Dennis J. Murphy

Farm safety attitudes and accident involvement

Many safety educators firmly believe that good safety attitudes are a must if people are to avoid accidents in the workplace and elsewhere. This idea has evolved mainly from the industrial safety movement and has been adopted in most fields of safety. However, this fundamental adage has never been tested in agriculture. A random sample of Pennsylvania farmers were asked their attitudes toward nationally recognized farm safety concepts. The Semantic Differential Attitude Test was the instrument used to collect the data. Four hundred and ninety-three respondents indicated they have about the same attitudes toward farm safety concepts regardless of their accident involvement and regardless of other variables studied. The results of this study suggest that the apparent high priority given to safety attitude development as a primary means of accident prevention should be re-examined.

Comparison of two methodologies to measure agricultural occupational fatalities

Agricultural occupational fatalities in Pennsylvania for the years 1985-87 were followed up. Supplemental data concerning the occupation of the deceased and circumstances of the fatal accident were obtained from a family member. The number of fatalities designated as agriculturally and occupationally related by the National Traumatic Occupational Fatality (NTOF) system was compared with the number of fatalities identified by using alternative criteria for classification of agriculturally and occupationally related fatalities. There may be nearly a 30 percent error in the NTOF method resulting in a 20 percent undercount.

Tractors and rollover protection in the United States.

ABSTRACT There are approximately 4.2 million tractors on farms and ranches across the United States. The average age of tractors is over 25 years and some of the oldest models are the most popular. Older tractors are less safe than newer tractors, and many older tractors are operated by individuals with increased risk of being injured or killed on a tractor. A key tractor safety device, a rollover protective structure (ROPS), is missing from most tractors manufactured before 1985. Data from the US Department of Labors Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) suggest that the production agriculture sector accounts for approximately 70.3% of the 3299 work deaths in the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing industry between 2003 and 2007. Nearly 900 of these incidents involve farm tractors and of these, approximately 43% were from tractor overturns. Efforts to reduce both the number of tractor overturn fatalities and injuries have been underway for years. These efforts primarily encompass worker education/training programs and activities, ROPS design and engineering applications, and research on more effective ways of encouraging tractor owners to retrofit their older tractors with ROPS. This paper reviews various approaches available to reduce the fatalities, serious injuries, and economic burden associated with tractor overturns. Past and current efforts to promote ROPS in the United States and in other countries, current safe tractor operations education and training programs, and ROPS-related safety engineering projects are discussed. Recommendations for advancing safe tractor operation and the number of tractors protected by ROPS are given. This review was prepared for the Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health conference, “Be Safe, Be Profitable: Protecting Workers in Agriculture,” January 2010.

Perceptions of Tilt Angles of an Agricultural Tractor

ABSTRACT A tractor stability simulator has been developed to help study tractor operators’ perceptions of angles when the simulator is tilted to the side. The simulator is a trailer-mounted tractor cab equipped with hydraulic lift that can tilt the tractor cabin up to 30 degrees. This paper summarizes data from 82 participants who sat in the simulator while it was tilted. Demographic variables, estimates of tilt angles, and measured tilt angles were collected. The effects of age, gender, tractor driving experience, and frequency of operation on the estimated and measured tilt angles were analyzed. The results showed that about 50% of the participants reported estimations of side tilt angles within ±5 degrees of the actual angles, and nearly the same percentage overestimated the actual side tilt angles. Only a small percentage underestimated the angles. Older, more experienced, and male participants set higher limits on the actual angle at which they felt uncomfortable and would not drive.

A proposed classification code for farm and agricultural injuries.

A fundamental problem with classifying agriculturally related injury is that there is neither a rational nor a comprehensive scheme for grouping incidents into categories describing actual exposures encountered on farms and in agricultural work. Current surveillance systems are unable to differentiate between work that is related to farm production and work that is not, and to include all exposed persons in the surveillance. The proposed Farm and Agricultural Injury Classification Code is a step toward overcoming these problems. When it was applied to previously analyzed fatality data, 40% of cases previously identified as farm production work were reclassified into other categories.

