ENSURING the safety of those on your farm has been made easier through upgraded technology which alerts you when staff and contractors enter the farm.
Originally launched in 2016, Safe Ag Systems is a software platform and service which caters for all aspects of on-farm safety and legislative compliance with over 3500 agribusiness users nationally.
See the product demonstration video below
Safe Ag Systems, chief executive officer, Katy Landt said agriculture holds more than half the fatalities for workers, more then mining, construction or transport.
“That is a staggering figure,” she said.
“In turn, it has led regulatory bodies to set their sights on agricultural businesses in an attempt to decrease injuries and fatalities.
“This has led to heavy legislation and farmers having to put controls in place like any other business.
“But you can’t apply the same methods that have been applied to construction to a farm, we had to look at it differently.”
Ms Landt said Safe Ag Systems allowed all business structures, from the family farm through to the corporate agribusiness, to comply with safe work legislation easily and efficiently.
“It is an all inclusive workplace health and safety compliance software, that helps them meet all their needs, while at the same time delivering them efficiencies on farm,” she said.
Ms Landt said features include the ability to retain staff and training records, tailor on-farm safety policies, carry out inductions and build and share an emergency response plan.
Tracking workers
In the most recent software upgrade, geo-fencing technology has been used to track workers or contractors on the property.
“Your workers are equipped with their smart phones, you draw a fence around the location of your property, once they move through the fence they are able to be located on farm,” she said.
Ms Landt said this, along with the ability to push out an SOS through the app, helped protect workers who are likely to be working remotely and in isolation.
“You can see if someone hasn’t moved for a long period of time, or if they are lost,” she said.
Safety checklists
Ms Landt said another new feature was a QR code creation and scanning tool which allowed the easy use of safety checklists, such as prior to operating a piece of machinery.
“People might already do safety checklists before working, but we aren’t capturing that record,” she said.
“If something goes wrong with a piece of machinery, say to a young guy who has been trained a couple of times, you might have done everything you need to do as a business owner, but you haven’t captured it, there is no proof.”
Ms Landt said the QR codes can be printed and stuck onto machines or in the chemical she, then scanned before operation, bringing up the checklist.
“It takes a time and date stamp and records who has completed the checklist, it is a great way to reiterate training and bring safety to front of mind,” she said.
No service, no worries
Ms Landt said for those without good mobile phone coverage offline capability has been activated for components within the system.
“This enables workers to complete checklists, undertake inductions or add maintenance records or hazards while they are out in a paddock,” she said.
“The information will be stored in the app until coverage improves, when the data will be synced across all users.”
Safety training
Ms Landt said Safe Ag Systems is not just a tool, but a full-service offering for agribusinesses to manage on-farm safety.
“We offer a service, not just a piece of software, and help growers and agribusiness understand their legal obligations,” she said.
“We have undertaken nearly 45 educational workshops nationally.
“Our aim is to educate the industry on how to minimise risk and engage their workers to foster a culture of safety.”
- Does this article interest you? Scroll down to the comments section and start the conversation. You only need to sign up once and create a profile in the Disqus comment management system for permanent access to all discussions.