Safety Starts With You!
We often hear farmers talk about the importance of teaching children and youth farm safety; and while we applaud and strongly encourage this, the question must be asked: what does safety look like for you?
As a parent and/or farm owner (or even manager), you need to be a safety leader. What you say and do matters; we can tell our children or workers all of the right things, but they will still do what they see being done.
Show your commitment to safety by:
- Working safely yourself, even when no one is watching.
- Ensuring that everyone working on the farm has the training, tools, and resources to work safely.
- Doing what you say you will do in terms of safety, even when it is inconvenient or requires paperwork.
- Recognizing and rewarding safe actions and behaviours.
- Holding farm team members accountable for unsafe actions and behaviours in a productive and meaningful way.
- Encouraging family member and worker input; this also means taking their health and safety-related concerns seriously
Your leadership and commitment to safety lays the foundation for your farm’s safety culture, and the farm’s safety culture has a significant impact on the farm’s safety outcomes (e.g., injuries and equipment damage). Think of it this way: Have you ever come across another farm where someone is always injured and their equipment is always damaged? The uncomfortable truth is, it’s not simply bad luck that is behind the misfortune.
Remember, we can teach all of the right things to our children and our employees, but it is what we do and allow that will get done in the end.
To learn more about safety culture and leadership on the farm, check out Module 1: Leadership, Commitment & Accountability of the AgSafe Alberta FarmSafe Plan Manual and sign up for the free, online AgSafe Alberta FarmSafe Plan Program.
Respirators: You Might Not Know What You Think You Know
We are thrilled by the response to the AgSafe Alberta Respiratory Protective Equipment Awareness Course! A big shout-out to everyone that has completed the course and taken steps to better protect the respiratory health of the people on their farm!
There has been a lot of confusion about respirators and respiratory protective equipment in recent years. Questions range from understanding what a respirator is, to the capabilities and limitations of different types, and how to properly use and store them. We encourage you to take the AgSafe Alberta Respiratory Protective Equipment Awareness Course for comprehensive information. However, if you only have a few minutes and want to learn more, here are some key points (with links to short videos) that can help.
There are many different types and styles of respirators! Those pictured above are just a few types. To get more familiar with each one and its application, check out the AgSafe Alberta Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) Awareness Manual and the free, online AgSafe Alberta Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) Awareness Course. You can watch this short, Respirator Basics video on YouTube. You can also learn more about N95 respirators, half-facepiece elastomeric respirators and full-facepiece elastomeric respirators, or you can check out these videos available only through our free, online learning platform: CLICK HERE.
Face masks are not respirators! For example, they do not prevent small airborne particles from passing through the mask material, and they are not NIOSH-approved. Learn more in our Face Masks are NOT Respirators video on YouTube.
Respirators shouldn’t be used by everyone. Certain medical conditions, such as asthma or claustrophobia may prevent someone from using a respirator. This is why it is so important that you screen respirator users first. To learn more, check out our Respirators Should Not Be Used By Everyone video and our Screening Respirator Users video, available only through our free, online learning platform.
Anyone using a respirator will need to be fit-tested. Fit tests verify that a tight-fitting respirator fits a persons face correctly, seals tightly, and is reasonably comfortable to wear. To learn more, check out our Fit Testing video, available only through our free, online learning platform.
You will need to perform user seal checks on a tight-fitting respirator every time you put it on. How these are performed will also depend on the type of respirator you have on. To learn more, check out our videos on User Seal Checks, available only through our free, online learning platform.
To view all of these and our other videos relating to Respiratory Protective Equipment, CLICK HERE.
To download a copy of our Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) Awareness Manual, CLICK HERE.
To take our free, online Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) Awareness Course, CLICK HERE.
Did You Know
According to Alberta OHS Statistics, occupational illness is the leading cause of death in Alberta workplaces. Notably, the respiratory system is among the top three areas of the body most frequently injured, tying for first place with back injuries!
If you have farm-specific health and safety questions or require support relating to health and safety on your farm, please contact AgSafe Alberta at info@agsafeab.ca.
You may be eligible for onsite farm visits and up to 10 hours of advisor support at no cost!
Get Free, Confidential Advisor Support From AgSafe Alberta!
Did you know that AgSafe Alberta provides up to 10 hours of free, confidential, on-site support to qualifying farms? If you’ve ever thought about using this service but hesitated, now is the time to act!
Who We Are:
- AgSafe Alberta is the health and safety association for farms and ranches.
- Led by Alberta producers, just like you!
- We are a non-profit organization and not part of the government.
What We Offer:
- Confidential support from experienced advisors.
- Help with setting up farm-specific health and safety programs.
- Assistance with Alberta Occupational Health and Safety requests and visits.
- Support following serious incidents involving Alberta Occupational Health and Safety.
Why Choose Us:
- Our advisors have agricultural knowledge and experience.
- We help you put the right safety measures in place the first time.
- Save time and money, and reduce stress with our support.
Make 2025 a Year of Change:
- Email us at info@agsafeab.ca
- Click HERE to submit a request today!
Our Paid Courses Are FREE in January!
To start the 2025 off right, we are offering all of our paid online courses for free in January using Promo Code STAYSAFE25 ! Take advantage of this great offer and check out our other, always free courses while you are at it. Click on the images below to view each course.
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