after Rusty’s arms are healed and surgeons have done as much reconstructive surgery as possible, Rusty will be fitted with prostheses. Young children adapt well to such devices, and he is already using his mouth and feet to do things he would have done with his hands.
Depositions
State’s Witness 2
Mr. Bo Radley
Mr. Radley is agricultural extension agent. He has been in this field for seven years. He has written four pamphlets on agricultural safety concerning children and has researched the field.
Mr. Radley states that farm groups estimate that more than 100 children are killed and 33,000 are injured each year in farming accidents in the United States. The National Safety Council ranks agriculture as among the most dangerous jobs in the nation. Tens of thousands of children live and work on the nation’s two million farms.
The following accidents have taken place: a nine-year-old boy’s arm was severed in a grain elevator while helping a farmer load a corncrib, a 10-year-old boy was killed after he was pulled into a silage chopper box, and a four-year-old girl lost her arm to a corn chopper when she wandered into the family’s fields. There was a case involving an 18-year-old, John Thompson, who received the same injuries as Rusty because of an auger. After types of accidents, parents are receiving support in the forms of medical funds and help harvesting. It’s like getting rewarded for not putting safety first.
The idea of the government telling the parents where kids can go on their farm is a sensitive issue. However, it bothers me to see these events described as “accidents.” They are not accidents. They are predictable and preventable. There are other cases of parents being charged with child abuse. It’s time to hold parents responsible for decisions that put children at risk. In Florida, the child abuse law is under §39.01 focusing on the neglect provision (45).
Depositions
Defense’s Witness 1
Professor Kelli Hayes (J.D.)
Professor Hayes is a law school professor at the University of Florida College of Law. She has taught the agricultural law course for five years. She has been called as an expert witness in over 11 agricultural law cases.
Professor Hayes states that the only law against having children out on the farm is §450.021.Rusty’s parents own the farm plus he was not working in the field.
Under §39.01 (45), those circumstances should not be considered neglect if caused primarily by financial inability unless actual services for relief have been offered to and rejected by the parent.
Depositions
Defense’s Witness 2
Mr. Dick Parent (farmer and father of Rusty)
Mr. Parent states that Rusty was not working in the field. He took Rusty with him because he had nowhere else to leave him. Mrs. Parent was at work. He left Rusty in the truck while he went to shut off the tractor.They were only there for five minutes before the accident.The worst part was trying to decide what to do. I didn’t want to leave him, but I decided to run to the shop and call for help on a portable phone.
This has been a painful time for the family. It’s getting better, but there are times when I just keep reliving it. We’re lucky he’s alive, but I know it was an accident that didn’t need to happen.
Rusty has made remarkable strides since he came home from the hospital. He had trouble balancing without arms, but has gotten better over time. One day he will get prosthetics for both arms. He gets frustrated sometimes and has become more demanding. His mother is worried about how other kids will treat him. It was an accident out of his control and she doesn’t want people to blame him for it.
Plaintiff’s Questions
Direct of Dr. Lloyd
Direct of Mr. Radley
Cross of Professor Hayes
Cross of Mr. Parent
Defense’s Questions
Direct of Professor Hayes
Direct of Mr. Parent
Cross of Dr. Lloyd
Cross of Mr. Radley
Purpose
The purpose of the Safety Jeopardy Game is to serve as a safety “refresher and review” of items that specific audiences need to know to work safely. If the answers are not readily apparent to the audience, this provides an opportunity for discussion. On the following pages, you will find a series of agricultural safety categories. For each category, there are two sets of questions. You can use them for “single” Jeopardy and Double Jeopardy, or two rounds of “single” Jeopardy.
On the Internet, there are many templates and instructions for creating your own Jeopardy game using PowerPoint or on paper. Creating the game or additional categories and answers can all be good student projects, but this approach can be useful with many audiences.
And it always adds to the fun to provide some prizes, maybe something silly or something delicious! Small prizes, like candy, can be given to everyone that responds correctly. Larger prizes – perhaps from local sponsors – can be given to winning individuals or teams.
Rules
The rules for Safety Jeopardy differ from those of the television game show.
Note: The questions that are provided can be used as guides. Feel free to get creative and add questions that relate to specific workplace rules for workers that are participating. The intent is also to incorporate some discussion with the answers if more explanation is needed.
