Details for 2012-2013
For the past 18 years, thousands of farm owners, managers, and workers have attended SAIF’s agricultural safety seminars, learning how to be safe in one of the most hazardous occupations. Held in 17 cities across the state, these free, half-day trainings will begin in November 2012 and run through late February 2013. Seven trainings will be conducted entirely in Spanish.
Although the seminars are designed for owners, operators, supervisors, and foremen, anyone working in the agricultural industry or interested in the seminar content is welcome to attend. Small agricultural employers attending the seminar will meet one of the four requirements that exempt small agricultural operations from random OSHA inspections.
This Ag Seminar series will offer two hours of private applicator pesticide “core” credits approved by the Department of Agriculture. The Landscape Contractors Board has approved the seminar for three hours of technical and one hour of business continuing education credits. Producer continuing education credit hours for licensed insurance agents have been approved by the Department of Consumer and Business Services.
Topics include:
Forklift safety
Forklifts’ power makes them indispensable but also dangerous. Each year, tens of thousands of injuries related to forklifts occur in the United States. Unfortunately, inadequate training and unsafe operations cause most of these injuries. To improve safety, forklift operators are required by law to complete formal classroom training, practical hands-on training, and an evaluation. Refresher training for the experienced operator is just as important as first-time training for new employees. This session will focus on Oregon agricultural forklift safety issues and provide you with resources and proven tips to use in your training programs.
Worker Protection Standard (WPS)
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Worker Protection Standard is a regulation aimed at reducing the risk of pesticide poisonings and injuries among agricultural workers and pesticide handlers. The WPS is a complex and demanding set of requirements that everyone involved in agriculture should know more about, and this session will review its requirements for pesticide safety training, worker notification, personal protective equipment, restricted entry intervals, decontamination supplies, and emergency medical assistance.
Practical solutions for pesticide safety
Pesticides can be useful but they also can be dangerous if used unsafely. This session will highlight a new resource on pesticide handling tools, equipment, and work practices designed to make work easier and safer for pesticide handlers. This resource was developed by the Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (PNASH) in partnership with farmers and educators. Ideas will be shared on pesticide mixing, loading, application, storage, and decontamination. We hope that this session will inspire you to develop your own pesticide safety solutions.
Turn employees into safety leaders
What is safety leadership and why should I care? This session will tackle this question and more. Leaders have a significant impact on an organization’s safety culture. Without the proper understanding of how and why it is important to become a safety leader, a gap can be created between management expectations and employee perceptions. Developing employees into safety leaders encourages employees to be players on the field and not just bench warmers.