Farm safety app aims to cut down on accidents

Carolyn Scott, a PHD student from Limavady, has designed an app to cut down on farm accidents

A PHD student from Limavady has designed an app to cut down on accidents on the farm.

Carolyn Scott came up with the idea because her grandfather Jim was accidentally poisoned in the 1970s.

He was using a potato sprayer and it burst covering him in chemicals.

Although he survived after being in hospital for several weeks he had ongoing lung problems until he passed away.

“This is one of the reasons I wanted to develop this Farm Safety app," she said.

"I’m passionate about helping to cut down on accidents on the farm.”

Carolyn outlined the app is designed to give advice for instance about children on the farm and the risk of slurry.

"You’ll get a wee notification through to your phone and it’ll be a reminder and it's all just to try to reduce farm accidents," she explained.

Carolyn's grandfather Jim was accidentally poisoned on the farm in the 1970s

Carolyn lives just outside Limavady and grew up on a sheep farm.

“There are children on farms, they live on farms and they are assigned small tasks on the farm – you don’t get that in other industries," she said.

"Farmers also often work alone, they are working long hours with machinery and with animals and these bring their own hazards."

Carolyn said this meant a "bespoke approach" to farming was needed which has not been explored in other industries.

She said the app she is developing focuses on safety and trying to reduce farm accidents.

It will also tackle the health and wellbeing of farmers.

"They are working very long hours and often isolated and I’m looking at security in trying to protect farm machinery and farm animals," she said.

Mary Hunter from the Ulster Farmers' Union says anything to avoid farm accidents is welcome

Mary Hunter from the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) welcomed the initiative.

“It’s a huge concern in fact farm accidents happen because of hazards on the farm and these accidents can occur for example with tractors, machinery, falls, animals, electrocution, toxic gases," she said.

"Consequently we are very concerned about these accidents - in fact they have doubled this year from last year."

She added: "Anything that can avoid accidents on the farm would be extremely welcome indeed.”

'Extremely dangerous workplace'

Ms Hunter said the farm is a workplace which can be "extremely dangerous".

"One of the aspects is the age of the workforce - for example in farming now the average age is 59 - and the other aspect of this is about children.

"Children in any other industry would not be allowed in the workplace but in agriculture of course the farm buildings and the farm houses are in the yard."

Ms Hunter said UFU now has a training division focusing on the prevention of accidents.

Bryan Monson says the Farm Safety Partnership is very impressed by the app

Bryan Monson from the Health and Safety Executive NI said the app has the potential to help farmers and their families "prevent accidents and ill health".

"We are keen to explore how we can support it going forward.”

Carolyn Scott said it was all about taking a modern approach to an age old problem – safety on the farm.

“It's all about bringing farming into the 21st Century.

"Everyone’s got smartphones now in their back pockets so it's just bringing this information to farmers when they need it."