Safety Jeopardy Category: HEAD OVER WHEELS (Tractor Overturn)
Set 1
$100: What will protect the life of the operator in the event of an overturn? [ROPS and seatbelt]
$200: Hitching a load above the drawbar can result in _____________? [A rear overturn]
$300: A rear overturn can occur in what amount of time? [1.5 seconds]
$400: Who has the final responsibility for the safety of the tractor operator? [The operator him/herself]
$500: The only time that the operator is not to use a seatbelt on a tractor? [If the tractor does not have a ROPS]
Set 2
$200: What does ROPS stand for? [Rollover Protective Structure]
$400: What is the leading cause of work-related death in agriculture? [Tractor overturn]
$600: If a ROPS and seatbelt are not used, which type of overturn is almost always fatal? [85% of rear overturns are fatal without ROPS and s/b]
$800: If the right front wheel of the tractor enters the ditch, what will likely happen if the operator tries to turn it back onto the roadway? [Side overturn]
$1000: To prevent an overturn into a canal or ditch, the minimum distance the tractor should be from the edge is? [As far from the edge as the ditch is deep; example if 8 feet deep, then a minimum of 8ft from the edge]
Safety Jeopardy Category: ONE LUMP OR TWO (General PPE)
Set 1
$100: What is PPE? [Personal Protective Equipment]
$200: What is used to protect your head when working in areas where items can fall or where you could possibly bump your head on something hard? [Hardhat or bump hat]
$300: What is to be used when you are working in noisy areas? [Hearing protection]
$400: When working with pesticides, what tells you exactly what PPE must be used? [The label or MSDS – Material Safety Data Sheet]
$500: What protective clothing should you use when using a chain saw? [Chaps]
Set 2
$200: What type of clothing should not be worn when working with tractors or other equipment? [Loose fitting or torn]
$400: What should not be worn on your hand when working with equipment? [Rings]
$600: What should be worn when doing tasks such as grinding, sawing, or hammering? [Eye protection – goggles or protective eyewear]
$800: What type of respirator may be necessary to use in a confined space atmosphere? [Oxygen producing]
$1000: People with long hair should wear it in ________ when working with machinery? [A cap]
Safety Jeopardy Category: POULTRY SEASONING (Hazards in the Poultry Industry)
Set 1
$100: What can happen if a person is working in a grain silo while grain is moving? [Can be buried in the grain]
$200: An effective safety team includes members of management and supervisors, as well as representatives of ____________? [The laborers/work force]
$300: Safety teams, safety training, keeping equipment maintained, providing proper personal safety equipment are all examples of things done that will lead to lower ____________ costs? [Worker’s comp insurance premiums]
$400: Exposures to gases, organic dusts, airborne microorganisms and toxins pose what type of hazard to workers? [Respiratory]
$500: A worker is more likely to be injured if, while lifting, the task also requires what type of motion? [Twisting]
Set 2
$200: If possible, facility layout should be designed in order to keep what type of maneuver by semis, tractors, and other equipment to a minimum? [Backing-up]
$400: Electrical systems need to be properly maintained in order to prevent what potential hazard? [Dust explosion]
$600: Identify one of the three tasks that have the highest potential for worker injury? [Collecting eggs on floor level; manual cleaning of the interior of the facility; and collecting the birds and transportation of cages]
$800: The procedure that needs to be used when a worker is repairing an item of machinery is? [Lock-out/tag-out]
$1000: Identify one of the five leading occupational hazards in the poultry industry? [(1) Overexertion of body part; (2) struck by falling or flying objects; (3) back injuries from lifting and carrying; (4) crushing injuries from doors or objects such as moving equipment; (5) slipping and falling caused by slippery surfaces or tripping over objects in the alleys or falling from a higher level]
Safety Jeopardy Category: SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES (Fire Safety)
Set 1
$100: What item should be in the home to alert people of a fire? [Smoke detector with a working battery!]