Using Social Marketing to Address Barriers and Motivators to Agricultural Safety and Health Best Practices

ABSTRACT Social marketing is an intervention development strategy that pays considerable attention to barriers to and motivators for behavioral change or adoption of recommended behaviors. Barriers are obstacles that prevent individuals from changing or adopting behaviors and are often referred to as the “cons” or “costs” of doing something. Motivators, on the other hand, are factors that encourage individuals to change or adopt behaviors and are often referred to as the “pros,” “benefits,” or “influencing factors” of doing something. Importantly, social marketing does not target education or knowledge change as an end point; rather, it targets behavior change. Studies across several types of desired behaviors (e.g., smoking cessation, weight control, more exercise, sunscreen use, radon testing) using the Stages of Change model have found systematic relationships between stages of change and pros and cons of changing behavior. A review of literature identifies numerous research and intervention studies that directly reference social marketing in agricultural safety and health, studies that identify reasons why parents allow their children to be exposed to hazardous situations on the farm, and reasons why youth engage in risky behaviors, but only two studies were found that show evidence of systematically researching specific behavioral change motivating factors. The authors offer several suggestions to help address issues relating to social marketing and agricultural safety and health.

Evaluation of the farm and agricultural injury classification code and follow-up questionnaire.

The Farm and Agricultural Injury Classification (FAIC) code was developed specifically to identify and classify all agricultural injuries of interest to agricultural safety and health professionals. The FAIC code overcomes fundamental problems of classifying agricultural-related injuries by grouping incidents into categories describing actual exposures encountered on farms and in agricultural work. The successful application of the FAIC code depends largely on a researchers ability to obtain appropriate information to correctly use the code. The purpose of this research project was to: (1) compare data obtained through a newly developed FAIC follow-up questionnaire (FQ) with data from the Penn State Agricultural Injury Database (AID); and (2) test FAIC Code utility, reliability, and construct validity with agricultural safety and health professionals. The FQ improved classification of 57% of cases in the Penn State AID. A majority of agricultural health and safety professionals understood and used the FAIC coding system, without training, to code an average of 75% of the test cases the same as the researcher. A large majority of the professionals that participated in this study judged the FAIC code and the accompanying materials to be very useful.

Tractor stability indicator

Tractor overturns are a major cause of death in farm operations. The overturns are the result of interactions between the tractor operator, the tractor and the environment. Numerous variables involved in tractor overturn have been identified. Previous stability analyses have resulted in attempts to design devices to warn or prevent tractor rollover but to date nothing has proved successful. A newer approach to the rollover problem is to develop instrumentation that will give the operator instantaneous cues concerning the tractors stability as it is operated. The device is perceived as a learning instrument which will increase both cognitive and motor skills.

Perception of side rollover hazards in a Pennsylvania rural population while operating an all-terrain vehicle (ATV)

BACKGROUND All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are unstable on steep and rough terrain, and thus, rollover is the most common accident which can result in a high rate of fatal outcomes, with higher rates for young and male drivers. OBJECTIVE This paper investigates the ability of rural Pennsylvania ATV drivers to correctly evaluate slopes, and the mean slope angle at which the most and least conservative drivers indicate a beginning of concern of a roll-over. METHOD The study was conducted using a simulator, a commercial ATV firmly fixed on an hydraulically-lifted platform. As the platform was being raised, participants were asked to report when they became uncomfortable and then when they would not drive across a slope at such an angle. The difference between the reported and the actual angles in both conditions were analyzed. RESULTS Fifty-five individuals, mostly male and younger than 20 years, participated in riding on the simulator. Between 1/3 and 1/4 of the participants correctly estimated the angle while approximately 2/3 of participants overestimated the angles at which they felt they would be uncomfortable and they would not drive across. Participants began to feel uncomfortable at 15.9±5.7 degrees and became so uncomfortable that they felt they would not drive at 22.7±3.7 degrees. CONCLUSIONS Overestimation of lateral roll angles is the most common result. This is in favor of safety when drivers are informed about a slope limit ATVs should not be operated on.

Evaluation of the Agricultural Safety and Health Best Management Practices Manual.

The Agricultural Safety and Health Best Management Practices (ASHBMP) Manual was developed as an alternative intervention tool to help identify and correct farmwork hazards. A modified pretest-posttest control group experimental design was used to test the effectiveness of the manual with three intervention groups and a control. Testing consisted of conducting baseline and post-intervention audits on 150 farms in Pennsylvania. Significant differences were found among groups of farmers who were given the ASHBMP Manual and those who were not given the manual. The results of the data analysis also showed a positive significant difference among farmers who reduced their farm hazard levels through use of the ASHBMP Manual over farmers who received the Control (traditional safety fact sheets). The data supports the conclusion that the ASHBMP Manual is an effective tool for helping farmers reduce workplace hazards.