New OH&S rules could stop catching and dragging

Groups such as WorkSafe have indicated that catching and dragging sheep could be a thing of the past, drawing the ire of sheep producers

Farmers could be forced to adopt new shearing shed technology quickly amid claims Occupational Health and Safety rules could change within years to prevent shearers from catching and dragging heavy animals.

The issue was raised at the Australian Wool Innovation field day at Conargo, NSW, last week.

Chris Haynes of Haynes Engineering, Naracoorte, South Australia, said shearing was on the cusp of a major technology overhaul to make it safer and better for workers, similar to what many other industries had already been through.

“When you think about it not a lot has changed in the past 200 years with shearing, really. We’ve just gone from hand-shears to overhead gear and narrow combs to wide combs and simple back-hangers,” Mr Haynes said.

“There are warnings these days about picking up 20-litre chemical drums yet shearers are expected to handle 100kg sheep all day. Within three years I’m told shearers won’t be allowed to catch and drag sheep across a board unless there is an extra person to help and that just doesn’t work.”

Glenn Haynes, who oversees shearer and woolhandling training for the Shearing Contractors Association of Australia, said a decade ago about half of all shearer injuries were caused by handpieces locking-up, and the other half by strains from catching and dragging. The handpiece issue had been fixed by the development of modern shearing plants with anti-lock technology.

Mr Haynes said this had put the spotlight firmly on catch and drag injuries, which now accounted for about 75 per cent of claims by shearers.

“Groups like WorkSafe have indicated that as an industry they are not going to let us keep doing it (catch and drag),” he said.

“We need to change and adapt and move away from heavy manual lifting just like nearly all other industries have.”

Improving work conditions and meeting possible new OH&S regulations for shearers are not the only drivers behind new technology.

The shortage of shearers and difficulty in getting sheep shorn in a timely manner, plus rising costs, has producers looking at other options like automated shearing platforms, according to Bill Byrne, Peak Hill Industries in NSW.