Card 01.03 Risks evaluation

THE RISKS:

Systematic lack of farm risks knowledge
Lack of one's self rights/duties knowledge
Dangerous situations underestimation
Sanctions by Controlling Authorities
Lack of a constructive comparison (activity closed in itself)

It is necessary to remind that:
Safety in the Farm cannot be guaranteed if the employer has not adequately checked all the production aspects such as working places, facilities, equipment, used products (in particular hazardous ones) and how the work is carried out. This is the only way to understand better what does not work and what can be done to improve everyone's safety.

PRACTICAL AND OPERATING INDICATIONS:

Risks evaluation must be carried out in all the farms in which workers are present, even if they are hired for a brief period of time.

In farms consisting of an independent farmer and his/her family, or members of Simple Partnership without workers, the risks evaluation is not compulsory, even if strongly suggested.

If the number of the workers in the farm is lower than 10 (or 50, but only in special cases), the law allows the Employer to write a “self-certification” avoiding the creation of the D.V.R. (Risks Evaluation Document) through a "standardized" or "wizard" procedure, which refers to a scheme drawn up by a specific Commission. It must, however, contain:

a report, which must include the references utilized to assess the risks to safety and health at work;
measures of prevention and protection, including personal protective equipment, already adopted;
the program of measures that will be adopted in the future to increase the level of safety; Remember that the corporate risk assessment must always be made (the self-certification has lost value at May 31, 2013).

To know how many workers are employed in a farm, it must be remembered that the following people are not considered workers:

the employer and his/her workers who have been working regularly in the family farm (as long as they have never had a contract);
relatives and in-laws until the 3rd degree of kinship if they work occasionally (or recurrently brief periods);
people who take on small garden in g tasks as well as cleaning and facility maintenance works;
people with a fixed term contract who are substituting absent workers;
self-employed workers such as jobs hoppers or artisans (plumber, electrician etc) and farms that carry on tasks or provide services with their own work and without subordination constraint.

Seasonal labourers shall be counted in proportion as U.L.A. Annual Labour Unit - , for the number of days and hours they really work during a year in the Farm.

There is not a traditional and unique method to make the Farm Risks Evaluation. Usually it is useful to start from Check Lists in order to not forget main things.

In the rural sector every law and norm must be observed, especially for the risks posed by:

presence and use of machine sand tools;
storage and use of plant protection products;
noise and vibrations;
work climatic conditions.

The Farm Risks Evaluation result is a list of actions to take to improve workers' safety in the Farm, stating when and who is going to do them.

It is important to distinguish dangerous situations in which Personal Protective Equipment are needed (safety earmuffs, respirators, safety shoes etc).

FURTHER INDICATIONS AND ADVICE

Law’s deadline must be checked about the Self-certification currency already in force and the news (which are frequent in this area)
The "list of action to take" shall be checked periodically ("Intervention Programme") and modified if better solutions came out in the meantime.
The necessity (present or future) of having at least a worker even if for a brief period of time - in the Farm shall be not underestimated. His/her presence makes the realization of the evaluation risks process necessary (useful even for the farmer him/herself).
During the risks evaluation is useful to involve workers, the Company Physician and the Safety Workers Representative and it is recommended to careful y evaluating their suggestions and taken them into serious consideration.
If the evaluation risks analysis has not yet been made, it is suggested to inquire for understanding how to do it and who can do it (among employer's associations or professional offices).
In case the evaluation risks analysis has not yet been made, try to find a Check List (e.g. the Emilia Romagna regional one) and make a first farm control, selecting the most important things.
It is necessary to avoid trying to hide lacks, they remain the same even if people ignore them. If these may provoke serious damage, a safety goal shall be established (a long term one, if it is impossible to pursue it immediately) to solve problems in an effective and definite way. In the meanwhile, temporary systems shall be applied to minimize risks.

SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION AND DECISION-MAKING PROCESS ON RISKS

N.	Risk assessment and measures implemented					Improvement Program
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Area/ Department/ Place of work	Duties/ Workstations	Dangers that determine risks for health and safety	Any support tools	Measures implemented	Improvement measures to be taken - Kinds of Measures Prevention / Protection	Responsible for the execution	Date of implementation of improvement measures
1
2
3