"Look out, look up, and look after yourself” - SSEN Distribution’s clear safety message to farmers as they begin this year’s harvest

Prioritise your wellbeing and stay safe when working around the electricity network - that’s our message to the farming community as it enters this busy harvest season. 

As a Distribution Network Operator (DNO), we work closely all year round with farming communities and organisations, spreading the safety message across our central southern England and north of Scotland patches, and our annual ‘Look out, Look up’ safety campaign is timed to coincide with harvest season. 

This year, our campaign – which will run through to the end of the main harvest season in September – is again focusing on the dangers that coming into contact with the electricity infrastructure can have on whole families, as well as the individual injured.  

We have produced the following advice to help famers stay safe when working near the electricity network:  

• Before you head out on the farm, always check for power lines above you – ‘Look out, look up, look after yourself’. 

• If your farm machinery hits a power line: stay in the cab if it’s safe to do so – then call 105 and wait for help 

• Never touch an overhead line and don’t assume it’s dead – always assume it’s live unless, or until, the owner of the line has confirmed that it’s dead. 

• When machinery is in contact with an overhead line, anyone who touches both it and the ground can be electrocuted. Stay in the cab and lower any raised parts in contact with the line or drive the machinery out of the line if you can. 

• If you need to get out, to call for help or because of fire, don’t climb out in the usual way – jump out as far as possible, without touching the line or the machinery, and don’t touch any part of the machinery when on the ground. 

• Call 105 and ask us to disconnect the supply. Even if the line appears dead, don’t touch it as automatic switching may reconnect the power. 

We remain fully committed to helping anyone working near its infrastructure to stay safe by continuing to raise awareness of the potential dangers of working near overhead lines. It’s through this ongoing work that more people also understand the importance of reporting any damage to or contact with the network, with some 90 non-injury incidents from those working in farms and fields across our distribution areas recorded last year. 

Peter Vujanic, Head of Safety for SSEN Distribution explains more: 

“Each year, our ‘Look out, Look up’ safety campaign sets out to reduce incidents and injuries to farmers, contractors and land workers by providing them with vital information that can help save lives and prevent life-changing injuries. 

“SSEN’s messaging and campaign has been formed through hundreds of conversations with the farming community, so we refer to ‘Look out, Look up’ as being designed by farmers for farmers, and it’s interesting to see that last year’s focus on a stronger emotional connection has potentially led to an increase in reporting incidents.  

“It’s through these reports that our engineers can act safely and quickly to assist those involved in the incident and then work to restore power supplies to customers who may have been affected by any damage to the network.” 

Peter continued:  

“SSEN wants to make sure that everyone returns home safely to their loved ones at the end of their working day and with around two workers killed across the UK each year -due to machinery coming in to contact with overhead electricity lines - there can be no room for complacency. 

“While we welcome the incident reports that show awareness of our ‘Look out, Look up’ safety campaign, we want to aim for zero so that no family experiences the loss or injury of a loved one through a work-related incident.” 

To find out more about safety around the electricity network and the steps you can take to stay safe when working outdoors, please go to: www.ssen.co.uk/farmsafety.