$200: If a home has any heat source that uses combustible fuels (wood, gas, etc.), what item should be installed to worn of the “silent killer”? [Carbon monoxide detector]
$300: Putting a lid on a pan that is on fire from cooking puts out the fire by removing which leg of the fire triangle? [Oxygen]
$400: An example of the principle, “the more finely divided a substance is, the more rapidly it absorbs heat” is? [Dust explosion, e.g., grain dust]
$500: What needs to be considered when fire departments are called to fires in rural areas? [Water source]
Set 2
$200: Identify two of the three things necessary for a fire? [Oxygen, heat source, and fuel]
$400: Vapors of a fuel (e.g., LPG, gasoline) that are heavier than air will be found where? [Along the ground or lowest level]
$600: Why is it important to know the lowest temperature at which a flammable liquid will give off vapors? [It is the lowest temperature at which it can ignite]
$800: What is recommended to do when changing the clocks in the spring and the fall? [Check and/or change the battery in your smoke detector]
$1000: The proper procedure for using a fire extinguisher is known as PASS.Which is? [Pull the pin; Aim the “nozzle” at the base of the fire; Squeeze the trigger; Sweep the area of the fire]
Safety Jeopardy Category: GOTTA GO JOE! (Shortcuts Don’t Save Time)
Set 1
$100: Every time a person takes a shortcut (rather than the recommended safer way of doing a task), they run the risk of ________________. [Injury or death]
$200: Shortcuts when working with machinery are especially dangerous due to _______________________. [The power and speed of the machines…a person can become entangled in a split second]
$300: What shortcut procedure should be avoided when getting off a tractor? [Use the steps, don’t jump down]
$400: A common shortcut is to step over the operating PTO rather than walking around the tractor to get to the other side.If this is 3 seconds faster than walking around the tractor, how much time is supposedly saved for 100 repetitions? [5 minutes]
$500: What should never be used to check for leaks in hydraulic or other high-pressure lines? [Your hands]
Set 2
$200: A tractor operator should never step over this instead of walking around the tractor? [Operating PTO]
$400: These must often be taken off for maintenance but need to be replaced before using the equipment. [Shields/guards]
$600: Before working on equipment what needs to be done? [Turn it off; also may have to lock-out/tag-out if required]
$800: What short cut is often taken when people are mowing? [Leave the mower/tractor running when picking up debris]
$1000: What can happen if a person takes the shortcut of not blocking hydraulic equipment that they are working under? [It can drop and crush the person]
Safety Jeopardy Category: HEAD OVER WHEELS (Tractor Overturn) GOT JUICE? (Electrical Safety)
Set 1
$100: When working in any area, one needs to know the location of ________. [Overhead power lines]
$200: Lights and switches used in dusty environments must be __________. [Explosion proof]
$300: Circuit breakers must be ________________. [Clearly labeled]
$400: What type of outlet/switch must be used in wet areas? [GFI/Ground Fault Interrupter circuit]
$500: What should be done for each building and then kept with the facility records? [Schematic wiring diagram]
Set 2
$200: Why do you have to call the utility company before any digging deeper than 18” is done? [Location of underground power lines and other utilities]
$400: Wood (such as a tree) cannot conduct electricity? [False]
$600: If you have to flee the scene of a downed power line, you have to keep your feet _____________. [Together and jump from place to place]
$800: The danger posed when working with irrigation pipes is _________? [Contact with overhead power lines]
$1000: What procedure needs to be used when working with repair and maintenance on electrical equipment? [Lock-out/tag-out]
Safety Jeopardy Category: ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER (Defensive Driving)
Set 1
$100: Assume _____________ when driving. [Nothing]
$200: The minimum distance between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you is the distance you travel in ______________. [2 seconds]
$300: What do you need to do before backing up? [Check the area before getting in the vehicle, check mirrors and windows before backing]
$400: If possible park in such a way that eliminates what driving procedure? [Backing up]
$500: Operation Lifesaver is a program that emphasizes safety between autos and ____________________. [Trains and RR crossings]
Set 2
$200: What should be used when you are going to turn? [The correct turn signal]
$400: What should be turned off after a turn has been completed? [The turn signal]
$600: Over ½ of collisions are incurred as a result of 3 common situations. Identify one. [Intersections, following too closely, or backing]
$800: What do you need to check before changing lanes? [Blind spot to make sure there isn’t a vehicle alongside of you]
$1000: What can sometimes be used as a cue to anticipate if a light is going to change? [Walk signal – if walk, still green; if flashing don’t walk, will change soon; if solid don’t walk – is ready to change]
Safety Jeopardy Category: TOO HOT TO HANDLE (Heat Stress & Sun Safety)
Set 1
$100: Building up more heat than the body can handle is known as_______________. [Heat stress]
