Teams from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) attended the Royal Northern Agricultural Society's annual Spring Show, near Inverurie, to highlight the importance of farmers working safely near overhead power lines.
SSEN's ongoing farm safety campaign, "Look out, look up" is urging farmers and farmworkers to always check for overhead lines before they start work, as the consequences of striking the electricity network can be extremely serious, in some cases fatal.
Before starting work, these key checks are a vital way of avoiding injury out in the fields and farm yards:
- Check how close you will be working to the overhead line.
- Find out the maximum height and vertical reach of your machines; new machinery may be wider or have a higher reach than your previous one.
- Make sure you know the maximum permitted working heights under each span of an overhead line and adjacent to each structure.
Martin Bowen, from SSEN's Safety Team, attended the spring show with colleagues and was delighted with the number of visitors to the SSEN stand:
"This event is a key date in the Scottish farming calendar, and with 200 visitors to our stand today, it has been an ideal way for us to meet a large number of our key stakeholders, discuss our safety messages and listen to any questions or concerns they may have."