Health and safety compliance ‘not rocket science’

Some 'consultants' are charging farmers thousands of dollars to write farm safety plans for them and it is not necessary.

Kevin Johnstone, of the safety and risk management company QSI International, told a Beef + Lamb NZ farm safety workshop at Helensville last month that farmers can easily formulate their own plans.

Johnstone, a former military man and senior roading project manager, says his experience was similar to farmers in that they needed to achieve the aim of bringing everyone home safely after work.

BLNZ has contracted QSI NZ to develop a safety management system specifically for NZ sheep and beef farmers.

Speaking on the comprehensive folders given to farmers attending the BLNZ nationwide workshops with WorkSafe, he says there is nothing in those systems that is rocket science and nothing farmers need be afraid of.

A perception that WorkSafe is out to make an example of people is not true, Johnstone says.

"They are here to help.... The emphasis of this new legislation is on sending people home at the end of the day." WorkSafe will only prosecute in extreme cases.

"You are statistically more likely in NZ to suffer death by rolling over on a quad than you are to be prosecuted by WorkSafe NZ.

"They prosecute only when they absolutely have to, when people are flouting the law and putting other people's lives in danger."

Johnstone says people are charging farmers and businesses exorbitant sums of money for paperwork they don't need; and myths and rumours are being propagated.

"I heard on the radio... new health and safety act has come in – children can't climb trees at school. That is complete tripe... it does not prescribe that, it does not say that. There is a lot of misinformation and disinformation."

He says the new system is self-managed and the lawmakers are trying to engender a safety culture in farming.

"What we are talking about with a safety culture is a state of mind, being safety conscious, thinking about it and being aware of it at all levels.

"There is a safety culture already in the mining industry ... certainly in Australia, and it is on its way in here. There certainly is in the construction industry, but for many years the farming industry, to a certain extent, has been left alone."

Johnstone says they are now trying to help grow a safety culture.

"It boils down to leadership by example: if for example I am in construction – if I walk on the roads and I don't wear boots, a hi-vis vest and a hat, can I really expect my workers to do the same?

"You're farming so it's slightly different, but the fact is if you don't set the example in these areas, you can't expect others to follow you. That's really all it's talking about in terms of engendering a safety culture.

"I'm not criticising the farming industry at all – it will grow and develop over the next couple of years and decades with your assistance."