$200: Drink lots of ____________ throughout the day. [Water]
$300: Identify one symptom of heat stress. [Exhaustion, muscle weakness, headache, nausea, chills, dizzy or fainting, loss of coordination, severe thirst and dry mouth, confusion, including slurred speech, aggressive or irrational behavior]
$400: What weather condition kills more people in the US than hurricanes or tornadoes? [Lightning]
$500: If you are in a greenhouse and it is struck by lightning or starts to burn, why should you immediately get out and seek other shelter? [The plastic used in many greenhouse structures is highly toxic when it burns]
Set 2
$200: The sun’s rays are the strongest between ______ and ________. [10 am – 3 pm]
$400: The parts of the body most susceptible to skin cancers are: [Head, face, lips, and tips of ears]
$600: Look for changes in what 3 things of moles to screen for skin cancer? [Size, color, shape]
$800: Sunscreen should have a SPF of 15 or higher.What is SPF? [Sun Protection Factor]
$1000: 10% of people struck by lightning in the US were in what state when they were struck? [Florida]
Safety Jeopardy Category: POTPOURRI (Miscellany)
Set 1
$100: When working with chemicals, the ___________ is the law. [Label]
$200: A bumper jack can safely be used to support a vehicle while someone is working under the vehicle? [False]
$300: What does the orange triangle seen on farm equipment mean? [SMV – slow moving vehicle traveling 25 mph or less]
$400: Animals acting “strange” may be suffering from _________, which if transmitted to humans is fatal if not treated. [Rabies]
$500: Engineers can design safer equipment. However, machines cannot be totally guarded because _________________. [They need to perform the function for which they were designed]
Set 2
$200: The leading cause of injuries in the home is due to_______? [Slips, trips, and falls]
$400: Metal ladders should not be used near ____________. [Overhead power lines]
$600: The top _________ steps of a ladder should not be used. [2]
$800: Talking on your cell phone when _______________ can lead to an explosion. [Pumping gas]
$1000: Activated cell phones that are no longer used, can be used to dial ____________, provided the battery is charged. [911]
Safety Jeopardy Category: TWIST AND SHOUT (Strains, sprains, bending, lifting)
Set 1
$100: A cause of serious back injuries is ________________. [Improper lifting]
$200: Identify one of the 4 leading examples of improper lifting. [Bending from the waist to pick up an object; lifting an object higher than chest high; twisting your body while you are lifting or carrying a heavy object; lifting when you are in poor physical shape]
$300: Lift with your __________, not with your back. [Legs]
$400: If an object is such that you cannot lift it alone, you need to______________. [Ask for help]
$500: Each pound of weight you lift puts close to ______ pounds of pressure on your lower back. [7.5]
Set 2
$200: One possible option to make a load lighter for lifting may be to __________________. [Split the load into smaller loads]
$400: What types of injuries are the major cost in the workplace? [Strains, sprains, and back]
$600: A cause of sprains and strains is that we tend to not __________. [Warm up first, as do athletes]
$800: Work _____________and/or _______________ that require workers to stand, stoop, reach, or twist improperly promote sprains and strains. [Stations or practices]
$1000: Your actions can cause your injuries, ____________ can prevent them. [Your actions]
Safety Jeopardy Category: ALL DRESSED UP AND NO PLACE TO GO! (Confined Spaces)
Set 1
$100: A confined space is an area large enough for a person to occupy, is designed for only short term work, and is ______________________. [Difficult to enter and exit]
$200: One example of a confined space is__________________. [Silos, grain bins, manure pits, storage vessels, wells, deep trenches, chemical tanks, cold storage rooms, hopper rail cars, tank trucks]
$300: Only people who are _______________ should be allowed to enter a confined space. [Properly trained]
$400: One example of a physical hazard in a confined space is____________. [Falling objects, loose material that can break away and cover the person, wet surfaces, sloping sides]
$500: Gases such as carbon dioxide are not toxic, however, they can be fatal to a person entering a confined space since it displaces the ______________. [Oxygen]
Set 2
$200: When working in or around a confined space, do not work ___________. [Alone]
$400: Workers who have this psychological condition should not work in confined spaces. [Claustrophobia]
$600: If you find someone is in trouble in a confined space, what should you do? [Do not enter, find someone who is trained to enter and has the proper PPE]
$800: Cold storage rooms often have had ______________ pumped out of them in order to help preserve the foods. [Oxygen]
$1000: A worker has entered a deep trench to check on a gas engine powered pump that has quit operating. The worker is later found in the trench dead. What was the cause? [The gas engine needs fuel, spark, and oxygen to operate. During combustion in the confined space, carbon monoxide was given off and displaced the oxygen in the area, thus the engine shut down due to lack of oxygen]
Disclaimer and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not represent NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears by permission of the author and/or copyright holder. More
