Health and Safety Newsletter - February 2022

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Work organisation and time management

• Get organised
  Good organisation leads to better time efficiency, meaning that farmers can reduce the time taken to do a job. This will allow you time to take a proper break during the day for lunch or to finish up earlier in the evening.
• Get help
  Time is a limited and valuable resource. Long hours and busy times of the year lead to tiredness and rushing. This has an impact on how alert the farmer is and can lead to serious consequences.
• Good facilities
  Livestock accounted for 19% of farm deaths in the last ten years. Having good handling facilities means that the farmer is protected from the animal but can still be in close contact.
• Herd health
  Be proactive about having good herd health through good vaccination, dosing routines, correct mineral supplementation and housing facilities.
• Technology
  Technology can be a great time saver. There are a number of useful apps, such as PastureBase Ireland and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) apps, that you can get on your phone.
• Standard operating procedures
  Developing standard operating procedures (SOPs) is an organised way of evaluating each step in each task and documenting the safe and efficient way of carrying it out.
• How organised are you?
  Now is the time to get better organised. Think about how you could be more organised so you can make the most of your time and allow for more time off.