Rural Industries Group involvement in AIAC
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
Did you know that the IOSH Rural Industries
Group (RIG) have a full membership place on the Health and Safety
Executive’s (HSE) Agriculture Industry Advisory Committee (AIAC)?
David Knowles Chair of the RIG Committee, is the main IOSH
representative on AIAC.
Advisory Committees are a major source of expertise and advice
to the HSE on specific health and safety matters and issues,
and have a key role in delivering the outcomes of the Strategic
Plan. The AIAC was the first advisory committee to be established
by the Commission and meets two to three times a year.
In April 2005, when the RIG was invited to become a full member,
the AIAC was re-constituted to reflect the changing structure of
the industry and the influence of the wider food chain. Its
membership is drawn from a vast range of organisations with the
potential to represent, influence and incite the industry to raise
health and safety standards. Membership of the AIAC not
only raises the profile of IOSH nationally within agriculture
and the wider rural industries, but also with the key policy makers
in the HSE, trades unions, farmer/producers, training providers and
retailers.
The AIAC’s role is to identify future trends and anticipate
their likely impacts on health and safety performance as well as
identify appropriate strategies to raise health and safety
performance and promote these in the wider rural community.
Its aims and objectives are to:
- translate and disseminate the Commission’s priorities to its
constituencies
- reduce the number of fatalities, major injuries and days lost
caused by accidents and work related ill health
- achieve culture change resulting in an agriculture industry,
which recognises and accepts that high standards of health and
safety are an integral part of successful business practice
- contribute to delivering HSE's vision, and Strategy and PSA
targets
- promote better understanding and recognition of the risks to
health and safety of farmers and farm workers
- share information on new strategies and approaches for reducing
risks and
- build partnerships and commitment for future work.
It is responsible for developing its own work plan that directly
contributes to the delivery of the HSE' strategy, targets and key
work streams. The current work plan is available on the
HSE website.
Under the plan members agreed to set up the following working
groups to address industry specific issues:
- The Arboriculture and Forestry Advisory Group (AFAG)
- Transport
- Vulnerable workers
- Child safety
- Worker involvement
- Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD)
- Training and education
Five of the above groups are currently active and include a
notable number of IOSH RIG Committee members.
AFAG
AFAG’s original work programme and terms of reference agreed in
2005, have been amended to take account of recent developments in
the sector. Several research projects are ongoing and/or proposed
and progress has been made since 2005 in most of the projects by
‘task and finish’ working groups. For further information please
visit the HSE
website.
Transport
IOSH RIG Committee Member, Nigel Davey
The aim of group is to:
- encourage the exchange of information between HSE and
stakeholders
- promote joint working and to co-ordinate publicity
initiatives.
Good progress has been made by the transport ‘task and finish’
working group but, the group is most notable for its joint working.
Through it, HSE has signed a partnership agreement with the
Agricultural Engineers’ Association (AEA), has secured commitment
from other industry stakeholders, including Lantra Awards for
delivery of SHADs (Safety and Health Awareness Days) and
has agreed a Memorandum of Understanding the Sector Skills Council
for the land based sector (Lantra).
Further information is available on the
HSE website.
Vulnerable workers
IOSH RIG Committee member, David Mattey
An advisory pocket card summarising migrant workers’ rights and
responsibilities and replacing obsolete guidance, was published in
2007. Also the work of the group has stimulated development of
HSE’s migrant workers
website.
Worker involvement
IOSH RIG Chair, David Knowles
The group is working to analyse and apply the outcomes of
commissioned research over the past 10 years on roving safety
representatives within HSE’s developing strategy on worker
involvement.
The problem is particularly acute in agriculture:
- given low levels of TU membership
- trends towards increasing casualisation and
contractorisation
- temporary working in the industry
- geographical dispersion and isolation of workplaces.
Child safety
IOSH RIG Chair, David Knowles
The group is scoping the problems based on the principle that
‘what is safe for children visiting farms will be safe for children
living on farms’ with a view to targeting future priorities,
initiatives and activities.
The group is also reviewing the scope for giving greater
prominence to child safety in the SHADs programme.
MSD
This sector is due to contact AIAC members and form an MSD
working group.
Training/education
Given the development of the suite of Vocational Qualifications
on managing health and safety in the industry, the members agreed
the key task now was to promote and encourage uptake. This can be
done independently and for the time being at least, the group can
effectively be stood down.
AIAC membership currently includes:
HSE: Head of Injuries Reduction Programme (Chair)
HSE Policy staff
National Association of Agricultural Contractors
Agricultural Engineers Association
Unite: (T&G)
National Association of Principal Agriculture Education
Officers
National Farmers Union
Arboriculture and Forestry Advisory Group
NFU Mutual Risk Management Services Ltd
Lantra
Asda
National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs
Ethical First
Country Land and Business Association
IOSH Rural Industries Group