Digital technology replaces binders and safety manuals
The Canada FarmSafe Plan is developing a computer app that should make it easier for producers to create and follow standard operating procedures on their farms.
Carol Ann Paul, managing director of the Centre for Education and Work at the University of Winnipeg, received $200,000 in funding to create the farmer friendly software over the next two years.
She said it will make the FarmSafe Plan more accessible and less daunting than wading through binders of information.
“Digital media will give them the resources and make it simple to do because no one is going to sit down and go through a manual,” she said. “People are terrified of documents. We can get past that with technology.”
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The app will be designed to help farmers catalogue the risks and hazards and see what their safety plan would look like.
Laurel Aitken, a safety co-ordinator with Alberta Agriculture, stressed the urgent need for such a tool.
She said the app gives her another option for delivering the safety message to farmers.
“It takes a big chunk of information that’s provided to farmers and allows farmers to take it on in more digestible pieces so that they can access what they need when they need it.”
Glen Blahey of the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association expects a good reception among all ages in an increasingly tech savvy farm population.
“We were looking for similar apps in other industries. This has the potential to be pretty cutting edge.”
