News

New awareness week to tackle PTO safety

The Farm Safety Partnership, in association with local farm machinery dealers, is launching a new ‘PTO Safety Week’ on Monday 22 September.

Unguarded or poorly guarded PTOs can kill or seriously injure a person in less than a second. The PTO safety Week aims to remind farmers of the risks and encourage them to check their guards and where necessary replace or repair them.

In a move designed to help farmers protect themselves and their families, more than 40 participating dealers across Northern Ireland will offer a 15% discount on new PTO guards purchased from Monday 22 to Saturday 27 September. Some outlets will also provide free PTO fitting and repairs, so contact your local dealer to find out what’s available.
To support the initiative, HSENI officers will also visit local farms throughout the week to ensure that famers have checked their guards and taken appropriate action. 

Looking forward to another successful PTO week, Chairman of the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) George Lucas said: “On behalf of the Farm Safety Partnership I’d again like to thank the participating dealers for their support for this important safety drive.
“Farmers know that PTO shafts which are not properly guarded are dangerous and can maim or kill in seconds. Despite the fact that many farmers have taken action, HSENI still sees evidence that unguarded or poorly guarded PTO shafts are still a common problem on farms. This must change and famers need to act now to eliminate all obvious and unnecessary dangers on their farms.”  

President of the Ulster Farmers’ Union Ian Marshall added:“This is a great opportunity for farmers to make their farms safer and I’d encourage them to take advantage of the generous discounts on offer. I’d also recommend that farmers buy good quality PTO guards, as though some may meet the minimum required standards they can be of inferior quality, offer poor value for money and provide limited protection. 

“Farm safety must be a priority for everyone connected to the farming industry and we all need to continue to play our part so that together we can take the next steps towards safer farms.” 
Accidents involving equipment such as PTOs is one of four areas targeted by the Farm Safety Partnership’s new farm safety campaign, ‘Stop and Think SAFE’. 

To find out more about the ‘Stop and Think SAFE’ campaign, or for advice about working safely with farm machinery, please contact the HSENI helpline on: 0800 0320 121 or visit: http://www.hseni.gov.uk/farmsafe

A list of the dealers involved in the scheme is published below. If more dealers would like to participate in the discount scheme, they should contact the Ulster Farmers’ Union on: 028 9037 0222. 

List of participating farm machinery dealerships

County Antrim                 
Thomas McKeever, 91 Largy Road, Portglenone, BT44 8BZ 
•    phone: 028 2582 1338
Heron Agri, 37 Pillar Brae Road, Ballymena
•    phone: 028 2586 1340
Reas of Finvoy, 191 Finvoy Road, Ballymoney, BT53 7JS
•    phone: 028 2957 1232
Erwin Agri Care, 82 Nutts Corner Road, Crumlin, BT29 5SJ
•    028 9082 5477
George Hamilton Machinery, 100 Barnish Road, Randalstown, BT41 2NL
•    phone: 028 9447 2269
John Laverty, 37 Carrowreagh Road, Armoy, BT53 8SZ
•    phone: 028 2075 1723
David Christie & Son, 16 Greenhill Road, Ballymoney, BT53 6LZ
•    phone:028 2766 6475
Hunter Kane & Son, 31 Lagavara Road, Ballintoy, BT54 6NG
•    phone: 028 2076 2613
David McCallum, 40 Castlenagree Road, Bushmills
•    phone: 028 2073 1943
Gerard Kennedy Machinery, 133 Tullaghan’s Road, Dunloy, BT44 9EA 
•    phone: 028 2765 7491

County Armagh 
Burkes of Cornascriebe, 151 Markethill Road, Portadown, BT62 3SL
•    phone: 028 3884 0225
Ben Sergeant, 60 Foy Lane, Portadown, BT62 1PN
•    phone: 028 3833 3946
HFS Engineering, 20 Dorsey Road, Newtownhamilton, BT35 0QA
•    phone: 028 3086 8228
RG Brown & Co, 20 Millvale Road, Bessbrook, BT35 7NH
•    phone: 028 3083 0100

County Down       
Brian McAlerney, 20 Clanmaghery Road, Ballyward, Castlewellan, BT31 9RR
•    phone: 028 4065 0281
Henry Porter Tractors, 46 St James Road, Hillsborough, BT26 6JT
•    phone: 028 9262 2611
Johnson Gilpin & Co Ltd, 7b Lisnoe Road, Lisburn, BT27 5LT
•    028 9266 3372
Peter Quinn Farm Machinery, 230 Main Road, Cloughey, BT22 1JB
•    077 1287 4360 
Stanley Patterson 3 Black’s Lane, Ballynahinch, BT24 8UT
•    phone: 028 9756 3141
GA Allen (Neil Allen), 131 Grovehill Road, Banbridge, BT32 5AB
•    phone: 028 4065 1303
Montgomery Tractors, 51 Drumaknockan Road,Hillsborough, BT26 6QP
•    phone: 028 9268 3416
Alan Milne Tractors,129 Ballynahinch Road, Carryduff, BT8 8EJ
•    phone: 028 9081 7111
Dieci Ltd, 245 Armagh Road, Newry, BT35 6NL
•    phone: 028 3082 1230
William Lindsay, 18a Ringduffern Road, Downpatrick, BT30 9PH
•    phone:028 4482 1433

County Fermanagh
McDonagh Engineering, Drumbane, Kesh, BT93 1SQ
•    phone: 028 6863 1635
McCullagh Machinery, Derrylin Road, Bellanaleck
•    phone: 028 6634 8213
Fred Dunn, Ardunshin, Brookeborough, BT94 4EH
•    phone: 028 8953 1319
Walmsley Tractors, 67 Manoo Road, Kesh, BT93 1TL
•    phone: 028 6863 1393

County Londonderry/Derry
Douglas Hamilton,125 Ballyronan Road, Magherafelt, BT45 6HP
•    phone: 028 7941 8833
Derek Wilson, 85 Springhill Road, Moneymore, BT45 7NN
•    phone: 028 8673 7322
Mervyn Hanna, 57 Magherafelt Road, Draperstown, BT45 7JT
•    phone: 028 7962 8459
DA Forgie, 16 Seacoast Road, Limavady, BT49 9DW
•    phone: 028 7772 2375
Riddell Bros, 64 Carricknakielt Road, Maghera, BT46 5EJ
•    phone: 028 7964 2440
Howard Fulton Tractors, 68 Dernaflow Road, Dungiven, BT47 4PR
•    phone: 028 7774 1704
WJ O’Brien & Son, 5 Station Road, Eglinton, BT47 3PR
•    phone: 028 7181 0312

County Tyrone     
Sayers Machinery Services, 22 Spout Road, Strabane, BT82 8NA
•    028 7138 2587
RJ Rutledge, 97 Drumquin Road, Castlederg, BT81 7RB
•    028 8167 9955
Alexander Mills, 43 Main Street, Benburb, BT71 7JY
•    phone: 028 3754 8971
Richard McAllister, 12 Knockaleery Road, Cookstown, BT80 9EA
•    028 8676 5943 
McCord Machinery,17 Moveagh Road, Cookstown, BT80 9HE
•    phone: 028 8676 3153
Jack Taggart, 1 Carnkenny Road, Omagh, BT78 4LN
•    phone: 028 8166 1271